APPARENTLY, 70 per cent of the people who have bought this game or are planning to are women.

That's part of the reason why I have had to stay up late just to get a go on this game as my daughter loves it.

Perhaps, it is the ability to build a person and build a world for them to live in. Perhaps it hooks in to some basic instinct within the female race. That might sound sexist, but there must be some reason.

As for the 30 per cent of males who buy this game, perhaps they're looking for something a little different from guns and cars.

And the Sims does offer something different - reality, but a different one you can mould for your Sim.

For the uninitiated, in the Sims, you can design a person, a couple, or a whole family, then put them in a living breathing world and help them interact, build relationships, build a career - live a life, basically.

You may ask, "why would I want to live a virtual life when I have a real one to deal with". And you may feel that way when you have to tell your Sim to take out the rubbish or do the washing up.

But your Sim will also achieve things independently of you. And when the chores are done, there is still time to play - to take someone on a date, to throw a party, to play with your children and see them succeed at school.

This is the fun part of the Sims, which is a balancing act throughout, juggling what you need to do to live, to have a successful career, but also to have fun and a life outside of those things.

Essentially, it is the game of life.

And on that basic level, the third incarnation of the series will appear very familiar.

Differences are improved graphics, and more intelligent sims, who won't wet themselves because you forget to tell them to go to the toilet, and won't collapse on the floor because you forget to tell them to go to bed.

Them having more autonomy means you have more time to concentrate on the important things in life, and allows you to sit back sometimes and just watch as your sim makes the right decisions.

Your sim can look just how you like it to, with far more freedom to chisel their features, clothes and personality to perfection.

Their possessions can also be individually designed to make them unique.

The biggest difference is that your sim can now go anywhere it likes, direct from its front door. It can pop over the road to the neighbour's, or walk or drive into town, all with no loading screens.

There are also more careers to choose from, from rock star to astronaut.

But the basic premise of this game, and the way you play it does not need to change. Changing it dramatically would be just a gimmick really.

The people who built this game have got it pretty much just right. The Sims can be frustrating when you just don't have enough time to do what you want, outside of work (unless you have enough money to give up). But it can also reward you when you get that promotion, of a kiss from that sim you've been dating.

It makes you realise just what a game, life really is.

Paul Turner

Sims 3; EA Games; PC