In The Sims Medieval you aren’t just an anonymous player manipulating virtual people, you are The Watcher, an omnipresent being controlling all of creation. (Well, not all of creation--just its people. The rest, we assume, can take care of itself.) The opening cut scene, narrated by none other than Sir Patrick Stewart, describes how the people The Watcher created initially prospered but then began to suffer due to their own lack of judgment. “Reflecting on these events led you to an epiphany,” Stewart’s voice says, “People…are dumb.” And so, rather than sit by idly watching your creations self-destruct, you realize that you must have heroes to lead and inspire them.

You’ll begin The Sims 3 by selecting an Ambition--essentially your first gameplay campaign. The tutorial and first Ambition is titled, appropriately, “New Beginnings.” You’ll take the first steps into populating your kingdom with hero characters by creating a Monarch. While you can select premade characters for any hero, the game’s robust character creation tools are available to you, so it’s much more fun to create your own. You’ll be able to tweak your character’s look right down to facial bone structure and select a hairstyle, facial hair (for men, at least), and clothing. You’ll also need to select two traits for your hero (such as Good, Ambitious, Excitable) and one fatal flaw (like Drunkard, Gambler, Insomniac).

Regardless of the traits you select, most Sims (except the Morose ones) seem to enjoy a good joke.

You begin at Watcher Level 1 - Peepsmith. (Strong Bad fans will enjoy the reference.) You’ll start off with 50 Quest Points (QP), which you’ll expend as you embark on quests and adventures. Most quests in the “New Beginnings” Ambition require between 2 and 4 QP, so you’ll be embarking on quite a few quests before you finish the Ambition and move on to the next.

I created a monarch named Elisabeth and selected Good and Whale Ate My Parents (I couldn’t resist) as her traits. For her Fatal Flaw I chose Insecure. (You’d be insecure too if a whale ate your parents.) Your character’s satisfaction with her life at any given moment is reflected in her Focus--basically the same status bar Sims players are used to seeing which tells them whether their Sim is enjoying life or getting a bit emo. Your Sim will receive Buffs, either positive or negative, which affect her focus. Every now and again, Elisabeth would experience “Whale Rage,” and that Buff would negatively affect her Focus until she vented to another Sim. Sims with the Drunkard trait will have to have a drink or they’ll become peeved. Sims with the Licentious trait will…well, you get the picture. (And if you don’t, look up “licentious.”) Sims can receive positive buffs from things like eating a good meal, being well rested, buying new stuff or completing daily responsibilities, which are optional side-quests your Sim performs as part of her job.

Performing a play might be among your bard's Daily Responsibilities, or could be required as part of a quest.
You'll have to gather Inspiration from other Sims and write the play, then recruit actors to perform with you.

While none of the things I’ve described so far, from traits to buffs (called moodlets in The Sims 3) to maintaining a happy Sim with a green status bar and plumbob are new to veteran Simmers, the game provides you with much more of a purpose than past Sims titles have. Not only will you be completing quests by tackling objectives and keeping your Sim focused, but you’ll have to be a good Watcher, too, by selecting quests that improve your kingdom’s standing in areas such as Security, Well-Being, and Culture. If you don’t attend to your kingdom as a Watcher should, things will start to go awry. I neglected my kingdom’s security and soon found bandits and cutpurses populating the roads to important locations within my village. My hero Sims couldn’t travel anywhere without crying, “Help! I’m being mugged!” as some rogue took their money.

As you complete quests, you’ll earn Resources (RP). You’ll spend your resources upgrading your kingdom by adding buildings such as churches, barracks, a wizard’s tower, merchants and so on. While there are some buildings that simply add to your town’s aesthetic appeal, most of the buildings require you to create a new hero character to attend to them--a wizard for the wizard’s tower, a knight for the barracks and so on. Depending on which characters you choose to bring into your village, more quests will become available to you, and each quest will utilize a different character or characters. You’ll manage only one Sim in your opening quests, but soon quests will require Sims to work cooperatively so that you’re managing two or more at a time.

The quests themselves are fun, and their results often surprising and amusing. They’re not exactly masterpieces of storytelling--this is The Sims we’re talking about, after all, not Knights of the Old Republic--but they’re entertaining. (How can you not like a quest that has dire chinchillas?) The Medieval setting is enchanting (if not all that historically accurate). There are warlocks, plagues, portents of doom and more to keep the fantasy high and the fun rolling along. Oh, and there’s no privacy in a castle. Make a note if you’re planning a licentiously inclined monarch.

There may be no privacy in a castle, but the wizard seems to have no issues getting his woohoo on in his tower.

The system is actually quite deep--you’ll be collecting resources and crafting to earn money and complete quests, and you’ll have to learn to do at least some basic cooking lest your Sim lose Focus because of his bland diet. You can make friends, get married and have children, just like in any other Sims game. All of this micro-management would have the disadvantage of becoming tedious were it not for one great feature of The Sims Medieval--free will. Your Sims aren’t nearly as needy as they are in other Sims games. Although you’ll still have to prepare and eat food and ensure that your Sim gets his rest, you won’t have to worry about things like using the bathroom, bathing, having fun and socializing--those needs aren’t stressed in this game. (Although, left to his own devices, your Sim will occasionally bathe or squat over a chamber pot just to keep things authentic.) Rearing children is incredibly simplified--the baby arrives quickly, requires nothing more than nursing (yep, the old-fashioned way--no baby bottles in Medieval times) and cuddling, and soon becomes an independent child who takes care of himself. In fact, you won’t have to take the reins and control your family members--they’re on their own, and they do just fine. This is a good thing, because there was no birth control in the Middle Ages, either.