Who says new extension says new city, right? Well not exactly, because Oasis Landing is more of a destination similar to what we could find in The Sims 3: Destination Adventure than a real new neighborhood. After this small disappointment, let's recognize the practical side of the thing: it is not necessary to create a new game to take advantage of the extension since its installation automatically leads to the appearance of a temporal portal, which it is enough to borrow to end up in Oasis Landing, and therefore in the future. The major interest of the extension then immediately jumps to the eyes since many buildings, decorative elements and interactive objects have been revisited in a futuristic way. Curved walls or walls made of glass, holographic projections, flying cars, furniture with clean lines and other high-tech gadgets scattered everywhere leave no doubt as to the era visited. Those nostalgic for Back to the Future and Duke Nukem 3D will particularly appreciate, respectively, the presence of a hoverboard and a jet-pack. The inhabitants of the places are obviously dressed in the fashion of the moment, which the player can also adopt in the Sims creation tool. More or less futuristic hairstyles, make-up, accessories, shoes and clothing respond to the call. Among all the novelties that provide a change of scenery, we can also mention the nanites (mechanical insects to collect) and, above all, the Plumbots. These humanoid robots - whose name is derived from Plumbbob, the famous green diamond characteristic of the Sims - represent a significant part of the population of Oasis Landing. The player can purchase their own Plumbot or, even better, create it and customize its appearance as they would when creating a Sim. Then, you have to meet the different needs of this new being (Battery energy, Maintenance, Social and Fun) and equip it with different chips in order to specialize it. If you've always dreamed of having a robotic housekeeper at your service, your wish has now come true!
Imperfect future?
If this future seems attractive to you, know that it is not the only one that you will be able to discover. By carrying out certain quests in the present, you can indeed transform the future into a utopia or dystopia. In the first instance, vibrantly colored trees and incredibly cheerful Sims will populate the streets. In the second, you will discover a much more sinister setting, made up of piles of garbage and meteor showers. This idea of the present which influences the future is also found in a slightly finer way in the management of the descendants of our Sims. Typically, descendants of a wealthy Sim will also be wealthy. Consequences of this type are still quite rare, and we would have really appreciated being able to have an even greater influence on the future. But the real problem of this extension, rather very pleasant at the base, comes from its lack of integration with the others. Thus, some professions that appeared in previous add-ons, or even dogs and cats from The Sims 3: Pets & Co., are absolutely not represented in the future. It is therefore difficult to really want to settle in Oasis Landing since we know that we will not be able to take advantage of all the possibilities of the game. Of course, we can always isolate one or the other of our Sims there. but, in practice, one generally ends up returning to the present time once one has made the rounds of the novelties of the future. The Sims 3: Road to the Future therefore lacks a little bit of ambition and would have benefited from offering more interactive content with the rest of the game. But it still ranks among the most sympathetic extensions of The Sims 3 because it has the merit of being original and of really taking us out of everyday life.
