User blog comment:Woganhemlock/Monthly Question - April 2015/@comment-1997588-20150403040420

I really love TS2, but there are some elements in TS3 that make me not want to go back to TS2.
 * 1) The skill system in TS3 is a major upgrade. You're not bound to 7 regular skills, and more skills are added in EPs! In TS2, it's so easy to maximize 7 skills, and after that, what else to do? Maximizing a skill in TS3 isn't the only goal, because there are many objectives of a skill, such as skill challenges, completing crafts, and many more. Plus, skills in TS3 have so many benefits. Handiness unlocks more upgrades, Fishing unlocks more fish, Gardening unlocks more plants, Writing unlocks more genres, etc.. Skills in TS2 don't have much impact other than increasing success rate or decreasing failure rate, such as preventing Sims from getting electrocuted while repairing electronics or losing a fight. The benefits are pretty standard.
 * 2) The career system in TS3 is much better (I'm not talking about the interactive TS3A professions)! Both series have your Sims vanish at somewhere we can't look, but at least in TS3 it actually has a physical workplace. TS3 careers also impact Sims' lives! If you work in Law Enforcement, you must write reports, earn police car, and able to apprehend burglars. If you work in Journalism, you must write reviews just like a real journalist! In TS2? What's so different between working in Adventurer and Military? Only the career rewards. And the career rewards aren't even that practical to be placed around the house.
 * 3) Story progression! Everyone ages together! In TS2, if I keep playing the same family, a whole 5 generations could be BFFs with the same kid from another family. Also, with SP, I no longer need to take care of families I don't care about. Let the system decide their fate. Of course many people prefer to take a full control of the neighborhood, but I think it's really handful and I prefer TS3 style.
 * 4) Other features that make me like TS3 more but I can live without are trait system (as opposed to personality system), moodlet system, and open world.