User blog comment:Woganhemlock/Monthly Question - April 2015/@comment-1519608-20150403033435

TS2, no doubt about it. I really enjoy the open world aspect of TS3, but there are so many other things about it that just irk me.

The Sims 3 went to the absolute extreme as far as customizability is concerned - seemingly everything can be re-textured or redesigned to look like other things. It makes doing a simple thing, like designing a room or building a house, into a massive drawn-out affair, and it just sucks the fun out of the whole thing for me. I appreciate TS2 for this, in that it gives you some customizing options but doesn't overwhelm you with selection.

I also was never a huge fan of the traits-based personality system. I feel like TS3 Sims are pretty cookie-cutter compared to one another, with the traits more often just introducing strange quirks or zany over-the-top behaviors to otherwise bland people. I suppose there are arguments against the points-based personality system of TS1/TS2 but at least there is some variation in the Sim's initial motivations. There are other changes that took place between TS2 and TS3 in the simulation itself that I just never got comfortable with, so no doubt that influences my opinion as well.