User blog comment:Woganhemlock/Monthly Question - April 2015/@comment-4061583-20150403042542

I'll choose TS3 over TS2 as a whole.


 * 1) Customization: TS3 is the first Sims game that I've played seriously, and the customization level in TS3 allows for a very diverse choice of characters. While TS2 has its upside over TS3 (such as availability of chunky boots in contrast to TS3's plethora of high heels), TS2 just doesn't provide the level of customization that I want, which may be a byproduct of me being accustomed to TS3's CAS.
 * 2) Open World: This makes customizing existing neighborhoods (or making your own) all the more enjoyable, since it causes less inconvenience to enjoy the said modification to a neighborhood. I've done plenty of it in TS3, but haven't done it to TS4, although a lack of content so far may have played a part in it. Not only that, it also creates an incentive to make other sims to inhabit the neighborhood as well. Enough said.
 * 3) Robots/Craftables: I personally like me Plumbbots and Simbots more than Servos. Also, TS3's got boatloads of craftables (and TS2 has them as well, to be fair) and skills, but I personally like TS3's science, alchemy, and bot building (Invention before those) more so that I could say about TS2's robotics.

Where TS2 > TS3
 * 1) Cheat objects: Why can't TS3 get things like the insta-death machine like TS2 gets?
 * 2) Default clothing/hairstyles: As mentioned above, I abhor high-heels with a fashion, considering them a modern version of the Chinese foot-binding. Unfortunately, TS3's shoe department seems to be staffed by high-heel lovers, and my favorite shoes are usually CC (with some exceptions, such as the sandals) because high heels are WAY too dominant in TS3. I also don't recall ever using default hairstyle on my CAS ever since I got a plenty of them through web-surfing. TS2 on the other hand actually had default stuff that were actually good.

All in all, some of TS2's proponents claim better storylines and characters, but that isn't a huge issue with me whose playstyle rarely involves the actual premade sims and more so about making storylines and characters. I'd say it is a playstyle difference.