What’s good:
-more clothing (decent amount)
-more furniture/lot items (decent amount as well)
-more hairstyles (good amount)
-different roofs (pagoda, round pagoda, etc)
-new wishes to complete that concern traveling
-3 new destinations: Champs le Sims (France), Shang Simla (China), and Abu Simbel (Egypt).
-learn new skills: martial arts, photography, nectar
-ability to explore tombs, go on adventures and explorations in all three destinations
Elaboration on what’s good:
More clothing: There is a decent amount of clothing in the expansion pack; you’re looking at a couple of blouses, three different t-shirts, a skirt and pair of capris that match aforementioned blouses, an outfit that resembles safari-like garb, some Abu Simbel sandals, Abu Simbel necklace/earrings/bangle set. I might be missing something, but that sums it up pretty well. Oh, little added bonus: for the tikes, there’s little panda/brown bear/polar bear head and body suits. I think they’re pretty cute, but I know some who find it a bit disturbing.
More furniture/lot items: Also included in the expansion pack are some pretty nifty furniture items. Two new beds, about three new sofas, several new chairs/seating, wall torches/sconces/braziers, wall decorations like fans, swords, paintings etc, new doors/windows, wallpaper, and nice flower decorations here and there. Finally, you can create a basement /cellar in the bottom of your house with this expansion pack. Pretty cool, huh? Though it isn’t a stuff pack, for the price you’re paying I’d say you make out pretty well, adding in both the stuff and the new destinations/adventures in game play.
More hairstyles: Though there aren’t many non-accessory hairstyles (I’d say about three, maybe four) when you get into hairstyles with accessories you’re looking at lots of safari hats, headdresses, rice-patty type sunhats, little plaid cotton boys, French berets etc. Basically they just use the non-accessory hairstyles and repeat them for the accessory hairstyles, adding safari hats, etc. This is of course not speaking for the male Sims; they have slightly different hairstyles, and not many. One or two, then in accessories we have the turban and the option of a beret with two thick ribbons off the top of it. Over all, I’d say there’s a good amount of hairstyles you’re getting, even accounting that most of them include accessories.
Different roofs: For those who are architecturally-gifted, here’s your time to shine. The pagoda roofs, obviously stylized from Shang Simla, are manually-created roofs that the game will not automatically roof for you. They can give an awesome look to your house if you figure out how to get them on; but if you’re like me, this feature isn’t all that great. I’ve not been able to create a nice-looking pagoda roof yet. Anyways, regardless, there are the regular rectangular pagoda and then the round pagoda roofs. A lot of people were really excited about these new roofs.
New wishes: The adventure game play in this expansion pack facilitates new moodlets, wishes, traits, and lifetime wishes.  The new moodlets basically have to do with being excited about traveling or being tired after traveling (which is basically a moodlet that disallows you from traveling for another several days). New wishes, such as learning photography (new skill mentioned later), learning martial arts (new skill also mentioned later), traveling to foreign country, traveling to specific foreign country, go on an adventure, etc. They are usually pretty highly weighted, meaning you’ll get lots of lifetime happiness points for each wish you complete that concerns traveling. Some new traits that are included are ‘Disciplined’ that relates to martial arts and conflicts with the trait ‘Couch Potato’, ‘Photographer’s Eye’ that gives your sim the predisposition for photography skill, and ‘Adventurous’, which gives your sim a higher want to travel and increase their Visa level. As for lifetime wishes, there are a couple new ones that correspond with traveling and photography. ‘Visionary’ relates to photography and ‘Seasoned Traveler’ relates to traveling.
Learn new skills: Martial arts in Shang Simla, Photography (anywhere), and finally, though not exclusively a skill, is nectar-making. Martial arts and photography speak for themselves, but nectar is like wine in real-life. You can make it, buy it, sell it, and keep it in your cellar. It’s a nifty add-on to the game. Another nifty little option is snake-charming in Abu Simbel. Also, there’s new species of plants, bugs, and gems that can be collected in the new destinations. As a side note, a new death is by the Mummy’s Curse, and a new life status is ‘Mummy’. More little tidbits: you can have children with the foreigners! When you have a child from a foreigner in another destination, you’ll see some cultural stuff such as eating with chopsticks. There’s also new game music, which is to be expected, but there’s several new music tracks for each destination to spice up that old regular Sims 3 music we all hear in our sleep.
Ability to explore tombs, adventures: There are tons of different adventures you can get from different Sims in the three destinations. See ‘Visa Level’ below  to get a good understanding of how it works.

 

What’s not so good:
-Concept of Visa
-Cannot edit new destinations (Champs le Sims, Shang Simla, or Abu Simbel) or play ‘God’ like the regular Sunset Valley or Riverview.
Elaboration on what’s not so good:
Concept of Visa: I’ll just go in-depth on this so you’ll know what I’m talking about afterwards:
You start at Visa level zero and you can only stay in a specific destination for 72 (sim) hours. Eventually you can stay in that destination for 15 days. However, in order to do this, you have to collect Visa Points, which requires that you go on adventures. When you are in the given destination, there will be an adventure board that lists adventures you can find and start. Generally the adventure will award you a few Visa points and some other goodies (Simoleons {regular Sim currency} and ancient coins {new currency used to purchase special items in the Sims 3 World Adventures). Some adventures are chains, and if you finish the chain you'll be awarded with greater Visa points. Continuing with adventures will earn you more and more Visa points. There are three Visa levels that you can gain, and you start at level zero. When you get to the third level you can purchase a vacation home in which you can stay longer. Finally, the longest time you can spend (15 sim days) can be earned when you buy a special certificate only purchased through ancient coins.
Okay, with that in mind, personally I get slightly annoyed by the concept of the Visa. Then again, I’m not much for exploring and adventuring; I like the creating/designing houses/clothes and the family life part of the Sims. Overall, though, you kind of have to make your own decision as to whether the Visa is a pro/okay and not a con. I guess I’m used to being free to do whatever I want in the Sims, and the Visa just puts a hold on free-for-all traveling. Then again, I suppose it’s good to have rules sometimes. ;) Take what you will of my rambling.
Cannot edit new destinations or act as ‘God’: I’m being a bit nit-picky I guess, and again I’m used to using cheats and being as free as a jay-bird with the Sims, but it truly urks me that I can’t entirely edit the new destinations and use my Sims in those destinations. Basically, you can place your Sims in the houses, however, you’re not able to play the actual game in another destination. You will just see your Sims while playing other Sims and traveling to said destination. So, what you should get out of that is don’t expect extreme freedom out of these destinations; you’re not going to be able to act as ‘God’ like you can in Riverview or Sunset Valley. Just so you know.



In-Game Play:
All three new destinations showcase great architecture, have tombs and caves to explore, and have new people to meet and new opportunities to complete. The basic premise of this expansion for the Sims 3 is to raise your Visa level. You can start by taking three days to go to any of the destinations. In order to spend longer in any of the areas, you must raise your Visa level. To do this, you must take opportunities/quests from others (which often require explorations through tombs etc). You can eventually purchase a vacation home for your family if you acquire enough Visa points.
Within each destination you are given a base camp to live in, so your Sim’s basic needs are always met. Also, the buildings, shops, monuments, natural formations etc showcase beautiful architecture and design. There is definitely much to be seen in this expansion pack that cannot be said for the Sims 3 by itself.
As to whether purchasing the Sims 3 World Adventures is a good choice for you is another story. Do you like personal relationships, creating families, designing people and houses? Do you neglect your Sims’ opportunities and other long-term commitments? The Sims 3 World Adventures might not be for you. However, if you enjoy climbing the ladder of success, building relationships over time, committing to slower skills such as gardening, fishing, etc? Then the Sims 3 World Adventures might just be what you’re looking for. The price is generally about $30, and throughout the web there aren’t many places you can find it for cheaper than that. However, that $30 just might shake up the old Sims 3 rut you’ve got into and bring some new zest into your Sim’s life.



Extra Bits:

No problems with downloading (I had a physical copy of the CD), no issues utilizing it with the base Sims 3. Just pop it in to your computer’s CD drive, be patient as it downloads (depends on your computer, but with my 5 year old HP PC it takes less than 20 minutes), and let the game begin!

 Happy simming! :)

Recommended: Yes