Arnie and Herman share a large home with a nice swimming pool in Pleasant Valley. Arnie is a politician whose lifetime wish is to become the leader of the free world. Herman also has high aspirations, wanting to become an astronaut. Arnie is a party animal and great conversationalist, which is good for winning votes, but also materialistic. Herman is brave (an important attribute for an astronaut) but also clumsy, which means every once in a while he may set the kitchen on fire.

Sims grow up in Pleasant Valley.

These goals and personality traits were chosen early on for Arnie and Herman by their creator -- the player of The Sims 3. Electronic Arts has made a mint on The Sims, a series that has multiplied like rabbits over the years through its expansion packs and spin-offs, moving from consoles to phones. In fact, when EA restructured its company, The Sims became one of EA?s four labels, right up there with EA Sports. A lot is riding on The Sims 3 -- after all, gamers have been waiting five years since The Sims 2 pushed Will Wright?s original vision into the third dimension.

The Sims 3 offers a robust editing tool for creating individual faces.

According to Ben Bell, who is executive producer of The Sims 3 now that Wright is focusing on all things Spore, gamers will now be able to create souls for their Sims. This is done through the new traits system, with which over 70 unique personality traits can be combined into five different slots. While many traits will be available from the start, the more interesting traits will need to be unlocked.

Players can control up to eight Sims in a home.

If a player wants to make an evil Sim, that Sim (and likely its creator) will be overjoyed upon seeing bad stuff happen to people around. Similarly, good traits will push Sims into wanting to do good things for people. A clumsy Sim will fall and trip over things a lot, while a flirty Sim ensures that there will be plenty of relationships, or at least flings, in the game. The kleptomaniac trait can add some spice to family get-togethers: Kleptomaniac Sims will want to steal things from their neighbors, and this becomes an optional gameplay element.

Pleasant Valley offers a robust town filled with Sims.

Traits can also be used to create background characters that interact with the central Sim family. Although only a single household of up to eight Sims can be controlled at one time, the town can be populated with over 90 characters. For example, a player can create a grumpy grandma across the street, while the Sims throw raging parties all night long and drive her crazy. And fans of The Sims who used to drown characters by throwing them in pools without stairs can still torture their avatars. Besides the blaring music for grandma, players can set fire to a neighbor?s house. Even if they leave, new people will eventually move in and the cycle of abuse can continue.

The player can guide the game in whatever direction they wish, and the character traits will likewise impact what the Sims wish for throughout the game. Whether their wishes are fulfilled is, of course, always up to the player.

"A lot of the goals and wishes that appear in Arnie?s head are about achieving that ultimate pinnacle in his political career,? explains Bell. "One of the things Arnie does as a politician is tell speeches whenever people are around."

In past Sims games, moving up the corporate ladder was out of a player?s control. The Sims 3 changes this by allowing Sims like Arnie to throw parties and politic to advance his career goals. A Sim can still go to work and get promoted at the usual pace, but go-getters who take matters into their own hands will progress faster.

Personality traits sometimes collide with careers as this chef looks for ingredients in the trash.

Arnie throws a bash at his home and ends up getting into a debate with Herman over politics. This makes Herman upset, since he?s not a fan of politics, but the conversation gives Arnie another wish: He wants to give another inspirational speech. (Bell grants this wish, which makes Arnie happy. Earlier, Bell had told Arnie he could get a new car.)

The Sims 3 still throws curveballs at players. The day after the party at work, Arnie is asked if he wants to steal money. He is a politician, so why not? Arnie?s career aspirations go down the drain as he?s caught and fired from his job. But -- this being The Sims -- one door closes and another opens. Arnie becomes a criminal -- a career not too distant from politics -- and starts on a new path.

Navigating the town of Pleasant Valley is a breeze with The Sims 3.

Herman?s dream of launching into space is still far into his future, at least for the demo we saw. Instead, Bell showed us the new conversation options. Herman wants a girlfriend, and it?s up to the player to find him one out of the 90-plus characters in Pleasant Valley. Although the Sims still speak Simlish, more conversation options are available to players. Herman flirts with three different girls before finally striking up a conversation with one. He tries different methods of conversation, including humor and romance, neither of which get him far with her. But as a last resort, Herman decides to talk gossip and completely gets her attention. She agrees to go on a date with him.

The Sims 3 does up the ante in the graphics department, while still allowing a large swath of gamers to dig into this robust game. Maxis has also created one of the most robust editors yet seen in a PC game, which allows players to create Sims straight out of their own family or from popular television shows. But the heart of The Sims 3, and the thing that should hook players new and old, is the ability to mold characters and guide them through life in a fully realized world of their own making. The Sims 3 definitely has soul, and this demo certainly shows that Bell and his team are sticking true to The Sims' roots -- while offering a more human touch to these lovable virtual beings.