The Sims 3: Into the Future gives you consequence-free time travel

The Sims 4 is right around the corner, but Maxis isn't yet ready to put its workhorse Sims 3 out to pasture. The 11th and final expansion pack for The Sims 3 will send your Sims hundreds of years forward in time, dropping them into the future-utopia of Oasis Landing.

More specifically, adding the expansion will send a mysterious stranger named Emit Rellevart (which, if our math checks out, is actually just Dracula spelled backwards) into your town with a time machine of sorts. So Into the Future actually allows you to bring your existing Sims that youve grown so attached to into the expansions new setting. This opens up some exciting possibilities, including the ability to meet your Sims descendants. In the demo we were shown, it wasnt clear how much your Sims past behavior will impact the future circumstances, but we have high hopes for the potential afforded here.

Timestream effects notwithstanding, Into the Future also features some new items (dubbed future-tech objects) for your Sims to interact with. The most exciting of these is the new Dreampod, a bed which lets you program your Sims dreams. This control gives you powerful influence over your Sims happiness, and particular options, like forcing your Sim to dream about running water, are certain to appeal to the more devious fans of the franchise.

Into the Future will also give you a new type of Sim to create and manipulate: the Plumbot. Plumbots are robotic companions that can be acquired by your Sims and designed by you. As with most future technology, its purpose is primarily to soullessly but tirelessly serve its master, performing the boring housekeeping tasks that youd rather not assign to your Sim. But they can also have personalities, dictated by the trait chips that you install in your Plumbot. Examples of characteristics with which you can imbue your helpless robot buddy include fear of humans, capacity to love, and sinister. The options available allow for myriad interactions between Sim and Plumbot, with possibilities ranging from adorable bonding to heartening romance to dark, sadistic scenarios that are enough to leave you wondering who the real human is.

Into the Future is due out October 22, and looks to be a great opportunity to gimve your Sims 3 world one final look before shoving it off in favor of the franchises shiny new installment.

Click the following screenshots for more information!