So what is it that makes The Sims 3 even more addictive than its predecessors? It's partially due to the deft handling of rewards; it doles out new social options, new aspirations, and the possibility of better furniture and wood flooring at a slow but even pace, which keeps you tied to your computer for hours at a time. It offers the element of surprise, showing off its abundant charms through funny social interactions that make you want to be part of the improved virtual community. Although it could have offered even more right out of the box, there's still an awful lot of content here, and it's bound to put a smile on almost anyone's face.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesims3/review.html

Good to hear but I am in no way surprised.

A little off topic, but is there any service I can (legally) download this off of? I'm going to assume it's not on Steam but I wasn't sure if EA had something like Steam.