The Sims 3 may not have a built-in narrative, but Robin Burkinshaw's gaming diary Alex and Kev shows just how thought-provoking, and sometimes gut-wrenching, the "god game" can be, writes Gamasutra correspondent Lewis Denby.
Lewis Denby: "When I started my column earlier in the year, I had a solid idea of the sort of thing I wanted to write about. So often is the gaming press focused on picking apart and observing the mechanical specifics of a product that, frequently, the very nature of the experience gets lost in communication. And that's a shame because, at their very core, video games are about giving in to infinite possibilities, letting go and allowing yourself the pleasure of intense human reaction."