Reviews: The Duke Of Bows Renaissance Faire review

Introduction

Some time ago I got the standard version of Dragon Valley. I also bought the Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire to go with it. But while I was writing and preparing the review of both Dragon Valley and the matching venue, I found that the review was getting too long. Also. Some people might decide to buy the venue but not Dragon Valley (and vice versa). So I decided to split te review into two parts. This is my review of the venue. I hope you enjoy it!

The Venue

The Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire is a venue. This basically means it's a location for your Sims to go to and do specific things. It also often comes with unique objects. And this time it's no different! The venue is a 40x40 community lot. You can place it at several locations in Dragon Valley, or, if you wish, in another world.

Buy Mode

These are the new items in buy mode.

Wooden Weapons Rack

Meet Over Meat Picnic Table

Archer's Gauntlet

Fit As A Fiddle Violin

Lizard's Lament Fountain

Jr. Knight's Gym

Lil' Dragon Tamer Spring Rider

Community Grill

Spirited Banners

Protective Pavilion

Build Mode

These are the new items in build mode:

Circular Tree

Renaissance Stair

Renaissance Fence

Daffodils

Violin

I love this! I love that we have a new musical instrument in the game, and that it's a full new skill Sims can learn. I also love that the violin fits Dragon Valley perfectly, but you can also use it in every other world, even the modern ones.

When your Sim starts out, he/she is pretty bad at playing the violin and it doesn't sound nice at all. But since it's a skill, you can improve this. After a couple of skill levels your Sim's violin play sounds considerably better. You can hear a few examples in the videos below.

After some time practising on the violin, your Sim can not only play traditional violin, but also medieval violin!

Archery

Archery is the other skill that you get when you buy the venue. You can practice archery at the Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire, or, if you want, at your home lot. It's a large object so you may not have the space at your home lot to place it. Archery suits the Dragon Valley environment quite well.

The options my Sim got while practicing archery at the venue were:

• Practice Archery...
  • Basic Shot
  • Quick Shot
  • Challenge Shot
  • Extreme Shot
• Challenge the Board
• Check High Scores

Basic Shot is the easiest and most basic practice you can do. Quick shot is, obviously, quick. Challenge shot will have the targets swing heavily, making it extra challenging for your Sim to hit anything right. And finally extreme shot means your Sim will sometimes pick two arrows to shoot at once or lit them on fire and shoot targets.

I also made a bunch of videos from the new archery skill:

Black Dragon

The black dragon will *only* appear in your game if you have the gold version of Dragon Valley (which includes Dragon Valley and the Duke of Bows Renaissance Faire), or if you buy Dragon Valley and the venue separately. Either way, you need both of these to have the black dragon appear in your game. It's a bit like the weatherstone in The Sims 3 Seasons. You also need The Sims 3 Supernatural for that to appear. I like that, that it's a cross-over object. But I can imagine some people might not want to buy everything, or maybe they can't. Either way, just to be clear here, you need both the world and the venue!

• Name Dragon
• Rename Dragon
• Fly
• Feed Dragon
• Play With Dragon
• Talk To Dragon about Logic
• Summon Ghost
• Summon Death Flower
• Cast Phantasmal Curse On...
• Put Dragon Down
• Put Dragon In Inventory

Hatching the Egg

Isn't this the cutest little creature you've ever seen? It is looking so charming with the tuxedo harness!

Fly

You will need plenty of space for your Sim's dragon to fly around. My Sim had a 20x20 lot and even though there was some space outside to fly, it still wasn't enough. So I let her buy another house, moved there and tried it again.

Play With Dragon

Playing with the dragon is fun, but be careful. It can bite your Sim!

Feed Dragon

Talk To Dragon About Logic

Need to boost your logic skill? Just talk to the black dragon about logic and poof your skill will increase!

Summon Death Flower

Need a death flower? Ask the black dragon and it will make sure you get one!

Summon Ghost

Need a ghost for something? I'm not sure why you would need this but hey, who am I to question this?

Another try:

Cast Phantasmal Curse On...

This will turn another Sim into a zombie. It will only last a few hours. Nonetheless it is funny to see.

Here another try with a Sim that is already a ghost, and now get the phantasmal curse:

Conclusion

I love both Dragon Valley and The Duke Of Bows Renaissance Faire. I don't think I'd want to do without the venue. I love the venue, but I really wanted this venue for the new objects, the violin and archery skills and of course the black dragon! It completes my Dragon Valley experience. If you would ask me if it is worth the money, I don't know how to answer that. I think in general the store content is expensive, but I buy the content anyway because I would feel like I'm missing out if I don't. Therefore I'd say: Yes, it's worth the money. If you can't afford it now, maybe wait until it's on sale during one of the Daily Deals!

View and buy The Duke Of Bows Renaissance Faire in The Sims 3 Store!