I have only played the detective career and as a doctor. I haven't explored going shopping or running a store.
I think I like the detective career better because it's scripted directions of how to play actually make more sense to me than telling the doctor to greet three patients, and then much later to chat with three patients. That could have all been handle in one command I think. Maybe?
Where as I would prefer the doctor and nurse there to actually help the patients, because I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to be doing since directional play is telling me what I should be doing but No One is helping patients. See what I mean?
I'm being told to drink coffee, wash my hands, or gripe about work to a co worker...but nobody is seating patients, or examining which is what I would be doing ...so I just took it upon myself to see what happens if I did. Then I started to ignore the scripted play and just see what else I could do about patients.
I would have liked if the patients actually stayed in their beds once you put them there. But they still get up and go talk to other Sims. And I would have liked it better if when they come into the hospital (Like Theme Hospital) they actually sit and wait instead of all bunched up at the desk. I wanted those Sims working there to actually being doing something. If that makes sense.
It's fun, but I'm not fulfilling the scripts but fumbling around in the doctor career to see how much I can learn on my own and play my own way. Which is fine and why I like sandbox.
Detective career is much more interesting because it has prisoners locked up, I have to file reports, and go out and search for clues and I really like if I don't get finished with something, I can go back and take care of it later. That's great. It seems a little bit more sandbox to me in those regards.
I haven't played the shops or the photographer etc. But I was hoping things like ringing up customers at a register would be there even if I go to the shop to buy or to sell I wanted the 'life simulator' to be a strong concept in this game. Some people call it wasting time, I call it life simulator, because I want to see the simulation of how we actually have to do things in our lives than just take a short cut rushing through their lives. :)
