Island Living; is it lacking?
Do you believe Island Living is lacking or feels empty? Many people believe that Island Living is beautiful, and the aesthetic is spot on, however the gameplay is bare and direction missing. Also p...
Forum Discussion
I have to start this off by declaring that I have not actually played this pack myself and am basing my opinion purely on what I've seen and heard.
The announcement at EA Play absolutely blew me away. It was once again one of those packs I didn't specifically ask for, but fell in love with when I saw it. Well, that feeling faded quickly when the Game Changers' videos came out and I realised that what was shown at EA Play was actually all there is. I was especially disappointed by the volcano being nothing but a decorative object after all (I was hoping for a little more danger in this otherwise overly happy and safe game), and most of the new careers as well as scuba diving being rabbit holes. So my initial opinion changed from "This might be the greatest EP yet" to "It's okay for an EP by TS4 standards, but nothing more". As someone else already said, pretty much all the gameplay revolves around living on the island, whereas EPs normally introduce features that affect and can be used in all worlds, such as fame, weather, and pets.
But when I rate or rank new expansions, I always do so in comparison to others, so I can't single out Island Living as being especially lacking when the same can be said about almost all previous packs. City Living is yet another pack where the only things you can use outside of its world are the CAS and BB items, even the careers usually require you to travel to San Myshuno if you play them actively, and Get Together, which is always praised for its huge world, barely has anything to offer other than said world, unless you consider the lacklustre club system a great gameplay feature.
So all in all, I say Island Living is okay. Not great, definitely lacking in some regards, but not in a way that it sets new standards.
The announcement at EA Play absolutely blew me away. It was once again one of those packs I didn't specifically ask for, but fell in love with when I saw it. Well, that feeling faded quickly when the Game Changers' videos came out and I realised that what was shown at EA Play was actually all there is. I was especially disappointed by the volcano being nothing but a decorative object after all (I was hoping for a little more danger in this otherwise overly happy and safe game), and most of the new careers as well as scuba diving being rabbit holes. So my initial opinion changed from "This might be the greatest EP yet" to "It's okay for an EP by TS4 standards, but nothing more". As someone else already said, pretty much all the gameplay revolves around living on the island, whereas EPs normally introduce features that affect and can be used in all worlds, such as fame, weather, and pets.
But when I rate or rank new expansions, I always do so in comparison to others, so I can't single out Island Living as being especially lacking when the same can be said about almost all previous packs. City Living is yet another pack where the only things you can use outside of its world are the CAS and BB items, even the careers usually require you to travel to San Myshuno if you play them actively, and Get Together, which is always praised for its huge world, barely has anything to offer other than said world, unless you consider the lacklustre club system a great gameplay feature.
So all in all, I say Island Living is okay. Not great, definitely lacking in some regards, but not in a way that it sets new standards.
