Choosing only three things was so hard! There are so many positives I could decide from. I never owned Sims 1, so I can't comment but...
Sims 2:
- More difficultly in career chance cards, as well as a greater variety of different careers to choose from. In TS2, there was a greater chance of risk and success when choosing between chance card options. The risk of being fired or demoted so easily really added some much-needed drama to the game and I really miss it!
- The Gypsy Matchmaker, Burglars, old Mrs Crumplebottom and other NPCs like the Unsavoury Charlatan. They added so much life and humour!
- Personality points, turn on/offs and interest points for a variety of topics that actually affected how sims responded to one another in conversation and could affect how easily they formed relationships.
Sims 3:
- Bug collecting across all worlds.
- All the tiny collectable pets and wildlife that came with TS3 Pets. Lizards, birds etc. and seeing racoons and deer wandering about in the background was a beautiful touch.
- Less to do with the whole game itself, but I really miss the dynamic feel of worlds like Bridgeport where you'd get different hotspots for clubs each night.
Sims 4:
- Build&Buy mode! This feature is so much easier in TS4! I don't build big lots in the other games anymore because I can't live without the copy/paste function or being able to pick up and move a whole room. Plus the search bar makes my life so much easier.
- The art style and visual effects. It's clean, colourful, there's none of those grainy textures from TS3 and it feels like a neater, more up-to-date version of TS2.
- Being able to switch aspirations. I can be indecisive and it's nice to give something new for my sim to aim for in life after completing an old one. Plus with more experience and aspirations completed, your sims can gain more traits over their lifetime which is how life works irl.
edit: typos!
