I literally could not have said it any better myself. I felt like TS3 wasn't necessarily a step in the right direction so much as a step in a different direction. TS4 takes it back to 1 and 2 and focuses more on gameplay and the Sims themselves. Personally I think TS3 got so bogged down in mechanics and customization etc that the Sims themselves were forgotten. But the game is called The Sims for a reason. Life-like and human Sims should always be the priority, and they've definitely done that right. The rest is secondary, and a lot of it can and will be added in expansions (I don't buy the whole "it's a ploy to sell it all later in EPs" because a) they're a business, how else will they make money, and b) that's always been the Sims business model). I'm so glad they got the base game right, and it's smooth and stable this time around.
