I didn't played much. I play The Sims in a more casual manner and rarely experiments with everything, but here are my thoughts about what I saw until now.
What you liked
The way interactions and emotions work. They relate between themselves in an interesting way.
The "multitask" is a welcome change, and way better than before.
Loved the new skills and the possibility of jobs/careers.
The way construction works is great!
What you didn't like
The world isn't "seamless" anymore. It doesn't work against the gameplay, but made a little bit sad, haha.
The interface. It works well, but it's too minimalistic. The buttons are small and too far on the corner, and you can only see one of the "types" each time.
The ultra speed is still too slow.
The art on the neighborhood window is "too bland".
Suggestions?
For the interface, the ability to detach and pin windows (so they are always open) would be good. I would love, for example, to have Needs and Relationship, or Work and Skills, opened at the same time.
A 4th speed would be good. One that goes at the same rate that when there's no one on the lot. I don't know if this can break the game or if people with low-spec pcs would have problems, but it would be good nonetheless.
About the neighborhood window: just add some colors, like when you hover the mouse over the blocks. The selected area can be highlighted in a different manner.
Overall thoughts?
The game isn't all that revolutionary (gameplay wise), but it's way more interesting than it's predecessor. The change on controls and menus are a bit challenging at the start, but they respond well. The overall looks is great too, it doesn't weight too much on the computer.
The ability to travel between neighborhoods and visit them is really cool! If in the future people add more neighborhoods, this will be very interesting. The sim doesn't have to live in one place and visit always the same lots over and over again.
EA Staff (Retired)
