OK, this is gonna be a long post lol . I've been playing since sims 1, have bought every EP day of release and this one was no different.
What I like
The new features of buy mode and CAS are incredible! Everything I disliked about Building and creating Sims has been addressed in this aspect. More control over body shapes, easier navigating through options, better filtering options in CAS so you are not scrolling through dozens and dozens of outfits to look for that one item you know is in there somewhere. Hats separated from hairstyles, YES!! The over all clothing options are more extensive and better designed overall from TS3 as well.
Build mode is also amazing, the control and ease of building a house is amazing. I rarely built my own houses in TS3 as I would get frustrated and give up long before my house was done. I had so much fun just building a house, I seriously think that alone will keep me entertained for a while!
The amount and design of the items in Buy mode surprised and pleased me. For a base game I felt there was a lot more included that base game TS2 or TS3. LOVE that you can place multiple things on the wall at whatever height you want. Also love the sizing cheat! It's great you can take a tiny painting that would be awesome on a large wall and make it bigger so it looks right. Also love the options for kitchen counters!
I like the sims AI and their emotions. The game play in that aspect is great. It does add a better sense of realism and depth to the game. It also makes it more challenging to build relationships which I love. Honestly I haven't explored emotions to much yet but what I've seen I like.
What I'm so/so on
Not Open World- I LOVE the fact that we can travel to other towns LOVE IT. Also love the TONS of sims on lots! Awesome to go to a bar that actually is full of sims! If thats the trade off for a non-totally open world I'll take it in a heartbeat. However, I HATE the fact that each lot we go to is a loading screen. I really thought you'd be able to travel freely within lots of the same neighborhood. I was very dissapointed when my sim went next door, and a loading screen popped up.
Jobs- LOVE all the new jobs. I really do. But I really miss some of the old ones too. Especially the Business career. That is such a common, basic career track that I was really shocked it wasn't there.
NO Create-a-Style- I don't mind it so much for clothing. Honestly when most people dress they don't have exactly matching clothing and no CAS there allows me to very quickly dress my sims and not take an hour trying to choose colors for 4 spots in one pattern on one piece of clothing. I just really wish there were about 12+ color options for EACH item. Seeing a great shirt or boots with only like 4 color options really hurts. There are some items that have tons of color choices but others with only a couple. Don't get that.
No CAS in build mode I really dislike. House decor needs to match. I really miss at least the color wheel there. It seem like the color choised for furniture is way less than clothing.
What I dislike
Camera- I choose the SIMS3 style camera from the beginning but I cannot edge scroll down! Very Very frustrating!
Indoor lighting- It is so dark in my houses even with tons of lights that my sims seriously take on a grayblue color and nearly look like zombies! I have to assume this is some sort of glitch or something because it is truly bad.
No carpool/schoolbus/taxi. If we can't have an open world can we at least have that?
The size/look of teenagers. Seriously? They are basically the same size/look as adults! It's almost impossible to tell the difference at a venue when sims are walking around. I really really don't like that. Teens should look like teens. They should at least be about a head shorter than adults.
No toddlers- OK. I don't like, but can live with for now- no pools no open world no cas ect. The game NEEDS toddlers. It is a huge gaping hole in the life of the Sims. Hands down the BIGGEST disappointment of the game hands down.
Filling Sims Needs should not take up 70% of a sims free time. Between Sleeping/Job/Needs I barely have any time to do anything else. I want my sims to socialize and have hobbies, not constantly watch them pee,take a shower, eat and sleep!
The world size is WAY to small. There is no open world there is NO excuse for not having larger worlds. Seriously. IMO there should be at least 30-35 lots per world. And a nice mix of open lots of various sizes. I was upset that there were no large open lots AT ALL and only 3 empty ones per world.
Suggestions
Tempering the transitioning of emotions. I like them but as others have said their emotional states change so rapidly and to such extremes, they do seem a bit bipolar at times.
TODDLERS- nuff said.
Dishwashers and Food processors- why the heck are they not there?
More traditional job options especially a business career.
Better indoor lighting - Hopefully addressed in a patch
Less rapid need decay. - perhaps not letting needs decay when they are at school or work?
More things for them to do. Right now it is very limited, but I do recognize it is a base game.
More color choices for each item in CAS and Built/buy mode. (I'd ask for a color wheel but I know at this point that's not gonna happen)
Add one or two more "neighborhoods" to each town with empty lots. People will not even care if they are all totally empty.
Shorter better recognizable Teens
Bring back TS3 type mariage where you can choose your sims last name and move them in at the time of the marriage if they are not living there already.
Move the camera controls to the bottom where the rest of the controls are. It's really frustrating to have to be moving your mouse all over the screen to access game functions. They should ALL be at the bottom.
Edge Scrolling needs to work when you have your mouse at the bottom of the screen.
Thanks for reading. Over all, I think it's a solid start to a new Sims Game. There just is a lot missing from this base game that I feel should be there, ESPECIALLY pools and toddlers.
EA Staff (Retired)
