So far I am pretty satisfied with the base game. I think there are definitely a lot of trade offs and like everyone else I have been wondering why there are no toddlers and no pools. Those are staples in my opinion.
Things I like
*I like that the game loads so quickly. All the processes are less bogged down which is awesome. It's great not to have to wait 10 minutes for the game to load, then the neighbor, then the house, etc before I could even play.
*I like the more realistic pregnancy. I think it's awesome that you can take a pregnancy test to confirm and there isn't a little tune I have to strain to hear to find out. Also, I think the pregnancy is much more realistic considering you have to work during it. My biggest beef with pregnancy are the issues I've run into with work - I'll get to that.
*I like the emotions. It's fun to play around with the sims and see them interact differently for one reason or another. I have to say that I was annoyed with the lack of options to do anything romantic unless some type of flirty existed for my sim. It took me a long while to get my sim dating.
*Better looking babies. Yes, they might be objects essentially but at least they look like babies and move like babies and don't just lay there like caterpillars.
*Weddings. I think its great that you can hire all those services straight from the party planning menu instead of waiting for party time and calling the services.
*Hourly pay scale. I like that this is more realistic. Though, starting at $20+ an hour for chat support? Not likely. At least not where I live - I've done the job.
Things I don't like
*I don't like that you can't call out of work. If the option exists I haven't been able to find it. My sim was pregnant and in labor and started getting notifications about missing work and lost work performance because she didn't go in when she was in labor! I mean, really? Also, I miss maternity leave. I was surprised when she just up and left for work the next day. Not really a big deal about the leave, I suppose it is more realistic.
*I am not the biggest fan of the camera movement. I will admit it got easier for me when I stopped trying to make it work like the sims 3 and just moved like it was designed but it's still cumbersome. Also, I've always been in the habit of tapping the edges of the screen to move the camera and that process is really, really slow. Not my favorite feature but it's functional. Also, I really miss tilt. I don't want to bother forcing this game to function like the sims 3 - it should have a tilt function.
*Moving around when in buy/build mode. I can't move around my house to add items in different rooms without a item being picked up. Why? Because with the way movement has been setup for sims 4, unless you change it to sims 3 functionality, you pretty much move around the best when you left click and pull/push. However, when you are in buy/build mode and you want to move and click on a rug, well you are moving but so is the darned rug.
*Not a huge fan of all the lists. Talking to someone with several different interactions is always like a hide and seek game. Flirting? Need to make sure when you click on that other sim again you go for more choices and reselect Romance every time - and sometimes it just isn't there! I've been having issues making good relationships for this reason. I'm getting used to it. Need more game time.
*Wedding venues - I'm disappointed that yet again you cannot take your own items to setup for a wedding at a location other than your home. Want a bar? Better make sure the venue you pick already has it because otherwise you won't have any drinks. Location must have a kitchen or your caterer is useless. Pretty much no location is going to have a wedding arch. Why on earth can't you just set up those standard items wherever you plan on having it? There should be exceptions for parties and venues. I'm sick of having home weddings all the time.
Things I am hoping for in the future
*I'd really, really like business functionality like we saw in sims 2. I LOVED the open for business expansion and being able to actually run it everyday. I was very disappointed with sims 3 when it wasn't there and considering all the mixed aspects of the previous three versions existing in sims 4 I have a small glimmer of hope it might actually come out as an expansion.
*Toddlers. Really? The big thing for a lot of players are legacies and generations - lose a LOT of that depth without toddlers.
*Pools. OMG. Pools are awesome. Hopefully they are just waiting for a special expansion to release them. (On that note, is it just me or are the base games showing less and less basic functions that later come out in expansions? Really, I have to pay 20-40 bucks just to use a hot tub or pool?
*Camera tilt. I don't see any reason why the functionality of sims 4 couldn't have included camera tilt or why it couldn't be included in an expansion or patch.
I'm sure there are more but that's all that I can think of at the moment. I haven't been able to log too many hours yet due to work. (Why oh why couldn't it come out on Labor Day when I was OFF and could play ALL DAY?)
EA Staff (Retired)
