So I've been playing The Sims since generation one. When the first Sims game came out, I was hooked from the very beginning. The game was amazing, and as you can guess I would beg my parents each time a new expansion pack came out. Then Sims 2 came out and it only got better. The Sims looked great and were way updated since the first games. They had more personality and even more character. There was more story into the game as well. What made it so great was that it was a huge leap from the first generation. I also still feel it's the better game of the series. When Sims 3 was announced I was totally excited and bought it the first day it came out. However, after playing it took me awhile to really warm up to it. For one, while the Sims looked alright they lacked the character that the Sims 2 had and it felt like a step back (except for the open world, and Create a Sims ). There just wasn't as much personality or anything that made The Sims, The Sims. The base game also lacked a good amount of content as well. When you go from playing a lot of expansions to a base game (which is suppose be the bare minimum anyways) it can feel a bit disappointing. Though After playing around with it, and when more expansions came out I fell in love all over again. Eventually it become a small step forward and just as good as it's pervious generations. I love the mechanics of The Sims 3 and it's playing style. Sure The Sims could of used more personality, but the game makes up for that as a whole. It's a great game and while Sims 2 is still the best, Sims 3 gives it a run for it's money.
So now that I have written my experience with The SIMS, on to the Sims 4
I've been reading a lot of bad reviews for the game. I do feel some are warranted. Maybe like the Sims 3 it just takes some warming up to. There are things left out of the game that there were in pervious base games. Also things seem to have gone backwards instead of forwards. This isn't too bad if your a first time Sims player, but if your a die hard Sims fan it can make the game feel unfinished. There are also a few other things which I feel the game lacks, but I'll get to that later. So first what's good about the game ?
1. Build Mode and Create a Sim:
This is the strongest part of the game and a huge step forward. It's easy to create, customize, and change things around. No more destroying entire rooms just to move a part of your house (or even your entire house :smile: ). It's just click and drag. Also if you just want to get into the gameplay without the hassle of building your own home you can place already built rooms and piece them together. This is great whether your a new player just starting out, or just someone who's familiar to the series looking for a quick way to jump into the game. There's also a ton of build mode content which wasn't in previous games. Create a Sim is just as well designed. Once again Just click and drag. It's pretty easy to create any kind of person you want down to their walking style. However things like horoscopes, favorite foods, and favorite music has been left out. Least for now. Everything in Create a Sim and Build Mode is all pretty well cataloged though, which makes finding anything easy.
2. The Sims Emotions:
I love this. While the 3rd generation lacked personality and character, these Sims seem to have lots. It's clear that the Sims team put a lot of focus into the Sims themselves, which is where the focus should be. It's pretty fun to watch the different interactions. The way the Sims can multitask and interact with one another in groups is also pretty great. While not entirely unfaulty (Do to the lack of story progression in the world), It will still be interesting to keep on playing and see how things play out. I can bet it will only get better as more expansions get released.
3. Hidden Locations:
In pervious generations when your Sims found a secret location you could never actually travel there with them. In Sims 4 you can! I hope that's a trend that will continue.
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What's bad about the game ?
1. The Camera and Controls
The camera and controls take some time to adjust to. Infact I'm still having trouble with them. If I ever stop playing the Sims 4 it would be because of the controls. It might just be the fact I'm using a laptop without a mouse. Still I never had any of the same problems with The Sims 3.
2. No open World:
This was hugely disappointing. Again If your a first time Sims player or only played the older generations this isn't too bothersome. For those who have played Sims 3 it can take away from the game play. While the loading screens aren't long, it's just distracting and a step back from what Sims 3 players are accustomed to. Want to walk your Sim over to the house next door ? Can't without a loading screen first. Also watching your Sim disappear into thin air for work seems painfully outdated. Things in the world just feel too small and you don't get much space to start out with. There are only a few places you can build and you can't edit in the world. However maybe without a open world there will be more room for less rabbit holes and more time for more interesting more interactive environments.
3. Too many things were left out of the base game:
No Pools, No toddlers ( Just babies treated like objects), No terraforming, No create a Style, and a lack of basic NPCS. The list goes on and on. I'm sure Maxis had it's reasons. I know for one Create a Style created a huge problem for Maxis, but it was still a valued part of the game. It's a huge loss and without it things feel limited. This is generation 4, so there is no need to cut back on what is already Sim game basics. The game is too high a price to be leaving out so much. They will either keep it out entirely, or plan to charge for it later in countless other *Familiar* expansion packs. Shame on you Maxis.
4. The Graphic Style
While not the worst, I felt there was a lack of textures in the environment which should of been added (hair and grass for example).This is probably do the fact that Maxis wanted to the game to be able to run on most computers. Fair enough, but why couldn't they have made it equal to Sims 3 ? They still could have gone for stylized realism, but made it a little better and more polished. It wouldn't have required any more than what people are already running. I understand a huge complaint was that at the time Sims 3 was rough on some computers, but I'm pretty sure now most computers can run Sims 3 just fine.
5. Running off of Origin:
The fact that you can't load the game without logging into origin is kind of a pain. This is especially true if you have multiple computers in the household. I have a younger brother, so if one of us wants to play the game the other can't. People might hate me for it, but I liked the launcher in Sims 3.
6. You can't turn off the tutorial:
There is no in game way to turn off the tutorial. This get's annoying pretty fast. The only way to shut it off is to go through Origin somehow.
EA Staff (Retired)
