I really like the game, to the point that I have a hard time tearing myself away from it.
I really like the multitasking, because in Sims 3 it drove me nuts that my Sims had to wait around forever for someone to stop eating so they could talk. I love the new moods and that you can change a character's mood by choosing a certain type of shower, letting them do something they love, etc.
The small neighborhood sizes don't bother me too much. My Sim wants to be a musician, so I've sent him to the park with his guitar several times, and sent another Sim to the nightclub, and that's enough for me. Even though there are loading screens, you can still go visit your neighbors, which I think is pretty cool.
For those who complain their Sims have no time after work, one of mine is in the Culinary career track, so she can get ahead by cooking every day. By doing that I accidentally found a way to save time. I had her cook enough food to feed the family for a week and put it in the refrigerator. Now when my other Sims come home from work, they just grab a plate from the fridge and eat, then have plenty of time to do other stuff.
There are a couple of things I think could be improved though.
1. I agree with other people who have said the characters' interactions are too low-key, to the point they don't seem to react to each other at all. For example, I had my Sim throw a party, and purposely invited a Sim whom his sister had just had a very unpleasant altercation with at the nightclub as well as his crush, hoping to stir up some drama. The sister started talking to the girl she fought with like nothing had happened, so I tried having her flirt with her brother's crush at the same time as he was. No reaction from her brother, no anger that his sister was trying to steal his crush, the three of them kept talking like nothing had happened. I think that needs to be fixed ASAP, because it just doesn't make sense. Besides, the gameplay would be a lot more interesting if we could stir up drama between characters this way.
2. We desperately need more hairstyles. Some of my Sims do not look much at all like the people they're modeled after because of the hair issues. I'd love to have highlights back. I want my blond Sim to have brown roots since her hair is dyed, but I can't. (This is obviously more minor than the emotion issue but it's still irritating.)
3. The Loner trait is driving me nuts. I have a Sim who is both a Loner and a Romantic, so she constantly wants to flirt but every time I take her anywhere to meet people, she gets tense from having to socialize. Since the Chat feature on the computer doesn't seem to actually get her to meet anyone, I can't seem to make her meet anyone without her having a meltdown over having to talk to people.
4. Speaking of traits, we need more of them. I wish there was a middle ground between Good and Evil, for one thing. I have some Sims who are basically do-gooders but aren't above doing shady things for a good reason, and I can't find any traits to capture this. I also miss the Daredevil trait from Sims 3, and would love to have a Mischevious trait, which I guess is what Goofball is supposed to be. Also I'd like there to be a Worrier trait and some kind of trait for people who feel the need to control others but aren't really Evil. And as far as Aspirations, some of my Sims don't really fit any of the current ones. What about someone whose main aspiration is to help others (which would go with the Good trait)? And finally, even though some traits may seem like opposites, they don't have to be. I don't like that a Sim can't be Good AND Mean, like they want to do good things for others but they have a mouth on them.
5. I agree with whoever said that we should have MORE stages of life, not less. I miss the toddlers even though in Sims 3 for some reason all my adults were freaked out when the toddler cried, so the babysitter would put his hands over his ears and not do anything about feeding or changing the kid and so would the parents when they came home, and I had to reset the poor little one all the time to keep him from dying of neglect. Anyway, I've long thought we should have little kid, pre-teen, older teen, and young adult, middle aged adult, older adult, elder.
6. This is a tiny thing, but I didn't realize my children had homework in their inventories until I clicked on inventory by accident.
7. MORE CAREERS!!! I especially miss the medical career. I also miss the University, though I'm sure that will be in an EP down the line.
I know this list is long but I really do like the game!!! I've been playing non-stop since I got it.
EA Staff (Retired)
