My blast from the past doesn’t go any further than 3 years into the sims 3. Which is only recent, relatively speaking.
A couple of months ago I began playing around with Sims 2 and although I’ve experienced some great things about it, I can’t form a clear opinion on this one just yet. I simply do not have the insight into the entire franchise like many of you do.
However, I’m able to compare TS4 to TS3. I own all TS3 EPs, most stuff packs ( bar outdoor, diesel and Katy’s lollipop shop) and all of the store’s premium gameplay items and worlds.
The list of features that I believe are missing in TS4 is still extremely long. Although it’s doing great in some areas, Sims 4 should have done a lot of things better than the previous installment(s), but couldn’t.
I believe the performance issues in TS3 were such a shock to the ‘system’ and the fact that TS4 was meant to be online, resulted in a lot of interesting gameplay elements being cut out of the TS4 scenario. The semi open world still feels limited and it’s a shame there are no dive lots, swimmable oceans or a bunch of Sloppy Jalopy’s to drive around in.
I personally think TS4 looks beautiful and has the best BB and CAS despite the lack of highly requested options. I don’t mind that this is the experimental title of the franchise and unlike many, I can actually enjoy the niche, occult or story based Gamepacks.
Unfortunately too many core features and simple little details (bed snuggling indeed) that should make this game feel more like a life simulator, are still missing. It really comes down to the sims themselves. So much focus went into their emotion system, but it didn’t make them any more intelligent. On the contrary, they’re as daft as a rabbit hole witch broom. But then again, TS4 is not really about the sims themselves anymore. It’s about the pretty but limited worlds they live in and the rather limited things they can do in those worlds. Horse.
I admit, I’m still having fun, but I agree that this title is nowhere near up to the standard one would expect it to be after 20 years of sims.
That being said, once there is a body hair update I won’t complain anymore.
