The Sims 1, 2, 3, 4 Gameplay
The first game that I ever played from The Sims Franchise was The Sims 2. I also played The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 and much later The Sims 1. Because I played the later games before the original, I never really got into The Sims 1. All I could tell was that The Sims 2 gameplay was vastly superior to The Sims 1 namely because of aspirations, wants, fears, family trees, generational gameplay, aging and a full 3D view. And it was those things that got me excited about The Sims 2, and so Dad got The Sims 2 for me. I could have chosen The Sims Complete Collection at the time, but the problem was, the lack of an aging system and generational gameplay turned me off right away. I didn't care much for the stuff or content, but the possible longevity of a game, and I thought a game that could go on for generations seemed more worthy than something that could only be played for 1 generation.
Anyway, even when I later played The Sims 1 Complete Collection, I never really got into it as much as the others and couldn't really play more than a few minutes into it. It felt like The Sims 2 base game, but much worse. It was kind of cool that The Sims 1 had a roller coaster, but then I could just spend some money at the Sims 3 Store for a roller coaster and put that in my Roaring Heights world; and the 3D view made all the difference. Plus, it wasn't really Roller Coaster Tycoon in which I could design my own roller coaster; it was The Sims, and I could just ride on the roller coaster object.
With that said, I see The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 as very similar life simulation games, and as life simulation games, they are more about how the objects and the environment and the people affect the Sims' stats.
The Sims 3 is where I see a completely different outlook. This time, the game takes on a more RPG style of play. There is still some life simulation in the game, as the objects and environment and social relationships do have an effect on the Sims, but the wishes and the opportunities essentially drive the gameplay, and the gameplay becomes more about personal achievements in life (what you can do in life) as opposed to interactions with different things around you.
The Sims 4 takes on The Sims 3's RPG playstyle in a closed world, but unlike the Sims 2 closed world, the Sims will all be moving around (similar to Sims 3). It seems as if you can only control 1 Sim at a time or focus on 1 Sim instead of a household of Sims. If you choose to focus on an entire household of 8 Sims, only one Sim may achieve all the aspiration goals/career goals/whims/holiday goals/event goals but the other Sims may remain unfulfilled. Also, The Sims 3 wants are highly progressive, getting harder as you fulfill them, and The Sims 2 wants and fears are actually related to the Sim's stats. In The Sims 4, all Sims will get pretty much the same buy whims, and the skill-related wants aren't really progressive. So, the gameplay will feel the same, and the only thing that actually changes would be the Sim's aspiration goals, career goals, and event/season goals. Aside from those things, the Sims themselves feel the same. So, the game becomes more of a "how the player can progress along this career or this aspiration" or "how the player goes through life". A highly player-driven playstyle instead of a Sim-driven playstyle. I think The Sims 4 would be ideal for someone who wants to recreate his or her SimSelf accurately in CAS, build a cute house, and live in it and go through life. Only 1 Sim is the star of the show at one time, while the other Sims are background actors.
To sum up, The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 would be experimental life simulation games. Do this, and this will happen. Do that, and that will happen. Realize a fear, and see that Sim fall into aspiration failure and meet the therapist.
The Sims 3 would be a goal-oriented RPG life simulation game.
The Sims 4 would be a one-Sim RPG life simulation game. The game seems to be made for one-Sim playstyles, in which the player only controls one Sim at a time.
Anyway, even when I later played The Sims 1 Complete Collection, I never really got into it as much as the others and couldn't really play more than a few minutes into it. It felt like The Sims 2 base game, but much worse. It was kind of cool that The Sims 1 had a roller coaster, but then I could just spend some money at the Sims 3 Store for a roller coaster and put that in my Roaring Heights world; and the 3D view made all the difference. Plus, it wasn't really Roller Coaster Tycoon in which I could design my own roller coaster; it was The Sims, and I could just ride on the roller coaster object.
With that said, I see The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 as very similar life simulation games, and as life simulation games, they are more about how the objects and the environment and the people affect the Sims' stats.
The Sims 3 is where I see a completely different outlook. This time, the game takes on a more RPG style of play. There is still some life simulation in the game, as the objects and environment and social relationships do have an effect on the Sims, but the wishes and the opportunities essentially drive the gameplay, and the gameplay becomes more about personal achievements in life (what you can do in life) as opposed to interactions with different things around you.
The Sims 4 takes on The Sims 3's RPG playstyle in a closed world, but unlike the Sims 2 closed world, the Sims will all be moving around (similar to Sims 3). It seems as if you can only control 1 Sim at a time or focus on 1 Sim instead of a household of Sims. If you choose to focus on an entire household of 8 Sims, only one Sim may achieve all the aspiration goals/career goals/whims/holiday goals/event goals but the other Sims may remain unfulfilled. Also, The Sims 3 wants are highly progressive, getting harder as you fulfill them, and The Sims 2 wants and fears are actually related to the Sim's stats. In The Sims 4, all Sims will get pretty much the same buy whims, and the skill-related wants aren't really progressive. So, the gameplay will feel the same, and the only thing that actually changes would be the Sim's aspiration goals, career goals, and event/season goals. Aside from those things, the Sims themselves feel the same. So, the game becomes more of a "how the player can progress along this career or this aspiration" or "how the player goes through life". A highly player-driven playstyle instead of a Sim-driven playstyle. I think The Sims 4 would be ideal for someone who wants to recreate his or her SimSelf accurately in CAS, build a cute house, and live in it and go through life. Only 1 Sim is the star of the show at one time, while the other Sims are background actors.
To sum up, The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 would be experimental life simulation games. Do this, and this will happen. Do that, and that will happen. Realize a fear, and see that Sim fall into aspiration failure and meet the therapist.
The Sims 3 would be a goal-oriented RPG life simulation game.
The Sims 4 would be a one-Sim RPG life simulation game. The game seems to be made for one-Sim playstyles, in which the player only controls one Sim at a time.
