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the sims 4
Winter Break Sims 4 Binge
8:43 PM
I've been playing The Sims 4 pretty much non-stop since fall semester ended almost a week or two ago. As soon as I started playing, I got hooked, and ended up buying more expansion packs and stuff packs than I really ever intended...whether that's a good or bad thing, who knows. But hey, at least I've had something to keep me busy this winter break!
I currently own The Sims 4, Get Together expansion pack, Spa Day and Outdoor Retreat game packs, and the Perfect Patio Stuff stuff pack. I'm debating on spending more Christmas money on getting the Get to Work...but I'm waiting so patiently for pets and weather to be implemented.
Despite the game being fun, there are still some things I like and dislike about the entire setup. Since I've currently got nothing better to talk about, I'm going to share them with you. Now keep in mind, all of this is explicitly my opinion. These pros and cons may not be the same pros and cons everyone else shares with me. I'll start with the things I do like about the game:
PROS
- Emotions are better than ever. It's like the creators finally figured out what exactly they were trying to do with the whole moodlets thing in Sims 3.
- Performance is amazing. Zero to no lag.
- You can change aspirations at any time and not lose progress...seriously, it feels more real this way. Even if a human has one specific dream, there are always other goals set aside that a human being has. Why should a Sim stick to one thing the entire time?
- Open world is gone. Yay, no more bugging out!
- On the top of open world being gone, if you leave a lot you have the opportunity to switch back to Sims at home in order to play them. Or they can take care of themselves. It's like a mix of the first-ever Sims game and The Sims 3 in one.
- Jobs are kind of split into "careers" and "jobs". Careers are what you initially chose as your job, and then you can split off. Each has two separate branches.
- Basements come straight with the game.
- A lot more random Sims in public areas. Good for interactions and makes going to visit lots more fun.
- Multitasking is a thing!!! I was stunned when my Sim suddenly started reading while on the pot...
- Animations are cleaner. Sims themselves don't look weird...especially NPCs ha.
- User interface is less obtrusive.
- The Gallery is awesome and it's easier to work with. Content can be downloaded in basically the time it takes to count to three. And nothing special is needed.
- Breastfeeding is a thing. Hell yeah! Go EA!
- Game is pretty much so user friendly that this is the first time I have ever sat down at a Sims game and not felt the need to cheat.
- You an seamlessly switch between towns to build and edit as well as to have your Sims move or visit just for a day. It's really quite amazing.
- CAS sculpting of Sims is actually a lot nicer than the old slider and premade versions. Sims come off seeming a bit cartoon-y, but compared to The Sims 3 they actually feel a lot more real and look real.
- Achievement system is a lot better. For both the player and the Sims. It also gives the player a direction so the game doesn't end up feeling too repetitive after playing for so long.
CONS
- Artificial intelligence is a little...ehm...lacking? I tell a Sim to do something and they have to stand there and think for almost 10 years (exaggeration here, but sometimes it can almost max 5 Sim minutes) before they actually do the thing.
- Zero to no lag however load time can get to be pretty crazy. More so when you're switching lots than during loading-in.
- Open world is gone. I missed the social interactions and nosiness of neighbors. Yeah, it's nice to have a lot that's "off limits" like most houses in real life are...but people don't even randomly ring your doorbell anymore unless you know them.
- Less jobs available. Even though I don't have Get to Work as an expansion, as far as I'm aware it only adds about 3 more jobs, so...not that impressive.
- User interface is less obtrusive but it's also...everywhere at the same time? In my opinion, anyway. If that even makes sense. I miss having everything at basically one side of the screen. Whereas now it's all across the bottom of the screen and I have to keep one of the top camera menus open.
- Tilting and rotating is pretty crappy. Tilt doesn't even exist on The Sims 4. Luckily, they've implemented a Sims 3 camera mode but it's just not quite there...or the same.
- No customization available. Funky hairstyles are limited. Furniture colors are limited. You can't really design objects to make them yours or fit your Sims. Whatever colors and designs are available are all the options you have.
- Rooms look boring because of the above statement along with the fact that there aren't many items.
- 2D map view in town mode. Even The Sims 2 wasn't that far behind in the times. Seriously, man?
- Speaking of town mode. Towns are so limited in space that it's seriously disgusting!
- Build & Buy mode is combined and kind of too simplistic for my taste. It's so easy to work with that it's difficult, I guess is a good way to put it.
- Some options are missing in build mode. Especially in the landscaping area with the ground paints.
- Toddlers are missing. Such an important life phase that I'm sure everyone is oh so tired of hearing about it not being in the game. Well, here's another person on the complaints list. TODDLERS ARE MISSING. WHY?
- Besides in CAS mode, customization options are lacking.
All in all, The Sims 3 is still my favorite and The Sims 4 definitely needs some more expansion packs. I haven't even had Get Together (the newest one as of this month) for that long and I'm already considering buying Get to Work, and from what I've read it's not even that spectacular of an expansion. Sigh. We'll see.
I know the game is still new-ish, technically. A year old now? I also know expansions take time, money, and a lot of work. But I hope that the creators are working diligently and fast to create more expansions that aren't buggy and bring new content to the game. I'm really hoping for some weather and pets to spice things up and bring in new social interactions soonish. Because while groups are amazing on Get Together, they don't add that much of a new element. Sure, there's fun things to do with them, cool hangouts, specific social interactions, and overall clubs have needs and interactions. But it just feels like a more needy child version of the "form a group" action.
Sims 4 definitely has its perks, though. The fact that it's seamless is one of them, and also the fact that the creators finally seemed to figure out what they were doing with moodlets, aspirations, and achievements is really nice. I do enjoy the game. I'm stuck between the simplicity of The Sims 4 and the complexity of The Sims 3.
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