I want to start this post by saying “I am a Sims junkie and have a problem”. In all seriousness, I have played The Sims from the beginning. I own and have played the majority of the expansion packs. Needless to say, I was super excited to see the release of the 4th installment of the Sims franchise.
The Sims 4 gives the ability to make very unique characters and houses. The Create A Sim tool has the new ability to click and drag individual body parts to change dimensions and sizes. CAS also includes the ability to select a hat for a sim and not change the hairstyle selected. Clothing combination is also more customized so boots automatically are placed over tight jeans or under dresses and looser pants. Another nifty new feature is the ability to try a premade style. Great for those who just want to get into the game play quickly.
Build mode gives the new ability to buy a premade room. Once a room is purchased, the room’s dimensions can be modified by dragging walls. If rooms are placed side by side, walls automatically join. Another new feature is the ability to view the rooms by color scheme. This feature helps ensure that items placed in the room will have the same color scheme. Build mode also allows the player to modify foundation and the roof without losing or changing anything previously created.
The Sims 4 introduces a wider variety of emotions. These emotions are triggered by their surroundings and incidences that occur in their daily lives. For example, utilizing the ‘Try on Outfits’ option in the mirror will increase flirty moodlets. The emotions also have a significant influence on what interactions are available with objects and other Sims. A sim in a happier emotional state or with more positive moodlets are more likely to progress faster and better than a sim in an angry or sad emotional state. Emotional response and mechanics of the sims in The Sims 4 closer mimics real life emotions than the previous Sims games. Sims also have the ability to multitask such as playing with their phone while watching TV.
In comparison to previous Sims games, The Sims 4 seems to have faster load times. To visit other lots, you now have to load to the lot instead of watching your sim travel to the other lot (The Sims 3). When visiting a nightclub, I had to load to visit the museum that was right next door instead of watching the sim walk next door. The Sims 4 is also lacking grocery stores, hospitals, stadiums, school, and work locations in comparison to its predecessor.
The Sims 4 also lacks the ability to personalize carpets and clothing. There isn’t a Create-A-Style tool available. This makes the game feel more limited in my opinion. The Sims 4 also lacks pools and the toddler age stage but I wouldn’t be surprised if those were added in an expansion pack later on.
The Sims 4 also included rewards for owning and registering The Sims 3 on PC through Origin. The reward objects are Plumbob light statues that have an effect on the Sims emotions and personalities by providing either a moodlet enhancing boost (such as focusing, inspiring, playful, confident, and romantic) or an environment boost.
Overall the sims are really unique in The Sims 4. For me, the replay value is very low at the moment because the game feels striped in comparison to The Sims 3. The rewards for purchasing so many expansion packs for previous installments of the sims games are mildly disappointing as well.
