For more than a month now since it released on September 2, The Sims 4 fans and players enjoy posting their videos, pictures and even share the stories of their gameplay online for other gamers and non gamers to see. While most of the avid Simmers most of whom were faithful The Sims series gamers already hooked up to the game, there are a handful of skeptics who are still cautious in buying and/or playing the game due to some factors such as price, content and issues.
When it was released, people were aghast about its steep price saying they can't afford a game that expensive and a little more bucks more than the previous game in the series. I think that people are concerned about it due to the fact that the developers of the game made some compromise in lieu of some of the new twists in the game thus is the justification I think and that the game is still new to the market the price is reasonable. After quite sometime, the price of the game will plummet significantly.
Most of the avid fans of the game are concerned much of the game's content and after its release, lots of backlash took place and complains flooded EA about the absence of key game contents such as the swimming pool, toddlers and an open world where Sims can roam around their hometown without loading screens and also stuffs in buy mode such as dishwashers, sprinklers etc. There is even a petition launched by Sims fans to bring back these contents. Because of this, The Sims 4 suffered serious low ratings review from some prestigious Game Critics and Reviewers with an average of 6.5 out of 10. EA producer Rachel Rubin Franklin admitted later that the reason for the compromise is the developer's focus on The Sims 4's new core game engine technologies. However on October 1, 2014 Maxis confirmed that some features like the swimming pools and ghosts will be back and new careers will be added through a free patch updates. Good thing they listen to their solid fans.
For me, the biggest concern would be the issues, glitches, bugs and errors a player will encounter during the game. This will seriously affect gameplay, its attributes and the game's entertainment value. The many issues and glitches experienced by the players that were reported to EA was due to the fact that the game were rushed to beat the deadline for its release this September 1 so they miss to fix some bugs, glitches and errors of the game but these days they strive hard and work overtime to fix these issues. Good thing for the gamers so they could enjoy playing the game nonstop.
For the meantime here's what I think about the game based on the videos, pictures and post I've seen and read online before my turn to play it. This is my initial pre gameplay review:
Create A Style Demo - EA and Maxis released this free demo for all the fans to check one feature of the new game in the series. The create a style demo allows a player to create a Sim to his or her liking by modifying a Sim's body, face, outfits and even adding the all new emotions and aspirations for some twists and some touches of traits (although they reduce it to 3 this time plus a bonus trait from aspiration making it 4) in which all the three attributes greatly influence how your Sim behave, act and interact with other Sims and of course another all-new walking style for your Sim for some attitude! There is a big improvement in modifying the body. A player can move the cursor to the body parts and it will highlight which areas of the body can still be modified. You can expand or compress their head, make it broad or narrow their shoulder, give them biceps or make them skinny, big or small breast for men and women, small or big butt and for some touches add some tattoos for some personality. Make-up is still there and add some accessories to make a customized Sims to define their uniqueness and individuality. Since this DEMO is just an initial preview of EA for its fans to have a sneak peak of what's in store in the game, the full feature of CAS will be available on the game. However I think EA could have included all the life stages or at least a kid in the demo with only limits on outfit and accessories so we will know what to expect in the full version.
Origin - In the previous series, if you want to download and learn about other fellow Sims player's creations and stories or vice versa you need to log in to The Sims Exchange, the official community page of The Sims series to be able to do that as well as meet and make friends with them halting your gameplay temporary. In Sims 4, with the digital distribution software Origin (formerly EA Download Manager) downloading, uploading and sharing stories has never been this easier because it is integrated directly into the game. It means that during the gameplay beside the build mode in the upper right corner of your gameplay screen is the option for The Sims community wherein you can download creations, make friends and share stories or otherwise, upload your own. This one is a brilliant idea that EA got it right.
Build Mode - I love it where for the fact that EA made a big leap forward on this one and has a significant innovation than in the previous series of the game. What I'm talking about is the sorting of things to build. A player can now choose to build by room or by parts or area. If a player is too hasty to pick each and every item in a room his household needed then he can buy an entire room with all the stuffs necessary or he/she chooses to build an individual parts or area and buy individual stuffs. I love this buying an entire room since it minimizes your time spending on the look out for things you need consuming only a fraction of your gameplay. If you don't find it necessary to buy an entire room, one can build each and every area to create a magnificent abode a stylish structure standout among the neighborhood. To compliment your home, there are some stuffs you can purchase to fill the house and the good news, there are lots of new cool and fun stuff to purchase some of which are unlockables specific your Sim's career, skill or aspiration. This is another reason I love this game. It never fails to surprise us with new things to play around.
Graphics and Sound - Another innovation of the Maxis and EA is the graphic animation. The animation in Sims 4 is better that looks like the animated films nowadays a far cry from the animations in the previous series. I also love the sound which is cooler and relaxing now than ever. Now for the fun part however is the gameplay. With a lot of skills and new careers to complete, playing Sims 4 is a bit more challenging now than ever excluding all the cheats and mods. For some twists, in Sims 4 the traits (which has some new cool introductions) together with the all-new emotions and the aspirations will now directly influence how your Sims will behave, act in a certain situation and condition and how they interact with other Sims . In other words, your Sims has a mind and feelings on their own now and sometimes it will surprise you on their actions and behaviors. This is where I will enjoy it most.
After seeing several of the gameplay I can say that Sims 4 is worth the bucks and worth your time playing. As the shortcomings is being addressed, the fun of this game endless as new things are added from time to time through patches or game updates. I can say now that The Sims 4 is an above average game I can't wait to play. I will give it 8 out of 10 for now. Till my gameplay review, Happy and Enjoy Simming everyone!
Source:
Carl The Sims 4 Guide
The Sims 4 Wikia
The Sims 4 Wiki
Sims VIP Community
Photo Sources:
The Sims 4 forum at thesims.com
EA The Sims 4 Forum
IGN.com
