Up next in my list of the disappointing games of 2014 (so far) is 'The Sims 4'; a game that was quite simply a step back in the much beloved series of life simulation games. Players have been dissatisfied with the conduct of EA for quite a while and the release of SimCity 2013 did nothing to quench that, Sims 4 was due to be EAs next big thing but, sadly, cracks were already starting to appear as more and more details about the game were leaked.
Fans were furious at the lack of toddlers, dishwashers and swimming pools, a fair enough complaint, though they’d probably have been released as an expansion pack that's still beside the point as they're all revenue chasing scoundrels etc. etc. But, ultimately, I would have gotten over it if the rest of the game was fantastic. However, it's not, and there are problems that destroy what made 'The Sims' such a fantastic series of games and which consequentially renders the game unplayable for someone like myself.
#3: The Sims 4
Developer: EA Maxis and The Sims Studio
Genre: Simulation
Release date: September 4/5th 2014
Platforms: Microsoft Windows
ESRB: T - Teen
To begin with, 'The Sims 4' has an extremely tiny world map that is ugly, unrealistic and uncharacteristically limited for a modern-gen Sims game. For instance, you can only visit one small section at a time that consists of roughly 5 lots and where the rest of what you see are all decorative areas, often with rather flat graphics when you go too far out, and none of which you can visit from this location. To visit other buildings such as next door you must go through a loading screen which is unusual, considering the size and scale of the 'Sims 3' neighbourhoods that were utterly seamless and without a single loading screen. Even stranger, in the Sims 4 the Sims no longer progress but simply age; a strange mixture of the previous two games resulting in a map of dead Sims that never did anything with their lives, I could reflect on the realism of that but it’s probably best I don’t.
Whilst I disliked the constant evolving world of the Sims 3 as it allowed me little to no control over my entire neighbourhood, this is not what I wanted. What is the point in allowing time to progress for aging only? For some reason the dynamic story progression has been stripped and yet the micro-management style Sims 2 neighbourhoods are a no-go here either since everybody would be dead by the time you go to play them. For those attempting to play a thriving neighbourhood of individual personalities and complex relationships; that’s not going to happen, for those who enjoy an almost obsessive system of creating perfect Sims and perfect houses… you too will be disappointed.
Whilst the designing of houses is ever so slightly superior to the Sims 3 and a few new additions have been slapped in like picking a whole room up and plopping it somewhere else, everything else is basically the same, but with a lot less objects and a limit of just 3 floors. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the build mode and it looks like it’s been refreshed for the new game but that’s kind of it really, things which I used to enjoy have been removed like terrain tools and the infamous ‘create-a-style’ feature which I fell in love with after I finally got used to it. The major problem lies with a lack of choice in objects and everything tends to feel extremely bare and a bit boxy due to the new furniture styles that make me feel as though I'm playing in a plastic dollhouse.Your options when creating a sim are limited as well with significantly less clothing and hair options to previous base games and whilst the intuitive click and drag style of designing the shape of your Sims features is a fantastic edition there exists gaping hole where so many features have been removed. Features such as body hair, favourite food/music/colour, multi-toned hair, skin sliders, zodiac signs and a few others have been taken out of the game for which is a blow for those who enjoyed that added level of personalization.
The Sims 4 is not a 'bad game' by a long shot and for those who are first coming into the series it will seem fantastic as the Sims series has always been at the front of life simulation games. However, for long standing fans of the series it will feel as though the game has been severely crippled with the game not taking advantage of more than 4GB of RAM and with dozens and dozens of removed features. I truly wanted to love this game as there are some fantastic additions such as multi-tasking, moods and an overall re-vamped apperance of the Sims themselves. Whilst there are plenty of good aspects it’s overall lesser quality results in a game that's been needlessly stripped back, emptied of content and severely simplified. As usual, I guess we'll have to wait for a dozen or so expansion packs to render this game playable yet with unavoidable problems like an excessive number of loading screens and extremely tiny maps I know that for many this is simply not good enough.
The Good:
- New UI is less invasive and nicely toned down
- The Sims themselves look brilliant, flawlessly animated, very emotional.
- If you enjoy the style, the graphics look amazing
- Sims are more intelligent with a lot more personality
- Build Mode is somewhat improved
- Less juggling of motives
- Charming in places
- Some interesting and quirky bits of content
- No Create-a-style
- An excessive number of loading screens for every little detail
- Sims just disappear whenever they leave the house to go to work.
- A lack of content in buy mode.
- Unrealistic, small world map.
- Create-A-Sim has a lot less options such as clothing/hair/extras
- A very limited and restricted world that feels empty constantly
- Anti-climatic life events that have very little effect on your Sim
- These 89 removed features
Final Thoughts: "As many have said, this feels a lot like Sims 2.5 and whilst I prefer a lack of story progression I don't see the point in restricting playable areas to just 5 or 6 lots. I used to enjoy Sims for the creativity and perfectionism it allowed me but now there's very little opportunity to create my perfect world."
