A Rant-y and Rave-y Review of the Sims 4!

HEY! You there... are you a simmer? Thinking about becoming one now that the 4th installment is here? Well, I have some good and not-so-good news for you. Also, a first-glance review! So, stick around!

Let's get started on my review of the Sims 4. I always like to get the not-so-good stuff out of the way. First downside to this game is the price. Right out of the gate, EA is going to take you for at least 60 simoleans. (See what I did there? Get used to it.) That's quite high for a base Sims game. If I remember correctly back to the release of 3, it was only $40. I, being the llama I am, bought into my own hype and paid $80 for the super-duper extra awesome version, which literally comes with a "creator's guide" that actually guides you through nothing, two digital content packs, and some goofy animal beanies. I am certainly not looking forward to how much they are going to charge players for the expansion packs when those begin rolling out.

Another negative is the fact that they have reduced the amount of cool stuff from the 3rd one. Okay, I'll explain this in a second, but EA, lemme just pull you aside here: When you make a brand new, exciting version of a game that people have been playing for over 10 years, make it bigger and better. Yes, yes, the Create-A-Sim is pretty bad ass, but that is no excuse for taking the best aspects of the older games out of the new one. Period. Okay, back to what I mean. They greatly reduced the neighborhood size and lot/house options. I'm talking like, 10 options tops for places to live in a town, and maybe 4 or 5 of those for starter homes. And, the neighborhood lots SUCK! There are 4 places to visit and a park. That's it. No markets, you buy groceries as you make recipes. (Which I kind of dig.) No theaters, no driving around. (I don't think there are cars. WTF? Someone correct me if I am wrong here.) I am tempted to go back to 3 just for the capability to actually explore a damn neighborhood. Then, there's the lack of being able to fully customize the clothing/items/decor. That was one of my FAVORITE things about 3! WHY did EA scrap that?! Also, and this is kind of a 'meh' gripe, I feel there are a lot less household items. I would like more style options. I know, EA, you'll give them to us, but we'll have to buy them in stuff packs and DLC. Ugh.

Enough with the negative, let's talk about what I do like. I like the fully interactive CAS (Create-A-Sim). I like the drag and pull method of customizing a sim's body. I love the choices of outfit items and enjoy the hair. But, here again, I would've liked to have seen more color/pattern customization. I also like the fact that you can choose the way a Sim walks as a default. (Their walk changes by their mood, or if they are tired.) You can also choose how they sound when they talk, which actually sounds different between the options, unlike the Sims 3 voice sliders. I feel like there could have been more aspiration and trait options, but that's kind of a small issue. 

I LOOOOOOVE the way the Sims interact with their surroundings. Some things, like cooking or gardening (or general skill development) is so much easier. A lot of things are learned rather passively. That's quite nice. The emotions thing really lived up to its hype for me. My Sim couple, (not me and the hubbs... okay, yes. It's me and hubbs) walked around and would randomly stop and smooch when traversing the house. It was adorable, and very much what we do here in real life. We're sappy, so sue me. My Sim-husband, Flazoo, decided to be a writer. To be honest, I asked my non-interested real-life husband, what he would like his virtual self to do. So, no, not a super spy... a writer. Whatevs, Flazoo, your life. My Simself didn't get a job. I decided to get her pregnant, cause you know, hormones, and have her stay home to keep the house and raise the kid. Which leads me to my favorite aspect of the game so far...

THE BABY! Interacting with the baby is actually fun and not pointless! I rocked, changed, cuddled, talked to, and BREASTFED(!!!) my wonderful, virtual little one. EA, you got this one 1000% right! You now have the option to both bottle feed and breast feed the new baby. I gave birth at home, which conveniently wouldn't happen until I bought a bassinet. My belly grew and grew (I got huuuuuge!) and got to wear any clothes I happened to be wearing! Thanks, EA, for not making default pregnancy clothes. This girl likes her options. 

I really have very little experience with the game beyond this. If I was incorrect about any of these things, like the car part and the lack of neighborhood options, please correct me! I would LOVE to learn about something I missed! Also, if you've played this game, tell me what you like and don't like so far! I wanna hear it!

-Wormy