The Sims 4 - PC/Mac

Let me start by saying i understand that people are upset thinking that there is less content. I was a bit worried about getting the sims4 because of reviews and everything they took out like alot of you. Luckily i had amazon points that i used to pay for most of the game.Now for the game :I started playing and enjoyed the create a sim, it was very clear and you can customize every body part basically. If you played the CAS demo there is a lot more clothing once you get the game by the way. Getting into the game I played for about 2 hours thinking is this it? But as i played on the game offers a lot more than it's first impression. You go to work and have to do certain tasks to get a promotion but they aren't as tedious as the sims 3 when it was just getting the same skill higher for the most part. For example as a painter you need to complete a painting as a daily task, you don't have to but it helps with your job performance. Then they're are also the requirements such as paint a abstract painting, research art references etc. Then you also have your ambition which so far seems to be seperate from your job, much like real life your ambition and your job may not go hand in hand or they may be similiar in category but require you to do different things to achieve or fufill each one. The game started to get good when i got my sim hitched and had a kid. I know some people are upset about the toddler phase taken away but I am not one of those people the growing up of your child in Sims 3 seemed so repetitive and honestly just a nuisance, clicking potty train or teach to walk a bunch of times got pretty boring to me. In the sims 4 you have a baby and you can age it up to a child whenever you feel like it by having a parent click on the baby and clicking age up. Unrealistic? Ya. But for me i hated the baby and toddler stages they weren't fun to have to play through for me. But if you like the baby stage you can keep them there if you wish.Once i aged the baby into a child it was similiar to the sims 3 as you go to school and do homework. You are tasked with gaining skill to level 4 in 2 skills these are similiar to the adults as far as gaining the skill. (maybe a little easier). This is the point I am up to in the game. The best part for me has been this point, the game really shines when you have a household of 2 or more people the sims interaction seems more intuitive and flows very nicely. The multi tasking helps to keep the household alive when doing certain things instead of being cut off like in the sims 3.Content and moods:I know people are worried the game doesn't have alot to offer in the way of content and i was worried about this as well. Luckily i have found that it has alot of different elements to keep the game interesting. The different objects such as paintings, furniture etc. All influence your sims mood. The mood seems like some cheap gimmick when you are being told or shown what it is, but as you play the game the mood can drive the sims to do different activities and help them in their careers. I have so far discovered that if you are a painter if you are in a certain mood such as confident you can draw a confident painting and put it on the wall then depending on your skill it will increase the mood by that amount. The moods have different points which is hard to explain in review but it really helps in the game. Doing things your sim loves helps there mood much like in real life. If you love body building in real life it is the same in the Sims 4 you will have points going towards happy after a good workout and may have points going toward energized. But if your sim isnt that involved or skilled in working out they will get no fun from it, if they have a good workout they may get a point in happiness moodlet. It is hard to explain but all of the moods influence your sims to do different activities and each mood has certain perks and certain downfalls such as the sad or tense or angry mood.They're are a range of different types of furniture and video games some that aren't invented today. As well as some things we do have today such as a tablet. If you buy a tablet your sims can put it in there inventory and walk around with it, use it on the toilet etc.Graphics: i feel they are more cartoon but also more clear and crisp which means you can make a closer lookalike of a person but it will be more cartoonish, you can google comparisons of celebrities to characters people have made they seem pretty close.Careers: Not a lot of career choices but at the same time the game has ambitions and other activities your character can do to make money in my opinion it would have been nice to have at least 3 more careers in there but it doesn't really hurt the game in my opinion since their is so much else to do in the game.Ambitions: Ambitions seem accurate and to me i have no complaints about them.Objects furniture decorations activities etc: I feel the game has alot of different objects i was unhappy that they only had 2 different kinds of carpets that look the same and not a very wide selection of colors considering they only have 2 kinds. Again not a big deal to me though. Other than this so far they have plenty of different types of things to choose from as far as ovens(you have to unlock one good oven with cooking) Gym equipment they have at least 5 different types and atleast 2 different unlockable punching bags from 2 different career paths. 4 or 5 different easels 3 are unlocked through painting career i believe. Different desks some you unlock through careers and give you mood bonus towards the mood that helps you in your career. And more obviously but i don't want to type anymore.clothing: The clothing seems like there is not too much to choose from but i wouldnt say much less if it is less than the sims 3 had in it's base version.Toddlers are smaller than adult just btw.Hair styles: I won't lie i wish they had more to choose from but i think they have a wider range than the sim3 base version. Also if you like hats your hair can stick out the way it would in real life now instead of just disappearing under a cap.Object placement: You can now put something on the wall higher than something else example you can put a mirror above a sink on the wall and then put lights above the mirror and if you have room on a higher wall you can put windows above those lights so on and so forth. This helps also when i was trying to fit things into a smaller room because of a tight budget. You can put things on a diagnol now which also can help with fitting furniture also just more realistic.Building: I haven't spent alot of time building honestly but it is easier. I enjoyed building in the other sims this game seems like building will take less time to do. I ran into less (you cant do this because...) notices so far.Interactions: More intuitive. More life like. Only problem is if you are having a one on one convo with someone other people may just join in on the conversation. Which is I guess more life like. Oh ya if you are married or have woohoo'd you wont get embarrassed when your partner walks in anymore. Other people you will be embarrassed for though.I'm tired of typing.Summary:The Sims 4 is alot more then it's first impression which at first i felt sucked. As you play it is very intuitive and flows a lot easier. I haven't been able to explain in great detail what makes this game better than the rest because i feel you really have to play it to understand. The game keeps you from wasting time on tedious things and seems to keep you more into the playful side of the game. In my opinion this so far is the best sims game i have played BUT I also feel that everyone has a different taste for what they're favorite is and may like the sims 3 more. Btw they also put in a option to turn off aging sims when they are not used or you can turn it on. Also yes you can't drive but it keeps you saving time. The load screens are maybe 6 seconds and keeps people from being tired out by the time you go out. It seems easier to have a night on the town without your sim getting upset which is nice, they throw less temper tantrums it seems.Im sure there are other things i haven't mentioned but i'm not getting paid for this and i really don't feel a need to continue typing lol.But i hope this has helped you in your decision. Also i couldn't get the game with points for the instant download or w.e. but if you buy the physical copy and have it sent to your house you can use points on that. You still have to install and get the patch it all and all took about 20-40 minutes for me.

No toddlers? Thank you, Maxis! It was always so irritating to deal with babies and toddlers so much that it was ALL you were doing and your Sim spent all their time meeting all their needs. Very realistic for sure but I did that in real life and I play games for fun not reality. I always just ended up aging them up to a child as quick as possible.No pools? They were nice to make your property cool and pretty. But having your Sims swim in them was about as exciting as watching your Sim bicycle across a big open world map to work.But anyway let's focus on the fact that this is Sims 4 and not Sims 3. A new direction. The create a sim is really great and easy to use. I love the cartoonish style graphics. I do admit I miss the ability to create some crazy outfits using all the patterns and the color wheel but I can manage without it and actually spend a lot less time creating my Sims and more time playing the game.I was nervous about a loading screen everytime my Sim changed venues but it is just a few seconds and is so much better than the waste of time of watching them travel or wasting all their energy running somewhere. Like I said I am a casual gamer though.The whole interface seems a lot more crisp and clear. I like the whole emotions idea and how it gets me to play my Sim based on how they feel at the moment. I don't have to of course but it is much more fun than always playing just to meet your needs or to increase skills or get a promotion.Oh and my favorite part that got me stoked about Sims 4 was when my Sim was double fisting a milk and a coffee while watching tv and talking to his friend. It could only be better if he was holding two beers :) The multi-tasking is a great feature. I haven't seen it yet but I sure hope my Sim can chat with someone on the phone while sitting on the toilet.This is a fun game. Give it a chance**I wanted to add that while I like the emotions, they can tend to shift around very quickly at times. Maybe my Sim is just overy emotional...or nuts :P***Update: After getting some more playing time this weekend I will add some new things I enjoyed about the game and even some issues I had.I really enjoyed the fact that you can bake your own cake for your birthday party. I had to learn this through my own research however after searching through the items list for a birthday cake and finding nothing. I also really enjoy that you are given goals to accomplish to make your parties and dates better. It always irritated me in Sims 3 when you were given a bad party or date rating and had no idea what you did wrong.On that same note I like that you have goals to help gain promotion at work rather than just boosting skills related to your job and going to work with a good mood. In my tech job, I have to do things like "mod a game" and I think it is very cool that I can work on job related things while chatting with house guests or even send someone a text. Also I think Sims 3 simply had a smiley face to represent your job performance. Sims 4 gives a much more clear progress bar on how things are going at work and this seems to change pretty accurately based on how you perform out of work tasks and the way you choose to work when you get there. Work hard, take it easy, leave early, etc... I didnt notice this option at first. It is a bit difficult to notice at first. Not sure if I missed it in the tutorial but i figured it out eventually.Not sure if this is good or bad but depends on your game style I guess, but it seems like there is no noticeable affect for being late to work. If my guy is supposed to be to work at 9, he usually doesn't even leave until 9 and sometimes if I'm doing something, he doesn't even leave until 9:30. At times it seems like time flies by while at work, almost to the point you forget to adjust how you want to work that day. Other times it seems to go a bit slower like in Sims 3 and I wonder if that is related to the fact that I am clicking around looking at things. Also I noticed that you can't check your needs or click ahead on what you want your sim to do as soon as they get home while they are at work. I don't really love or hate this but it is a noticeable difference.I had one major issue where my son had started a sim and took my sim to the gym with him. When I restarted my game, it started at the gym but I couldn't find my sim or click on anything. I gave up on it slightly angry and quit the game. When I went back to it later, my sim was back in his house with all of his needs at 100%. Also I had a ton of friends i didn't know about and some of the chicks I was hitting on were now elders. Not sure how well it works having 4 of us with different families in the same sim world and playing at different times but I know we didn't have that option in Sims 3.