Welcome back to my review of the Sims 4. This is Part 2. To read Part 1, go here.
General Gameplay
As far as general gameplay is concerned, I really like the layout and graphics and the game runs very smoothly on my laptop. There is an option for 'laptop mode' so the game is more laptop-friendly which is very helpful for those of us that don't have desktop computers. The layout of the display is more compact compared to previous Sims games and gives you a bigger window to see your sims and their surroundings.
The Aspirations panel is the first tab in the bottom right corner. Something new they added to aspirations is that you have mini objectives to complete in order to earn points towards their lifetime goal. This is pretty interesting and gives you things to accomplish in order to earn rewards. Below is an example for the Computer Whiz aspiration.
Children have their own aspirations and goals to complete before reaching the teen age. These aspirations (only available to children) are Whiz Kid, Social Butterfly, Rambunctious Scamp and Artistic Prodigy.
The 'Simology' panel and the 'Needs' panel are the last two tabs in the bottom right corner. They are pretty much the same as TS3, just a little more sleek looking. I really like the new look of these.
The Sims 4 added some new skills to learn, along with many of the usual ones. One of these is the Comedy skill which can be learned by telling jokes, being funny and watching the comedy channel on the television. These new skills are pretty fun to play around with since they are different. It'll be interesting to see what is in store as they reach higher levels of these skills.
There are several new foods in this installment of the series as well. Here are screenshots of what sims can cook. This is just for sims with level 2 cooking skill. More experienced cooks can cook more. I love that there is more variety with the foods, but I'm not a big fan of the fact that to get a birthday cake you have to have sims cook it themselves and add birthday candles to it. It's a neat concept but I think we should still have to option to buy one in buy mode (for those that are lazy like me :P)
The phone menu is also pretty much the same as TS3 except you have a travel option to travel to community lots. I don't like having loading screens, but at least they are pretty quick. The only services available at the moment are the maid services, adoption services and pizza delivery. This means there aren't many NPCs (so no firefighters, matchmakers, etc).
Overall, the general gameplay is pretty fun, but it's far from perfect. Adding in story progression would make a big difference in the dynamics of the towns. As of right now, sims in other households
will age if the option is turned on in the options menu but they
won't make major decisions
on their own (ie. marriage and having babies). After the original
inhabitants start getting old and dying off, there aren't as many
children and teens in the neighborhood which makes it seem a little
unbalanced.
Multitasking is something new to the Sims as well. I personally love it. Sims can carry on conversations while cooking, watching tv, playing video games, etc. This saves some time when trying to build relationships and taking care of your sims' needs. In the first picture below, you can see Zoe chatting while having a drink at the nightclub. In the second picture my sim, Jay, is playing video games while chatting with Zoe who is sitting on the bed and eating cereal.
Emotions
I love the emotions that were added to the game. They make interactions more realistic. If someone is happy, they're going to want to cheer others up. If the sim is embarassed, they're going to be acting insecure. If they're flirty, he/she is going to try their hardest to impress the people they find attractive. Each emotion unlocks certain interactions they can use. For instance, flirty sims can do sexy poses and happy sims can brighten people's days. Overall, I think this is a fun element added into the game, and it's definitely brought on a whole new way to play.
Careers & School
I feel that the careers in TS4 are lacking. There is very little to choose from, and some of the classic careers aren't included (like the medical career). This is pretty disappointing, and I'm hoping more will be added in a patch or later EP. To find a job, your sim can use their phone, computer, or you can select 'Join a Career' under the career tab.
After selecting one of these options, a window will pop up with a list of careers to choose from. The screenshot below shows the window. The only career not shown is the Culinary career.
Like the aspirations, sims have objectives to meet in order to get promoted in their careers. This can be difficult and time-consuming, especially if you have large, hectic families. Thankfully these aren't too different from TS3 requirements, and are pretty easy to complete (for the most part).
Schooling for children works the same way. They must complete objectives to get an A in school. Most of these objectives include gaining skill points like crazy. I have mixed feelings on this. I like that it is a challenging because it seemed a little too easy in TS3 but I don't like it because it is difficult if you have a lot of children at once like I tend to have.
This concludes Part 2. Keep Reading for Part 3 which will cover romance, pregnancy and babies. :)
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