'The Sims 4': A Series of Disappointments

The Sims games are beloved by many. Yet, since The Sims 4 has come out a lot of Sims fans have faded away from the series because of the lack of content and overpriced expansions to the game.

Unsatisfactory Content

When the game was released it didn't even have toddlers. Each newest expansion barely adds any content to the game. Added content is barely noticeable while playing. The game has not lived up to it's past by just staying basically the same, if not worse. The advances made in The Sims 3 are gone. There is no massive freewill to look around the whole town and not have to load each new lot. Also, the cute stores, hospitals, and schools that had been in The Sims 3 are gone. Next, the traits that had made the Sims so unique is down to the choice of three things from a short list that lacks anything better from the traits from The Sims 3 and the choice of jobs is tiny, with little to no options even with the added 'Get to Work' expansion pack that adds a max of four new jobs. Oh, there are also no cars. Lastly, the customization that was in The Sims 3 has been taken out, so players are back to dealing with the prechosen designs for everything from hair to house carpets.

Game Design

Many players have been upset with the cartoon design the game has used since the release of the game. The Sims' design has always tended to lean towards a more realistic look. While many have hyped up the ability to customize the Sims' bodies more, there is not a lot of detail in the Sims because of the design of the game. The animals are even cartoonish. With the size of the 'Dogs and Cats' expansion pack, the animals could have been designed better and the dogs could have more sizes than just small and large. The game has also made it difficult for those who use cheats while playing by making them must type each skill cheat level, relationship changes, etc. when trying to unlock things for Sims. With modes being added to the game being made so easily it would make sense for the cheats to be easy as well instead of a long, daunting task.

House Design

The build mode of houses was hyped up very much before the release of the Sims, but the build mode is not too special. There are only maybe a few new differences than what was in the game before, but they have taken out things too such as ground elevation. Again, the customization that was previously in The Sims 3 has been taken out of the game leaving players with prechosen shades and designs. Now, with the release of the weather expansion, the building of a new house can be a pain depending on the season that is chosen because some seasons, such as winter, can make the lot hard to see while trying to see where to start and end your house—but don't worry about building a garage because the game has no cars. Also, if you want more stuff for building the houses then players are going to be forced to buy the 'stuff' packs that have been released for $9.99; otherwise players are really stuck with the base game stuff and any few things added from what expansions or packs they decided to buy.

Mediocre

The entire game with all the extra releases added is mediocre and not worth the annoyances it takes to bother playing the game. The game has virtually no choices for so many things even in the customization aspects of the game that were so hyped by the media. Nothing in this game has been worth the money spent and forced time that has to be put into it. Maybe with the rumors of The Sims 5 in the making they can bring back their loyal fanbase and make a game worth the cost.