Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you're a longtime fan of the Sims series like I am (from The Sims 1 up until The Sims 3), do not buy this game. And if you're looking to become a new fan and don't really know much about The Sims Series at all, just buy The Sims 3, you'll be much happier in regards to content vs. price, and this is concerning BASE-GAME MATERIAL ONLY, not expansions, keep that in mind. And this was after we gave it more than a few weeks worth of game-play in order to give it a fighting chance. That being said, people giving this game 4 stars and up are not facing the reality of how severely lacking this game really is (or are just new to the Sims series and know nothing about previous base-game Sim game content). This being AFTER the patches with the pool/jobs when we checked it again on Origin. Plus this is coming from an optimist, someone who sees the good in life. But in The Sims 4, there's barely anything worth liking. Not when I know what could be and what sadly is with The Sims 4. And if you are looking to buy this game but aren't sure, then by all means read this review. However for some of you who already "like" this game, I ask you to read the suggestions I made on page 02 of the comments section. It's a big downer for those who love expansive worlds, open creativity, and most of all options... First off: "A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL GAME-PLAY ASPECT AND CONTENT REMOVALS": http://ts4news.com/post/94541924952/89-features-missing-from-the-sims-4 *I want you to keep in mind this is regarding only BASE-GAME content/gameplay only NOT expansions. Now onto the review: I played it with my siblings, and we returned purchase several weeks afterwards. Sure there are things that are good about it, but everything wrong with it completely overshadows the product. And let me tell you, it's not going to get better with expansions. It's severely flawed from the get-go and here's why: All gameplay 'fun' must come from interactions. So for all you people who like to customize things, create beautiful awe-inspiring worlds, or just roam the land looking for interesting and unique activities in your town...you won't find it in The Sims 4. You are mostly stuck inside of the home talking to other Sims, that's pretty much it. And it gets tedious. You cannot make your Sim travel to the end of your town and look over the mountains. There are no mountains. In fact, there are no more visiting your neighbors unless you want to get slapped in the face with a loading screen (which people will say are short and not too bad, but although they're short they are WAY TOO FREQUENT). And forget about watching your Sim jog from their house to the beach in order to observe that lovely horizon. Your Sim can't do that in The Sims 4, the loading screen is your enemy, and it will become pretty apparent after the 30th time you'll run into the loading screen that you'll miss that experience of watching your Sim drive down to the grocery store. So yes, freedom of travel is non-existent in this world, and boy is it a small world too. Your neighborhood is now only 5 lots. That's right...5 (your immediate neighborhood is only five lots), the town is usually only around 20-something like Oasis Springs, a number FAR BELOW the maximum 100 you could do in The Sims 3 base-game (if you were bold enough to do that lol). And they're small/un-customizable 2D drawings. Yes, your neighborhood in The Sims 4 is a 2D drawing, not 3D, 2D meaning it's a picture you cannot move. Yeah, they really paid someone to draw your town rather than making it a dynamic 3D model like it was in ALL previous Sims games. And by 2D I mean it is an immobile digital image much like an Android phone game would be. So yes, you would expect a life simulation game to at the VERY LEAST be able to somewhat simulate the real-world, but The Sims 4 simply doesn't. It's an incredibly poor excuse for a life simulation game, because apparently, life means staying at home in a 5 lot neighborhood, and that your 'world' is this sketch someone pasted onto the screen. So yup, it throws you inside the house, expects you not to leave, and tells you you cannot change how the world looks. You are more or less trapped. And after a few weeks of gameplay, we were so frustrated by the lack of content and restricted gameplay aspects that my siblings and I returned purchase before the return-back policy expired. Do not wait after 30 days, you won't get your money back. And DO NOT WAIT FOR EXPANSIONS TO MAKE IT BETTER. This game is missing all the gameplay aspects that should have been included in the base game like The Sims 2 and 3 gave us. This game cannot give you some of these things even in future expansions because the game was created using software from the 1990s to early 2000s (32-bit software), meaning it is not physically capable of including some of these missing things. So if you're a person who loves creating fun and unique items and Sims, traveling freely from one location to another on a large open world, The Sims 4 is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF THAT. And even then the world feels cold, like someone took items and threw them together without thinking how the feel of the area would be (almost as though the blueprint/architecture of the town wasn't planned out very well). It's an un-welcoming place. A place I don't want my Sims to be in. Hell, I even tried exploring the parks and looking for hidden items but even then the world felt empty and secluded from other parts in it. Now then, these are 10 MAJOR FEATURES THAT MAKE IT UNPLAYABLE: 1. NO MORE OPEN WORLD. You are now secluded to one lot. If you want to leave that lot you will encounter anywhere from 3 to 20+ loading screens depending on where you want to go that all last around 30 seconds each (if you have a regular computer). For me it took slightly less but remember, you'll run into dozens upon dozens of those loading screens so it DOES add up. 2. IF YOU HAVE A COMPUTER BETTER THAN 32-BIT, YOU'RE SCREWED. 32-bit software is REALLY old and dated software, software most of us had in the 90's, so if you have a computer BETTER than that (like 64-bit like most of us have nowadays), if you play The Sims 4 (which was made with old 32-bit software) and install it you'll encounter an immense amount of glitches and software issues. Also, for some of you who might buy this anyways despite my warnings, for a few of you...this game WILL NOT EVEN INSTALL OR PLAY (if your computers have higher performance levels than The Sims 4 can handle). *They have a MAC version now (though I've been informed by other Sims players that it's just as buggy as PC). 2. NO MORE CAS OR OTHER CUSTOMIZING ASPECTS. You can't choose varied hair colors, the color of their clothes, and different layers on hair or skin anymore, or any other color aspects and custom patterns like you could in The Sims 3. There are a few set colors, so if you want red but they don't have it, too bad...you also cannot add any unique patterns to anything anymore. So for you people who get pretty specific on what color you want your walls to be in or what pattern you want on your bed. You've got no other choice but to choose THEIR limited choices, so yeah, that was pretty upsetting for all creative Simmers out there. 3. NO MORE DYNAMIC WORLD LANDSCAPES. There a very very VERY few terra-building tools. The Sims 4 world is a flat desolate place with little (if any) terrain variation. There are no such thing as mountains or changing terrain. You live in a place where it looks the same EVERYWHERE (and all background structures are just for decoration, not interactive like in The Sims 2 or 3 base-games). 4. NO MORE CUSTOM LOTS LIKE MUSEUMS AND OTHER UNIQUE LOCATIONS. Lots are set by The Sims 4, you cannot create your own restaurants and other lots like that like you could in the base game of The Sims 3. 3. ONLY 5 LOTS TO PLAY WITH (the immediate neighborhood is 5 lots, not the town to be specific, so yes the immediate neighborhood is not 40 or more like in The Sims 3). The game pretends to say that it make lots more interesting when in fact lots are so small houses completely take up the space, and forget about having an open backyard for a porch or anything like that. Your backyard is a tiny patch of grass, nothing else. 4. NO MORE CARS. So for all you car enthusiasts out there. Sims walk and disappear from view to go to work. I'm not even joking. Cars don't exist in The Sims 4, and the ones that you do see are PROPS. There are also no more bikes and taxis. You cannot travel freely anywhere anymore. Your Sims have to walk there, get hit with a loading screen, etc. *Plus you may notice that Sims themselves will often walk aimlessly around the town with no set destination (in previous Sims games, you might see a Sim head to the diner and eat there, but not so much in TS4, there's a lot of a.i. glitches). I've seen a few walking blindly into the street and just stand there for hours doing absolutely nothing. 5. NO MORE REGULAR JOBS AND WORKFORCE PEOPLE. Some of the regular jobs like medical are gone. Apparently...in The Sims 4, regular jobs don't count. And for some reason all repairmen, gardeners, firemen, etc. have been deleted from the face of the planet in The Sims 4. *Though there's a new patch for jobs, it is still painfully limited. 6. NO MORE TODDLERS. Now granted not everyone likes toddlers (in real life), but in The Sims series, toddlers are fun characters you get to teach and raise and mold into scientists or other cool aspirations.The Sims 4 has no toddlers. You go from age 1 to 10 in one full swoop. 7. NO MORE STORY PROGRESSION. Sims in The Sims 4 cannot move on and develop in their lives as independent A.I. like they could in previous Sims games. All Sims are dependent on your action, they don't carry out unique and interesting stories on their own anymore. So yes, no more awesome storybooks of their lives. 8. YOU CANNOT MOVE LOTS. You can no longer move plots of land from one space to another. What you see is what you get, and it ain't much. 9. ALL FUN MUST COME FROM SIM INTERACTION. So basically ANYTHING ELSE you used for fun in previous Sims games, like exploring, creating havoc, or free-roaming is a no show in The Sims 4. All fun comes from talking to other Sims, and even then it gets boring (because after a few hours, you will have already cycled through ALL their animations more than a few times). 10. NO MORE HEIGHT VARIATION. Teens, adults, young adults, and the elderly are the same exact size. For some reason The Sims 4 believes people stop growing after turning into a teen and are all the same size as everyone else. There are also no more Sim favorites, the elimination of certain public buildings (because Sims walk off screen to go to work, rather than going in a car like in ALL previous Sims games, there are also no more hospitals, schools, and certain work buildings). I can go on but you see the picture. What's there isn't worth keeping the game for, and what's promised in future expansions and stuff packs won't give you what you desire because The Sims 4 runs on old dated software that can't handle it. In sum, this game is an overall failure. That may sound harsh but so is the 60$ to 90$+ (for the limited edition versions) that EA wants you to spend on a BASE game that's only 30% finished. Save your money people. You'd be glad you did. And for all the reviews saying this game is 4 to 5 stars, I can't even believe people are doing that. Please DO NOT sugarcoat this game. The Sims 4 is simply a game unfinished, not worth anybody's time. So please, don't be blind to realities like those 4 to 5 star-raters are, really TRULY listen to the facts, not to those that are over-hyped about what they WISH could happen, and not what actually is... *Also I gave examples of an actual 5 Star Sims game listed in the NEWER comments on the 2ND PAGE under my name E.J. If that doesn't convince you, you are too far deep into the hype to see what's wrong here, and there's A LOT wrong. :/