I like the game so far, some things need to ..be improved upon. Like if you are playing a single sim you go to work you cant do anything else while they are at work. at all. you have to wait for them to return from work. thats the negative i see right now at this point.

The emotions are really fun to work with. I am a artist in real life as well so I picked a painter for my first career option and the emotional paintings and the "aroma" they can spill out into the air is quite amusing, it makes it matter what emotional items you want in what room.

Building is kind of fun but ive never been all that great at building so I am trying to work out all the tricks and tweaks. Building is A LOT easier than in sims 3 in my opinion but I am no master.

The interactions are great as always and the emotions make it more entertaining.

There are a few (bugs?) not really sure what you call it. Sims 4 they worked out the routing issue in all other sims 3 games like before but it gets kind of comical at times when they are smarter than their own good.

I have notice multiple times where a sim would sit next to another sim and talk then get up and go across the room and sit because someone else is trying to sit there but they keep talking to said sim across the room. its ...funny weird.

i give it a 8/10 so far. I am enjoying myself so far.

I pretty much knew I didn't need a review, 2 or 3 weeks ago. After obsessively consuming every shred of info there was, I just hit a wall, didn't need to see or hear any more. After trying a friend's game last night, I remain with my original opinion that Sims 4 begins the deterioration of the series, after the warning signs in Sims 3.

I'm so unimpressed that I've managed to ignore the new shiny on my desktop in favor of studying biology all afternoon.

4/10

Now that's a sad story if I ever heard one.

Question for those of you who have the game: So, do objects in your sim's surroundings actually push emotions on them, even when you're not viewing/using the items? I thought that wasn't going to be a thing.

About the time the Sims 4 Demo came out. I might go back to the killjoy just because I have been using it for so long it really has become me here.

In my opinion, the more realistic reviews will come in through in about one-two weeks once the Shiny! Wears off and people get used to the game... just in time for EA to anounce the next expansion pack.

Whats the difference? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....but seriously I fixed the link.

I was wondering the same thing. If it was a big, new feature, why was it never demonstrated in any of the live broadcasts?

LOL. I actually thought it was a joke that (nearly) flew over my head! :D

I think the general feeling, at least what I have, is that EA is stuck in this "one step forward, two steps back" cycle with the Sims. I don't think they're actively TRYING to screw us (and I might be the only person on Earth to think that), but I feel like they are really bad at saying "ok, this is what was good with the last installment, we'll keep that. But this is what didn't work so well, so we'll fix it." They just say "OK GUYS SQUARE ONE, GO!"

I feel like the Sims 4 has promise. I haven't gotten a chance to put a lot of time into it and I know I'll end up enjoying it no matter how bad it is because this is the kind of game I enjoy. There are no other life simulators on the market (which is why EA can get away with this crap, no competition). But I will say one thing: I did not feel this sad when I played Sims 3, as many gripes as I had. I enjoyed the base game, even if I felt like there were a lot of problems. So far I'm just trying to think about what the next expansion will have so this game will live up to the potential I feel it has...and that is a really, really sad mentality to have.

I'm actively compiling a list of the good, the bad, and the whatevs'. I'll post my findings, if anyone is interested.

Very interested. Thank you in advance.

Ok, as soon as I've had a chance to actually play the game rather than spending the requisite hours making characters (and working...honestly, why the hell do games come out on TUESDAYS?), I will endeavor to do so. There ARE positives, just so you know. So far the negatives outweigh the positives in my mind, but not drastically (yet).

I've bought almost every Sim game out there since the original Sims. After 4 hours of game play I crashed. The emotions are ok I suppose. I do like the cooking options and how the careers you have to do certain things to even get a raise. I also liked having my sim take a pregnancy test. Sims also empty uneaten food from dishes before washing them. I had a sim that drank a glass of milk on the toilet and read on the toilet. I like those options. I feel like this game though is an advance version of Sims 1. I'm not excited to play it at all. I wish I had not bought it.

@mignon9 - can you return it?

Haha! Or, do what I did and randomize the Sim until someone interesting pops up. A few tweaks and it's onto the game!

Here's a brief review and comparison video of TS3 vs. TS4 from Robbaz, and so far my opinions are the same as his about TS4. There were some fun things about the game judging from all the LP videos I've seen so far, as I don't own the game, but all of the removed content is too noticeable and makes the game world appear hollow.

I'm enjoying the Sims 4 at the moment. Yes it is empty but don't worry, those good ol' EP's will be on the way soon to give us back what we should have gotten in the base game. I understand that they were more focused on bringing the Sims to life but at what cost? My wallet?! I must say though, the CAS is quite enjoyable, consumes a lot of your play time, but gives you a little hope in the game for what is to come.

I've been playing for a few hours and find I pretty much like the games a lot. It's absoutely beautiful even though it looks cartoony. I like the bright colors and the houses in the 'hood are all really nice. I LOVE that there are so many people walking around the neighborhood. That was one of my major dislikes with S3...open world, empty world. I don't mind starting out without a lot of fancy gadgets so I can concentrate on the new controls...which I'm not too crazy about tbh. Is there a way to enable edge scrolling? Another thing, I LOVE CAS and don't miss CASt as much as I thought I would...but that may change after I get bored with the 20 or so outfits. My one dislike is that, while sims are really pretty in CAS, the are absolutely hideous in game...very low res. I'm hoping that playing around with the settings will fix that. Other than that, as a simmer who has played since the original Sims came out - who loved S2 and hated S3 - I'm happier with the game than I thought I'd be. And as for the price, I don't object to paying for something I enjoy. I paid plenty for Skyrim and played it non-stop for more than two years. I don't know if S4 will last that long...but I like it.

THere are some things I like about the new game, and some things I really don't like. I will share more in-depth analysis at a later date, but as I suspected, it was neither the train-wreck nor the masterpiece the EAntagonists and EAvangelicals (respectively) said it was.

Game is no better nor worse than Sims 3 at launch if you really take a look at the gains/losses on either fence. Personally I don't mind the trade offs. I feel performance wise (at least on my rig) Sims 4 runs a million times better than 3 ever can (my rig exceeds both game's recommended specs). Sims 4 definitely needs improvement. Pools, toddlers, the ability to naturally have surname changes when a marriage occurs (right now you can use cheats to acquire it), family trees to some extent, and some sort of storyprogression. Now I'm not talking a drastic storyprogression because I don't think they're capable of programming it (Sims 3 storyprog was a joke and pretty much pewp so I didn't play much till I found Twallan's mod). But to have the game roll a dice for every character would be nice. Jobs, relationships, and children need to be a thing for the rest of the town. I don't want to really babysit them. Hopefully a modder can come up with something? I think players also need to be able to keep track of job progress and motives while at the workplace. Though that may never happen. I also don't mind the feel of the game. Love the UI changes, graphics (I actually feel they are crisper and happier), love all the items they included this time around (omgash a violin, piano, guitar, and DA COW PLANT! WHAT!), multitasking (so much love for this), emotion system, etc. etc. I know I'm one of the few. I may get bored really really soon. I generally do with Sims games. But I always end up going back.

Long winded and full of grammar errors! Yippee for laziness! I truly hope they salvage the game for those that utterly hate it and improve it for those that feel like I do. If they don't, I won't be surprised. It's...EA....It's....yeah....

Hollow, that's a great way to put it. It feels like there's nothing to it (yet). It's been awhile since the Sims 3 launched, but with all the steps forward that game took, to tear away so many of the features, particularly the open world aspect, it feels like this game is worlds behind TS3 at launch.

Again, one step forward, two steps back seems to be EA's mantra. This is more like an updated version of the Sims 2. Which could mean good things down the line if you're willing to spend a fortune on Expansion Packs. Which, unfortunately, I am. -_- I just wish they would have taken the lessons they learned from the Sims 3 and kept them rather than just starting from a fresh slate. I would have been so happy with an improved engine, improved autonomy and the open world and story progression (an improved story progression...) from the Sims 3.

I think overall, I can't recommend this game to anyone on the fence. I enjoy it, but it's more that I enjoy the game DESPITE it, rather than because of it, if that makes sense. I love life simulators, and this is really my only fix since the Sims 3's engine is a steaming mess and for some reason plays like crap on my high end PC.

i was happy to see that there's an option to disable/enable script mods, and a mods folder already built into the game files.. which means they're supporting the mods community and that is definitely a good thing.

I'm actually kind of in the same boat as you. I enjoy the concept of the game, I like the potential I see, and I'm excited to see what EA can do with it, even if I not-so-secretly resent that I have to wait for them to release a fortune's-worth of EPs again...I just wish the base game was more enjoyable.

I think right now, the worst thing is that they took away a bunch of the "realistic" careers. No doctors, no scientists, no businessmen...I'm guessing we'll get all those back again down the line, but still. It seems like a really lame decision.

Well I don't think EA endeared the game to IGN by refusing them the usual advance copy! It was gonna start off at a disadvantage.

Some of them are clearly in EA's employ...this one was actually hilariously over the top though:

angarvin43 / Sep 2, 2014 / Rating: 10

Fantastic! Every body, EA did that again! After the great success of reboot in Sim City, fans of simulation games are wondering what the next simulation title will be launched by EA. I can't imagine how bad the gaming industry will become if EA doesn't exist in this world. For starters, EA is currently one of the best simulation developers in the world, and in general it is the leader in trends of development of various games around the world.

Sim City has already drawn so much attention and become a legend of simulation games in modern era. Today, another legend has born, which is this wonderful game.

Sims 4 has significant improvement over its predecessor. It has an improved UI, which is more user friendly. Its graphic is superb and oustanding. On a technical side, the optimization is perfect, the game is running extremely smoothly. The game play elements also bring the simulation of life to a new level. It has a lot of elements added, and offers a great variety of game play choices for players. Also, it is very realistic, which is an outstanding life simulator.

All in all, the game has a lot of innovative and creative improvement, which is a must-have for all fans of simulation.

I am already looking forwards for more DLCs to come. Please do not release expansions again like the old-days, as this takes too much time for development. Fans want new contents as soon as possible. Developers, please try to release more and more DLCs on a weekly, or if possible, on a daily basis. Fans are eager to pay for more FUN!

Every one, please join me to celebrate the great launch day of such fantastic title"

I kept waiting for the 'April Fool!" at the end, but it never came....

I'm wondering why they left out the trash masher and the dishwasher. From the structure of the game, it looks like the way to get the more desirable items is to earn them with skill levels. Though they did build in a Mods folder, I wonder what restrictions are in place and how fast the modders will be able to get around them.
Overall, I found the game very colorful, but seriously lacking in content that one would think would be automatic. The new building mode is really neat, though it is a total learning curve ~ much more than Sims 3 was. as everything's all over the place. I hope they will have another pack before Christmas, because if this is it, I will lose interest fast.

Seriously are we looking at the same game, even the same universe? I've never heard so much verbal garbage over a game in my life.