Should I buy this game or not? If so, why? Anything I should avoid?

It all depends on what you're okay with not having from previous games. I like TS4 but its a lot to give up for very little in return. If you already have a complete collection of TS2 or TS3 then you're better off sticking with what you already have. You won't really gain anything from moving up to 4.

I hate saying it about a game I do enjoy but...almost all the things I enjoy about it are things I could already do in past Sims games. Vampires, Toddlers, and CAS are the only things this game definitely does better than either of the previous two.

Cons: Nothing groundbreaking (apart from cas and build mode: they are a lot easier to use, but have their list of lost features), borked features and most of the stuff are missing from the previous iterations, bug infested.

Pros: Gallery, wooden-pc friendly, fascinating enviroment graphics, improved animations, emotion as labels and influencers to animation, fleshed-out vampires and tots, variety of new skills, improved group system, intuitive CAS, easy Build Mode.

P.S. You can always download the free-trial version (48 hours) before buying the full game. Just in case you regret buying it before play-testing temporarely.

Starting it? If you can avoid that, you'll have no problems

*Ahem* more seriously, it boils down to whether you're already bored to death with TS2 and TS3. If you've already played those in every imaginable way, style, and scenario, and even the challenges forum doesn't make you want to start those, well, you could do worse than giving TS4 a try. Best case scenario, it'll give you something else sim-ish to do, and worst case scenario, it'll make TS3 seem worth another go again. It's the latter for me, usually, but hey, it's still soimething

I should probably mention the financial aspect, though, since I guess not everyone else afford to buy everything just to see if they like it or not. Short version: you're objectively and measurably getting less bang per buck. A LOT less bang for the same buck. Longer version, well, here's some copy and paste from another thread, because I'm too lazy to type it all over again:

Between TS1 and TS3 a stuff pack used to be about CD sized, and an expansion pack was usually anywhere between 2 CDs and DVD sized. E.g., I picked a random expansion off the shelf, and it's literally just whatever my hand stopped on, and it's TS2 University Life. It's 3 CDs. And that's back in the TS2 age, when textures were between 1/4 and 1/16 the disk size.

Or for TS3, I just checked my collection, the smallest EPs are 4 and 8, at 1GB each, the largest is about three and a half gigs.

By comparison, in TS4, the expansion packs are about CD sized, and the stuff packs are a quarter of that. So, yeah, EA better give me a bit more for my money.

And it's not just an academic exercise in counting bytes. If you look at what used to be in a pack, the TS4 ones are coming awfully short.

E.g., let's look at what I got in TS2 for the equivalent of the last two TS4 expansions.

The Sims 2 Apartment Life gave me not just apartments that I can create and edit as I wish, something TS4 STILL can't, but also witches, flying broomsticks, new places to visit (beyond just the Belladona Cove map), new potions, new crafting stuff, new skills, a spectral cat pet, etc. The TS4 City Life comes a lot shorter in that aspect.

Or let's talk vampires. Well, in TS2 they came in Nightlife, which also included a big downtown map, clubs, a whole 125 new items, drivable cars, a new aspiration, new life rewards, the party DJ, and it goes all the way to flavour NPCs like Mrs Crumplebottom. By comparison, the TS4 expansion that introduces vampires, it's ONLY vampires and a tiny world map that's got only 5 lots. Count 'em and weep. I did. It's not even the size of some of the existing sub-neighbourhoods, for crying out loud.

I think your best bet is to check out this thread:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=550957

Thank you all for your complete reports! This helps a lot. I will be buying TS4 but I know not to get in a hurry. I think it has more coming. I could patiently wait for a sale or the release of a collections will everything added. Very insightful posts. Now I know what to tell my friends who ask me. Very happy. :D

I did the 48-hour trial and I'll say this: If I do get it, I'll wait until it's on sale for $10.

yes, definitely but please be prepared for lots of bugs especially if you have CC/mods.

I definitely only bought it because it was on sale and the only time I play it is when someone who knows little about the difference b/t 3 and 4 wants to watch.
So for me the sims 4 is kind of like an okay front yard for everyone to look at and the sims 3 is my hoarded house thats closed to visitors.

If you're already a Sims fan get TS4. You're not going to die if you don't like it. If you're new to The Sims you should start with TS1. Can be found on retro gaming sites.

SOOOORRY!!!! What did I do wrong with my post? If they're already a Sims fan, they shouldn't miss out on TS4 even though it's TS4. If they're new -> TS1. Or was it about the retro sites? TS1 is more than a decade old.

I could ask the same thing...

You didn't do anything wrong, Shoosh, you simply stated an opinion that eight people disagreed with. So, you might look at it as your opinion is different and that's ok, isn't it?

Thank you, VerDeTerre. Well, I'll just accept having my unpopular opinion.

At least until the mods delete it...

They won't. Shoosh was respectful and giving their perspective. No reason to delete it.

So was I.

I didn't see your post, so I can't help. Sorry.

No.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Okay, I realize that my previous answer wasn't very useful, so let me elaborate: Fuck no.
Save yourself the money, don't get this game. Or set your cash on fire. Either way, you'll have more fun than if you were actually playing this piece of garbage.
Actually, that's offensive to garbage. At least garbage is interesting and useful.

But to be serious for a sec, there's a ton of new features and gimmicks that are all pretty cool by themselves, but the very mediocre rest of the game does not do them justice.

No, because:

• Limited Customization and Flexibility (no seperate foundations, limited floor levels, no cast, gravestones cannot be move,)
• Shallow, Superficial and Flawed gameplay (no TS2 style memories, teens and elders are almost no different from adults in terms of gameplay and design, children don't have enough unique/exclusive activities/atrributes, babies are glued to their basinets, wants are repetitive, sims don't behave different despite having traits are at least their behavior don't match respectively, sims aren't flawed)
• No replay value (back to point #1 and #2))
• Too many buttpain bugs. (musical chairs, reverse-time or other speed 3 bug that makes the game unenjoyable)
• So many lost features from previous iterations (cars, terrain tools, many npcs such as burglars and policeman, world templates, lot placing and moving tool, ect.)

I think it really depends on what you're looking for, what it is you love/hate about the previous iterations and how much money you're willing to spend on possible disappointment.

Sims 4 is a fine game on its own. It's easy to load, play, explore. I haven't experienced any crashes or any real headaches to keep it running. No serious lag. Some annoying bugs that come and go and God forbid if you use CC or mods. You'll need to have them organized to within an inch of your mod folder's life because every update might break them. It's beautiful, it's strengths lie in the CAS, building tools, toddlers and Vampires at the moment. But keep in mind, for every new aspect added, you're going to lose something that you might be very used to. For example, if you swear by CAStyle or Open World, you might be end up feeling really let down. If you like to create worlds from scratch, you're options are, in polite terms, limited. If you love to take your single sim out and party, you're in for the time of your life.

So yeah, it really depends on what you want the game to do for you. Are you the kind of player who's happy exploring whatever the game offers? Or are you the type that wants to remake the game in your own image? Personally, I've found the game packs to be more fulfilling than the expansion packs and usually worth the money. And I make sure to watch numerous reviews on every release before deciding whether or not to buy them. It helps when they're on sale. Good luck :D

I just posted this in the other thread:

I do not regret buying 4 as there are many good things about 4. 4 is good in many ways. It just is not great compared to the prior versions per me and many others. I am doing a lot in 3 now. I was building a room which I wanted to be a movie studio and wanted to add the camera set up. Oh, that is an item from 4. I was looking for something else in 3 the other day and then remembered it is in 4. I really like the vampires in 4. The toddlers were done well in 4. The graphics are gorgeous in their Disney way. I love things like the street car, the riverboat. I have liked the time I have spent in 4, overall. I get irritated by no open world, no CASt and the zillion other missing things. I play it now and then. I like that I have played all versions as each has some good things and I like to experience all of them.