Sims 4: Game Review

Once again, I played a game other then World of Warcraft (and Bioshock). I realize this came out two years ago, but I just got it a few months ago, so I might as well contribute to the reviews. In case you don't know what The Sims is, it's basically a game created by EA, and has been played for quite some time. Most popular being Sims 2 and 3. The Sims is a virtual version of playing with dolls, or to be more technical, it's a real like simulator that looks more like a 3D cartoon, where you create your own sim family, and just live in your sim world. 

Sims 4: Customizing your sim. Click photo to enlarge.
 (this is modded using The Sims Resource) 

The attractive side of The Sims, for people like myself, is the ability to customize your own character or sim and sort of create your own storyline for that sim. You can build your sim an epic house/mansion (By using the money cheat), get your sim a job, and mess around with other sims. (By mess around I mean torturing your sims by removing the toilet or letting them starve. or am I the only one that does that?) 

Now that you have an idea of what this game is, let us move on to the review. The Sims 4 is much different then sims 3. Given that now, everything is less 3D and more 2D. Things look more cartoonish (unless you download mods), and in a sense, you are able to customize your house a bit easier then you would have in Sims 3. Now the only thing about Sims 3, is that everything looks more real yet not so real at the same time. 

The Sims 3
(Supernatural Expansion)

Okay, so lets move on to the Pros and Cons of this game. The pros of this game are: that you can customize your house/mansion more or even better then Sims 2 or 3 (in build mode that is). You can also, with expansions, create your own epic work environment and in a sense make it your own game. The customization for  your sim is actually a lot more fun and less annoying in the sense, that your game does not crash as often and there are hardly any glitches (unless you have mods. then it can glitch some). It also reminds myself a bit of the Sims Social (Which was a facebook game that no longer exists now, which kind of sucks

because it was really cool). 

Here are the Cons of this game (what's not so good): Despite being able to customize many things, there are a TON of drawbacks. Unless you download mods, (like custom

Sims 4
More modded Sims

wallpaper, skins etc), you have little selection of decor for the game. Also, everything tends to look the same throughout. The sims themselves can be rather annoying, especially when customizing the faces. The other con, is that when your sim is going somewhere, there is a load screen. Unlike Sims 3, you can not actually travel. You now have a load screen in between times your sim travels. And that load screen can take forever. Also, there isn't much to do really, unless you pay roughly $10-$20 for an expansion or stuff pack, you don't really get much out of the base game. Also, the camera can be really annoying, it moves all over the place, and until you figure out how to operate it, it can drive you nuts. Also with Sims 3 you have these incredible expansions that allow you to travel through time to the future, throw potions on people and turn them into mutant zombies, witches, fairies, mummies, werewolves or even create a genie. Sims 4 doesn't really have that. At least not yet. 

What I recommend: The Sims 4 is fun. Despite not have a lot of customization, load screens and downloading mods, it's actually fun. Reason being, is that your Sims have more of a personality. They are fun to watch and it can be even funnier when you get them in to odd social interactions. The other side, is if you want to customize a lot, you can just press build. No need for cheats or any annoying accidental pressing things. Plus, Sims 4 does have expansions. They are a bit more then Sims 3 Expansions, but you can get new zones and more interactions. EA has yet to come out with future ones similar to sims 3, but when they do, people will probably want it more then sims 3. 

Combatting Problems: 
As a quick note, given that this took me forever to figure out, if you want to combat these issues with your Sims 4 game do the following: 

> Go to the game menu. You can do this by pressing ESC on your keyboard or clicking the dotted button over to the right in the corner. 

> Click on Game Options 

> Disable Laptop Mode. If you have downloaded mods then this is crucial that you do this. Reason being, is that it prevents any glitches that your Sims may have (Outlined hair being one of them). 

> Camera Settings In camera settings you can click on Sims 3 camera and it should help. 

> If you do not have a mouse press the tab button on your keyboard to help tip the camera. Everything disappears but when you press it again, it re-appears. 

> If you DO own a mouse use the rubber scroller thing on your mouse (the roundish thing in the middle of your mouse) to zoom in or out, or if you press down and move your mouse up or down, you can adjust the camera. 

> When downloading mods put your customization items such as skins, eyes, clothes, etc for your sim into the folder labeled Mods (on your computer). Put the items such as Houses into the Tray folder. (For more info on this go to the help section on The Sims Resource). 

If you are interesting in the gameplay or watching how it is played, I recommend watching M.A.G on YouTube. The way they present The Sims 4 is actually very realistic and they themselves are hilarious to listen to. 

Down below are some links to The Sims page and to MAG (YouTube). 

Links: 
Metal Ass Gaming (MAG): Sims 4 Playlist  (The playlist on YouTube for Sims 4: Gameplay). 

The Sims 4: Homepage (This also includes the Sims4 expansion/stuff packs)

The Sims 3: Homepage (You can probably find sims 2 in the store on here as well, just note that the Sims 2 is PC only. Sims 3 is for PC and Mac as well as Sims 4). 

Nighttime Confusion & Sketchbook

      It's been a while since I've last posted on this blog. In saying so, I have decided to post a link to my deviantart in the post, that leads to pictures of my recent sketches. The sketchbook itself is from Moleskine, and is not large but rather a medium size. Perfect for travel and easier to keep up with. The sketches inside are various ones from January up to now (September).

Click here to visit the page.

I had a leftover piece of thick glossy coated (sort of) card paper that came with a Angel Comic, and decided to use it as something to draw on. I would have done a more detailed pen and ink, but decided to go with something a little different. I may add to it later one, but given that I just replaced my small ink tank in my asian pen, I decided to add in my initials MS in gothic lettering.

As usual, I did a bit more of a nightfall/fantasy pen and ink, that was a bit stylized. It had been a while since I really did more of a fantasy drawing, and I intend on doing more of these. Most of the drawings I do are my own stylized version of the game World of Warcraft. Though in the past I have done a few that were original ideas.

Recently, the more "original" ideas have been done and are labeled "Original".