‘The Sims 4’ The Most Disappointing Video Game of 2014?
The release of The Sims 4 was widely anticipated, so it was inevitable that it would appear on gaming journalists’ typical end of the year lists, but is The Sims 4 one of the most disappointing games of the year? CNET seems to think so.
In an article called “The Most Disappoint Games of 2014”, CNET notes that The Sims 4 just didn’t match the high quality and innovative game design fans have come to expect from a title bearing the name The Sims. To be fair, CNET doesn’t go so far as to call The Sims 4 a bad game, though other titles on the list weren’t so fortunate. Instead, CNET suggests that the game feels too much like it’s predecessors, and offers the same experience nothing to the players that they haven’t had for the better part of the past decade. Other titles on the list include Assassins Creed: Unity, Thief, and Destiny.
The Sims 4 is such a let down. Seriously. Why would they destroy it like that.
— Kalyn Midkiff (@Kilosaurus) December 15, 2014
The September 2014 release of The Sims 4, the latest installment in the 14-year-old franchise created by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts, was met with fanfare and some controversy. The largest complaint from fans of the series about The Sims 4 has been the lack of content. Gamespot praised The Sims 4 for it’s streamlined build and buy systems, particularly noting their appeal for fans “devoted to the arts of architecture and interior design.”
The Gamespot review is less charitable with the actual game play in The Sims 4, calling it “diminished when compared to even the vanilla version of ‘The Sims 3′” and noting the lack of content previously available at launch, like swimming pools and a toddler life stage. Swimming pools have since been added back into the game via a content patch, but toddlers still remain missing, presumably that feature is being saved for a future expansion pack.
If The Sims 4 follows the release schedule of it’s predecessor, The Sims 3, then before the new year arrives (or shortly after it’s passed) fans of the Sims franchise will be gifted with the announcement of the first expansion pack. Meanwhile, though some fans jumped ship after the release of The Sims 4, the franchise still has a rich modding community. In addition to specifically designed sims and elaborate homes for them to live in, gamers who aren’t squeamish can download a mod to add bloody tattoos to their game. Did you miss the Servo from The Sims 2? There’s a mod for that too.
If you have been waiting to purchase The Sims 4, now may be a good time. The digital download of The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe Edition is available for download on Origin. For now it’s $46.66, down 33 percent from it’s MSRP of $69.99. Or get the The Sims 4 Standard Edition for $39.99. Unfortunately for Mac users, there are still no plans to release a Mac compatible version of The Sims 4.
