I didn't like the ideal of having EA content being sold within the game in the previous version, is that still in the Sims 4 and is it worth buying the Sims 4?

Sorry in advance if this has been discussed and answered

That's like asking if you'll like Mexican food. As in all matters of taste, some people like it, some of us thoroughly don't, and some are in between.

I'd say try watching a few Let's Plays and decide for yourself.

We haven't seen any content for sale yet, but I'm fairly sure it will be available through the gallery once it's available. The gallery can be opened while in game, but it's your decision to open it or not. Players have uploaded houses and families there which you can instantly add to your game (even adding a roommate as you play). I'm hoping that, because they have the gallery, we won't see items for sale in the buy/build catalog, in the way you would with Sims 3 (I hated that, too!).

As for the game and if it's worth buying, Moraelin is correct when she states it's a matter of taste/preference/opinion, but she failed to add a "thoroughly" to those who enjoy the game as well (and those who are thoroughly in between as well). There's a lot of different opinions about this game and, to be honest, I never felt like the live plays offered enough information about what you, as a player, will feel/experience as you play it. But, some people have found the live plays very informative. LGR usually is very helpful when it comes to understanding what a game has/doesn't have, but his live play did not highlight any of the wonderful features in the game. Instead, he played some weird beat-your-Sims-up scenario. I got the impression that he wasn't into it. The English Gamer is interesting and a lot of people have enjoyed Lovecat's videos. Try reading through some of the threads such as "What don't you like about S4" and "What did you learn today in S4?", also check out the picture threads.

Good luck with your decision!

Well, that goes both ways. *I* for example thought most people on YouTube were too kind to it, and glossed over the missing or broken stuff. I don't remember any, for example, getting to the point where the maid and every single townie just want to come in, go out, come in, go out, come in, go out, like my house is some kind of weird neighbourhood attraction. Just goes to show how different tastes can be, I guess.

As for playing, 'some weird beat-your-Sims-up scenario', while I'll venture a guess that that's not how you play it, just look at all the posts on this board alone from people who state that it's hard to keep sims' needs up. A lot of people like to make their sims do stuff all the time. Some, I'm left with the impression, even drive them like slave drivers to cultivate that garden, write that novel, frikken exercise those 100 extra pounds off already, do all promotion tasks right away, and so on. A lot of Let's Plays are played like that, simply because a lot of people play like that. Doesn't mean their heart isn't into it IMHO. It's just how they play it. And if a Let's Play shows them exactly how their own play-style actually plays out, well, that seems to me pretty good.

LGRs video? It wasn't a really representative play and it was a departure from the previous LGR videos that I've seen. In this one, the scenario was extreme with playing a Sim with a goal of torture (see if he can make it through the maze to pee! Why hasn't he died already!). Of course people will play that way, but it isn't exactly representative of typical play nor was the video typically LGR.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here: "Well, that goes both ways" - What goes both ways?

Then you wrote, "*I* for example thought most people on YouTube were too kind to it, and glossed over the missing or broken stuff." - Perhaps, but I didn't say otherwise. I said, ", I never felt like the live plays offered enough information about what you, as a player, will feel/experience as you play it."

Are we debating something?

Sims go in and out of your home? That hasn't been my experience.... Do you mean random Sims or friends show up at your Sim's home? Yes, they do, but you can ignore them. I haven't had a maid, so I'll have to take your word on that one. It sounds like the maid isn't worth it. If I remember correctly, you or someone else said the maid didn't do much cleaning but charged your Sims anyway.

So far there's no store and no other pay content being advertised in the game itself, but god knows what they're planning for the future.
As for whether or not it's worth buying for you, that's a personal opinion thing I'm afraid.

@VerDeTerre
I meant judging whether a review or LP is spot on, is what goes both ways. You know, to both sides of the scale. For some people it will be too harsh, for other people too lenient. It's just the nature of the beast, I guess, since not everyone likes the same things or is bothered as much by the same things.

Ok, thanks for explaining. I thought you were referring to the liveplays.

I didn't think LGRs liveplay, the one where he tortured his Sims and expected the one he made so deformed to die, was harsh or lenient, I just thought it was extreme and non-representative of typical play. Not that LGR has "typical play", but his videos (or the ones I've seen) have been less extreme in the past and have shown me what is in a game and comes with a game. This one was not very informative. I normally count on LGR to tell me what is in a game and what is not, to give me the nitty gritty. Even when I don't agree with his final statement about each game or expansion, I do respect his opinion and appreciate his videos. This last time, especially since I've played the game, I felt let down. He didn't share enough.

Well, to get back on topic, I think we can agree that it's a good idea to watch more than one review and/or LP, in order to get a more complete idea.

I also think it depends on what a person likes/dislikes about previous versions of the Sims games, as in, some people don't care about toddlers being removed from the game and I feel like (I am only going to post this once because it's ridiculous and my feelings are not what has made my decision about the game; I have used logic for that decision.) those people who hate toddlers are who ruined the game for people like me who adore toddlers and family game-play. There have been far too many things that were in previous games, going all the way back to Sims 1, removed from the new version of the game and no WOW factor that I can see to be a reason to spend my hard earned money on the game. I have compared the game to the previous base games and what was/was not included to assist me in making this decision.

Another factor that I've seen many people post about is that it depends on whether or not a person wants to use Origin to HAVE to install/load the game every time. My Sims games do not have that requirement, and I do not want a game on my computer that does, because there is no way to opt out of the tracking that Origin does to my PC usage. There are also reports of Origin causing the game to not run or cause problems when it does run.

I also think it depends on if you, as a Simmer, can stand to have your Sims cooped up in those tiny neighborhoods without being able to customize it to your heart's content. I've read that some people don't like building houses, etc., so the Sims 4 doesn't bother them in that respect because the build mode made it easier for them. For me, I feel my creativity would be too limited in such a tiny, non-editable world without create a style to make everything look the way I want.

It really does depend on a person's preferences in game-play. What is important to one Simmer will be different from what is important to another Simmer.

I would agree with your post, tontrin, if it were balanced. You are right about all those negatives that matter to some people, but you left out the positives that matter to others. The Sims 4 is more than just the sum of it's "missing" features.

Well to me, VerDe Terre, the game is way off balanced from what was taken out from previous versions. I can see, however, that there are some enjoyable qualities about the game that make some people want to play it. I certainly would recommend not buying it at full price if a person is going to get it, as that is what I've read in almost every review of the game, that the game lacks in content to the degree it is not worth the full price. That is even from people who enjoy playing the game. There are enjoyable things in the game obviously, or people wouldn't be having fun with it. Is it worth it to buy it? It is my opinion that it is not worth it. I still have my other Sims games and have been having a lot of fun with them. There are many things I haven't yet done in those games. Therefore, I can see that it depends on a person's circumstances and agree that it is great information to read through the threads here on MTS and watch the Let's Plays. I've seen things in the in game Let's Plays that would drive me nuts if I played Sims 4, while it might not be something that would bother another person.

In summary, with any purchase, it is good to get as much information as possible before buying. I think this is important in a game, as I would hate to waste $60.00 or $70.00 USD on a game that I wasn't going to play for a long time. I've had that experience in the past, and it was not worth it. I've read posts from people who paid that for Sims 4 and have had buyers' remorse and could find no way to return their physical copy of the game. I saw yesterday that there is still a 24 hour time period, if a person downloads the game through Origin, in which the game can be returned. One might have to pay full price that way, but if the game does not suit that person's likes, it can be returned, and the person has a chance to see what the game is like and form his/her own opinion.

I haven't played it yet so I can't really give an opinion on the game itself, but from what I've read/seen online, there is a large divide between whether or not the game is worth buying or not. Some people argue that is is not worth it because some features included in previous instalments are not included in this game. Other people consider it better because of new functionality like the multi-tasking and emotions features, and simplified building process.

I find it really bizarre that EA would intentionally make a game that seems to be inferior to it's predecessors. They want fans to like the game, so they can make money. That's why they make games. Why would they take out features that they know fans love? It doesn't even make sense to argue they want to sell the missing items as custom content items because the game is missing the functionality to work with. To me it seems like they dumbed everything down, and I'm not entirely sure if expansions or updates can correct these mistakes. I read somewhere that the main problem with TS4 is TS3 exists; if this was the sequel to TS2 there would be no problems because it's a step-up from that game. But compared to TS3, it seems like a step backwards.

Some links you might consider checking out:
-Absent Features: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/759976.page
-Player reviews: http://www.gamespot.com/the-sims-4/reviews/
-New updates: http://kotaku.com/the-sims-4-will-b...ls-f-1641172105

Personally I am enjoying Sims 4. I skipped 3 entirely, what little I played of it, I truly disliked. So to me Sims 4 is a fresh start. I don't mind the things they removed and with todays patch and announcement, some of them are being readded (ghosts, new careers, pools). The sims store will be coming, so if you don't like the in game transactions, don't use them. Its a marketing strategy to make them more money by offering extra content to buy. So if thats your main concern, just don't use it. You can play the game perfectly fine without it.

Might as well add this too, if anything just get the base game. I bought the digital deluxe version, it adds some really dumb goofy costumes and a few party items that are so-so, and a few food items. Doesn't add a whole lot to the game to be honest.

I think there's more reasons than that for people who like it and those who don't. For me, I really like it. It is a solid base game. I've got 65 hours on a game that I spent $70 to get. I rarely play any of my games for that long without huge breaks in between. I have a lot of games on steam and the top two are just over 10 hours each (one of them is a game you can't beat, the other is one you can and I'm over halfway done with it). I have problems with getting the motivation to play a lot of games, but TS4 isn't one of those. Whenever I've wanted to play TS3, I'll play it for a few hours and then get really bored and not play it again for months despite having nearly all the EPs. But it has yet to happen with TS4. It is simply fun for me. It isn't perfect, no game is perfect, but I put it up there with TS2 in terms of how much I enjoy it early on in its life. I played the crap out of TS2. I will admit, at first with TS4 it was overwhelming trying to do stuff from TS3 only to not be able to figure out how to do it. I didn't understand how progressing in jobs worked until my friend figured it out a few days later and told me. (That friend has over 300 hours into the game! He's trying to get all the achievements) The first few hours were spent trying to figure out how things work, getting frustrated over not being able to build relationships, etc. But once I got the hang of it, and I wasn't focused on the things that were in TS3 and were changed in TS4, it became a lot more fun and now I really enjoy it. People need to take it as its own game and see if they enjoy it, rather than focusing on how it is different from the past games (or wait to see if updates add some of those things, like how we're getting pools soon!). Some people still won't like it, but at least they gave it a shot with an open mind.

As I said before, there's a lot more to the game than the sum of it's "missing features". It's hard to communicate how differently it feels, but it has to do with the way the Sims themselves behave and interact with their environments and one another. I think tontrin had a great idea when she suggested buying it on Origin. That way, you could try it out for 24 hours and see for yourself if you thought it was worth it or not.

Even reading reviews is iffy for getting a balanced picture. The links provided by mister_wolfe give one side of the story, but you have to search further to get the rest. Frankly, people who enjoyed the game were less likely to post positive reviews (either their own or others) in the review thread because of the amount of disapproval they faced when saying anything positive.

For balance, try these two threads in addition to the ones reccommended by mister_wolfe:

http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...stpost&t=532884
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=536208

Here's a good link to a YouTube channel. The lady's name is Jessa and she does some Let's Plays. She takes her time and shows the different aspects of the game, not rushing through anything.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheJessaChannel

looks like premium membership is projected to be launched on the 10th

For me, it isn't. I've been playing the free trial of Guild Wars 2 (which ends tonight), it's also on sale for 50% off.

My personal opinion is that the Sims 4 was definitely worth the $60 plus tax that I paid for it. I love the emotions, it's my favorite feature. It makes my sims so alive. My flirty sim is always doing flirty things and she's just a sweet, loving character-while my evil sim is mischievous and dangerous! lol. Before the Sims 4, I felt like I had to pretend a lot with my sims in terms of their personalities and traits (although Sims 3 did open up the door for some more active personalities and gameplay). Now I don't have to try as hard, the sims just do it for me. I love using my imagination, but seeing that being played out before my eyes is awesome. My only grievance so far is that there aren't enough emotions to satisfy me yet. I'm assuming they're going to add more with each expansion, at least I really hope so! (Or at least more flavors of the emotions we already have.)

I don't play the game for the DLC, but the gallery is pretty awesome and I think the free stuff that's uploaded by other players will keep you interested for a long time without having to purchase anything extra. I didn't buy DLC for the Sims 3 and I was fine without it. Expansions are enough for me. I don't even buy stuff packs unless I'm buying the complete lot of a game when it's cheaper. Besides, with mods and CC, I think we'll be pretty comfortable for a while. I did notice that the more expansions that TS3 had, the less stuff I wanted in my game because it was already so full and there was so much to do and play with. Once that happens with 4, you may not even care about DLC or stuff from the gallery.

For me, it is totally worth the price (depends where you're from). I got the game for $50 (which is $30 off from the original price of $89.95 here in Australia). At first i was skeptical about the game up until a week after it was released. Despite the missing features of toddlers and pools being removed, i still find the game extremely enjoyable in comparison to the sims 3 since i had problem running on my horrible laptop. The emotions is a great features and adds depth into the gameplay. Multi-tasking, however, remains my favorite feature of the sims 4, you will notice the sims being much more animated and liveler than the sims 3 no doubt about it. The animations is great as well and the community lots are filled with sims to interact with.

There are still some flaws with the games that i hope can be fixed or added in later patches/expansions such as the weird routings/clippings issues with sims, the lack of family trees/cars/toddlers/pools/NPCs/normal careers (half of these will be added soon with pool in november and more careers choices in december). For a base game, i enjoyed the sims 4 much more than previous installments' base games. Like others recommend, i think you should check out a few lets play to see if it fits you're style of playing, (i watched lifesimmer, thesimssupply and LGR).

I fell right into the game and purchased it with my eyes open so to speak. That is to say I knew what they said they were leaving out and putting in. I'm one that didn't miss toddlers and pools even though I had used the former pretty often in the other versions of the game, and the latter only a few times. What I missed about the no pool oddly enough was the swimwear that would have been with the pools option as I live on Australia's Gold Coast and I can see people in swimmers all year round! LQL

I was a little surprised a the small size of the neighbourhoods and building lots, but I overcame that pretty quickly. I had the CAS Demo and put together some 20-odd households as they called them (not all households contain families so that works for me) and one of the first things I did when the full game came into my possession was to build a house. I played about with this and that, installed a family and developed a plot line for them and I have over 150 hours up. So that tells me that I must be enjoying this game as the only game I have played and replayed this year was Dragon Age Ultimate Edition, and that was about 2-3 months ago and I have been having trouble getting motivated to get off my arse and go sit in front of a computer to play a game... Errrm... Yeah, what I errrr... said...

On the other hand I also played the shit out of TS1 and 2. I couldn't get into TS3 as much and din't play it as often. As for buying stuff, when I did play 3, I grabbed a load of free mods and stuff to make it more interesting which helped, but I never purchased any online payable content (but I did buy all of the Ep for TS1 and all but pets for TS2) and still have the what, 100 free credits they gave you for doing something? It's still there, I saw it the other day! So that part is totally up to you. No one is going to make you I think.

And then there are those that won't agree with a word I typed and tell you tha game is a load of shit because if X, Y, and Z. As my comments are subjective to me and my contentment with what I have gotten (remember I have gone from not playing anything in recent months to playing some 150+ hours [158 to be exact] of TS4), their displeasure is subject to what they want, need, like, etc.

But regardless of user comments and reviews, if EA is still offering the 100% money back guarantee and you have enjoyed the previous offering of the franchise, you might do better taking up that offer and playing the heck out of it, give it a beating as you test drive it, throw some empty burger wrappings into the back seat and if not satisfied, return it and get your money back, let them clean the rubbish out. Win/win?