What. The. Hell.

I can't help posting about this. I really can't. After watching the videos a million times over I'm still in complete and utter shock. My game looks worse than before, my build tools have been downgraded to a box, and my Sims are now moody. Great. That was my initial reaction anyways. I'm slowly beginning to calm down and really take a good look at The Sims 4. Don't get me wrong, I'm still so, so disappointed, but maybe there's a few good things coming out of this after all.

So the graphics aren't exactly the most amazing thing I've ever seen. There's absolutely no arguing that. But if you can get past that image in your head of how it's supposed to look, it can be pretty in its own way. It is a game after all, and cartoony can be adorable. I guess a less-realistic world is okay since I wouldn't want a super-realistic one. It'd be creepy if my Sims looked 100% real. With CC I'm sure those little things that really bother me, like those non-existent line eyelashes, could be fixed and made to look just a teensy bit more realistic. I guess my point is that we should try to get past the graphics and really see the game and how it has improved.

Some of those improvements are the new emotions and CAS. The emotions look like a lot of fun to play with. It's cute that my Sims' lips will quiver when they're really upset, or that their facial expressions really do have more that the standard happy and sad settings. Hopefully EA / Maxis hasn't over exaggerated a ton though. A little flair is great and makes the game fun to play since it has that little silly edge to it, but if my Sims are constantly in a completely over-the-top mood then I can see it getting really annoying really fast. Time will tell. And CAS looks amazing! Pulling at the body shape will make it so much easier to tweak my Sims. Instead of having to hunt through dozens of sliders and having to guess at which little detail each one changed, now you just click and drag whichever bit you want to change. We haven't seen the hair and clothing options yet though, or any other age groups for that matter which worries me, but at least this one thing seems so improved!

The build tools though! :( No more wall tool?! I don't want a box to click and drag! We can do that now but I hate building that way and never do. I'm hoping that the wall tool is still there and they were just emphasizing how easy it is to build houses for those players that don't like building. This is my biggest worry from the videos so far and I'm really gonna worry until I see build mode and can confirm for myself how it works.

The last thing has nothing to do with the videos. At this point in time you can only preorder a digital version of the game...I don't buy a game I can't have a physical copy of. And the company has seemed to hint that there may not be EPs any more but instead will sell new things online like with The Sims 3's store we have now. I will not buy The Sims 4 if there aren't physical copies. Digital copies don't stay forever. I want something I can keep and use years and years from now. This will be the deciding factor on if I move on to The Sims 4. I can handle the cartoony style, the possibly messed up build mode, and anything else but this...this would mean the end of The Sims for me. I guess everything rides on what they release about the game in the year to come.

No more burrito babies!

The greatest piece of CC ever to be released for The Sims 3 has come to my attention today. For the 1st time ever in-game, babies can have arms and legs thanks to QuizicalGin's Sleeper Footies! Goodbye burrito babies, hello normality. It's sad that somehow in the course of this wonderful game series our babies have devolved into little larvae...let's take a look.

The Sims

Babies were more of a object than a Sim. They were made in a weird way too, instead of woohooing Sims would kiss passionately 3 times in a row and get a pop-up asking if they would like to have a baby. It'd appear in a rain of flowers in its little bassinet. You never saw the baby unless a Sim walked over to interact with it, and then it couldn't be put down anywhere other than the bassinet or carried around. Those suckers were hard to keep too! You had maybe an hour of it crying before the social worker would call and threaten to take it away.

The Sims 2

Yay my favorite babies! These are the most realistic of all in my opinion. The little arms and legs, the diaper, the interactions...ah I miss it. They were always bald but their eyebrows reflected what hair color they'd inherited, and their eye color was an inherited feature too. And no more crib attachment! You had to buy the crib, and the babies could be put on the floor and carried around. They also could be bathed and the changing table came with the base game. Oh, and they could be interacted with by multiple adults! One would hold the baby while the other cooed at it, and they could hand the baby to each other.

The Sims 3

And now we devolve. Burrito babies, larvae, caterpillars...all nicknames for what EA did to the previously-adorable age. Before I could stand having a few babies in the house. They were cute. Now I skip through that particular age. What's the point? They aren't cute any more, there are less interactions, and they're just generally annoying. I was so disappointed this time around.

But now, hallelujah! Babies can have arms and legs in The Sims 3! I'm so excited for my next in-game baby. I might actually be able to stand having one in my family now. This CC gets the highest praise from me. Hopefully EA picks up on how much people hate the babies and make them much better in the future.