The Sims Celebrates 15 Years & Announces First Sims 4 Expansion
Where were you when the original Sims was released? I can actually answer that.
I worked part-time as a sales associate at my local Electronics Boutique (which eventually merged into Game Stop… but I will always remember it as EB). The assistant manager started raving about this great new game called The Sims. I remember standing behind the counter as he described what the game was about – something so simple, yet so unique for the time. Then I remember going to the shelf with him to look at the box.
I remember buying it that day without hesitation. Thus, my 15-year semi-addiction to Sims began.
Since then, I have purchased every game and expansion pack released. I never got into the stuff packs, though. And while I have questioned some of the monetization of this series (never got into the Sims 3 store items, either), it’s hard for me to pick a series that has brought as much joy and laughter as The Sims has over this many years.
Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat Quickie Review
I never got around to writing that review I wanted to write for Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat. So I guess, I’ll talk about that really quickly here. I feel that the price for what is termed a “Game Pack” was on point – $20 for an additional neighborhood and all the interactions, items, personalities, and new skills sat well with me. While this was no game-changer by any means, it was a nice way to expand on the original base game by providing new content that sits outside of an expansion pack.
I saw Outdoor Retreat as something to give sims to do with the vacation time one of the earlier free patches added to the game. I did have a lot of fun decorating my camping lot and sending a family to vacation there. Sims can’t live there permanently. It’s a pure vacation neighborhood.
I think game packs will become somewhat like better and more robust stuff packs. If you like the pack’s topic, then you pick it up. If it doesn’t interest you, then just by-pass it. To me, more options are a good thing, just as long as the quality of the options remain high.
Sims 4 Genealogy
The newest free patch for the Sims 4 brought the release of genealogy to the base game. The lack of family trees was one of my major complaints of something I felt was very important that was omitted at the base game. However, for those crying “It should have been in at release! Q_____Q!” … Well it’s there now, for free. So hush about it. :p
Sims 4 “Get to Work” Expansion Pack
The biggest surprise this week was the announcement of the “Get to Work” expansion pack. No, a Sims expansion pack isn’t surprising. But getting the first expansion pack not so long after the base game release is pretty eye-brow raising. Especially since the release date says April.
Looking at the content of this EP, I now see why. It’s all about more interactive careers and sims owning shops and such. This is stuff that was very likely being worked on alongside the base game development. Seeing that my second biggest complaint was that the base game omitted some of the standard sims jobs, such as doctors and scientists, I now understand better why that choice was made.
Though I hesitate a bit at the cost of the pack – $39.99 – I welcome the kind of gameplay this pack is offering. The community response has overall been positive. That’s because this pack hearkens back to a fan favorite Sims 2 EP “Open for Business” and seems to mix it up a bit with another Sims 3 EP, “Ambitions.”
I might be confused, but I still remember Sims 3 EP being priced more at the $29 mark, though. Right? I’ll probably get this – or ask for it for my birthday 🙂 – but this will be the testing grounds for Sims 4 EP for me. If I don’t feel like the higher $39 price point is worth the content I get, I’ll be holding off on future expansions until sales hit… or unless they really appeal to me.