Holy Plumbob, it's The Sims 4!

 

Earlier today in a press conference at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, EA Games released a first look at The Sims 4. The video included a short gameplay, showing the new and different features of the highly anticipated game.
The Sims is the best-selling PC franchise in the world, selling over 150 million copies since its original release in 2000, and every year since then the game has been outdoing itself with every new expansion pack and sequels. The current game, The Sims 3, brought as its main difference from the previous games an open world where for the first time players could bring their Sims out of their houses and into the town without the loading screen, and that was beyond simmers’ wildest dreams. All the freedom brought by The Sims 3 with the open world as well as in Create-A-Sim and the unlimited customizing in build and buy mode made me question what else could the developers do to make The Sims 4 stand out. Well, the answer is in the first look video; they took Create-A-Sim to a whole new level.
The player can now change the sizes of shoulders, thighs, buttocks, waist, and the belly alone without having to change the whole body. That’s new. Also, there is no need for sliders, the player can simply drag a specific body part, making it bigger, smaller, wider, higher, lower, or whatever look one can imagine. “It’s like playing with clay”, said the VP and Executive Producer Rachel Franklin at the press conference, and in the video that’s exactly what it looks like, making it possible to create Sims of ANY shape and size! Not a lot was said about personality and traits, but now the player can select different walking styles. I like how the developers didn't aim to make Sims look more and more like digital human replicas, but like a game character. The general appearance of Sims make them look like something in between Sims 2 and Sims 3, and not like something evolved from Sims 3 as expected. They do have a lot more facial expressions and details, though, and they look amazing.
The gameplay seems to have changed its focus, as it always does with every new game. Emotions seem to be a huge part of it now, and the player can control them not only with interactions, but with the objects as well, such as the décor around or objects you can manipulate. The player can make a Sim furious using a voodoo doll and then blow off steam by hitting a punching bag, for example.
Building seems to have evolved a little. I’ve never been a builder, but it looks like building will be way more fun this time. It looks simpler and easier, giving the player more freedom by dragging rooms around to expand and resize them. Players can also move rooms around, furniture and all, that’s new and super cool. Maybe they took their previous blueprint idea and expanded on that. The first look video says building is faster than ever, which is relief to me, always took me forever and a half to build a small house.
As for the world the game will take place in, nothing was really revealed, but two Sims are shown in the video taking off on a rocket. Will Sims be able to go to space? Earlier in the year there were rumors about Sims going to the moon, so is the rocket a hint that the rumors were true?
The Sims 4 will be released in 2014, and as a long time Simmer, I am beyond excited and looking forward to that. Watch the first look video below.