The latest update from EA about the mysterious Project Rene is here, and with it has come a huge amount of controversy. It’s been revealed that The Sims 4 is going to remain the focus of the series and that Project Rene, widely believed to be the codename for The Sims 5, will instead be a multiplayer game.  

If ?that news doesn’t fill you with confidence about the future of the life simulation series, you’re not alone. Fans across the globe have not been taking the news well, with thousands of players making their opinions heard on all corners of the internet.

Sims fans are not happy that Sims 5 isn’t in any future plans

It’s led t?o plenty of player?s proclaiming the current iteration of the series is the worst so far, like this Twitter post:

With over 11,000 likes, it seems the opinion is a popular one, with the sentiment echoed by posts like this saying that Sims 5 could be the make or break of the franchise, but without it, the se?ries h?as nowhere left to go:

R/thesims, one of the most popular subreddits for the game, has also been blowing up with similar p?osts, ??like this one saying they don't think they can take the many more years of content planned for the fourth installment:

With the number of up?votes and replies, many players seem?ingly feel the same. 

We’ve talked about how expensive The Sims 4 i??s before, and with the announcement that EA plans to further develop the game for years to come, that price will only increase. Many players have come out to say they feel the fourth game has lived far beyond its expiration date, and they can’t take more of it.

Some players even believe this is the nail in the coffin of the franchise as a ?whole:

We’ve talked about how expensive The Sims 4 is before, and with the announcement that EA plans to further develop the game for years to come, that price will only increase. These popular posts agree that EA is simply wringing the game for as m??uch cash as possible and cares far more about the money than the series itself. 

Although it seems the most popular reactions have been negative, it’s not all doom and gloom. Some Simmers like say that as long as development for Sims 4 continues, they?’re not heartbroken about not ha??ving a sequel:

The Sims has remained at the top of the life simulation game genre since its debut in 2000, and only time will tell if this decision to not go forward with The Sims 5 and instead focus on the current?? installment and spinoffs will keep it there. 

The post The Sims community is in sh??ambles after EA announces Sims 5 isn’t happening appeared first on Destructoid.

A life simulator, understandably, should let you leave your home to experience the wide-open world. And that’s exactly what you can do in The Sims 4: travel to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, in the fourth installment of the classic Sims series, there’s not that much to see. 

The Sims 4 has a bit of a world problem. If you were around for the original release of the game, you remember the disappointment when you first decided to leave your home. There was no open world to explore, and there were so few lots to do anything that it was almost better to just keep your Sim on one lot like you were limited to in the original Sims 1. 

As the years have gone on, EA has expanded on the amount of worlds that you can visit with the introduction of numerous expansion and game packs. While no?? one is psyched about having to pay for ev??en more DLC, it at least gives players new worlds to explore. But these worlds are getting smaller and smaller as they continue to release. 

Beautiful, but no substance

Visually, many of the new worlds are incredibly appealing. Worlds like Tomarang, Sulani, and the latest addition with the Lovestruck pack Ciudad Enamorada, provide breathtaking views for your Sims to enjoy on be??aches, in the woods, and on top of towering skyscrapers. Sadly, that’s all these are though. A vast majority of some of the most beautiful locations are simply set dressing. 

Take for example, in the world of Tomarang included in For Rent, there’s a beautiful Southeast Asian-inspired temple that serves as the Tiger Sanctuary. What a perfect place to go exploring for secrets of the town, right? But The Tiger Sanctuary is nothing more than a rabbit hole for you?r Sim to disappear into, with a few pop-ups describing your adventures. 

So, not only are many of the stunning spots just there to look pretty, but the lots you are able to go a?nd c?heck out are limited. The original two worlds included, Willow Creek and Oasis Springs, both have a respectable 21 lots. This isn’t huge, and a majority of those lots are taken up by residential homes, but at least it was a starting point. The problem is that the worlds that have been released have been shaving off lots for a while now.

The world keeps getting smaller

When packs were first released, it seemed like the dev team was trying to make the worlds bigger than before. Windenburg, the world included with Get Together, gave players 14 residential lots and 13 community lots to play with. San Myshuno, packaged with City Living, has 30 lots in total if you count eac??h apartment as its own lot.

However, as more packs have been released, those numbers have been dwindling. Get Famous, released in 2018, has only 11 lots in total. The latest world for players to explore, Ciudad Enamorada, only has 13. Compare this to the largest world included in The Sims 3, Sunset Valley, whi??ch had a whopping 92 lots. That’s 79 fewer lots to play with.

It doesn’t help that, unlike previous installments in the series, the map is not editable. You cannot add new lots to the land. While you are able to edit each lot itself, you can’t place a new one next to an ex??isting one, even if that land is blank. The map is inst??ead 2D, with no way to change it. 

There are no world adventures here

This has a huge impact on gameplay. Instead of plenty of places to visit, to explore and meet new Sims, players are stuck with the same few places and faces. Playing Sims 4 feels almost like a routine because there’s not much to see and do. Even when new packs ??are released, you’re able to check out the entire world in just a short few hours of gameplay. 

It’s not just the lack of lots, but the lack of variety within them. Each world features the same types of venues, as put by user ContinuumKing on a Reddit post discussing the new features of the Lovestruck pack:

With plenty of upvotes, the sentiment is quite popular. There’s nothing new or exciting ??to check out in the?? other worlds because the same activities exist in the world you’re already in. User Big_Stop8917 shared the sentiment:

For fans who love to take their Sims on adventures and journeys that span their entire lifetime, you simply can’t do that with The Sims 4. The coolest place?s to go are just scenery, the lots that are there are repetitive, and you’ll be able to see it all within just a few days of your Sim’s life. It honestly makes me want to ju??st keep my Sims at home.

We’d love to see a change in this as more DLC releases for Sims 4. Bigger worlds expand the possibilities in gameplay significantly. However, the expansions continue to sell well, so it seems there’s little incentive for EA to fix the problem. The packs will keep rolling out, but hop?efully the wor??lds won't keep this trend going.

The post The?? Sims 4 has a world problem, and it’s only getting worse appeared first on Destructoid.

With the Lovestruck expansion out, there’s plenty of romance in the air for your Sims to enjoy. Beautiful walks through the g?arde?n, quality time on the beach, and of course, WooHooing are all part of the fun.

The Sims 4 has the most WooHoo spots for your Sims to enjoy in the entire franchise, and there’s at least a few that will make you turn your head and wonder why. Here are the strangest locations your Sims can WooHoo in The Sims 4. 

Weirdest WooHoo spots you can find in The Sims 4

10. Coffin

We’re starting off strong with the coffin. Included in the Vampires game pack, your Sims can get lively in this object designed for death. While coffins are intended for vampires to sl?eep in when you're playing the game, rather than being buried in, it’s still a bit stra??nge.

?You can either purchase one of these coffins for your own home or pay a visit to your neighbors in Forgotten Hollow. At least the lining looks ??comfy.

9. Rocket Ship

Included in the base game, this is one of the weirdest places your Sims can WooHoo in that you can get for free. Once a rocket ship is built or purch??as??ed, your two Sims can have all the fun they want. How do the logistics of that work if there’s no gravity? I guess we don’t need to worry about that.

8. Observatory

Gazing up at the stars can be very romantic, so naturally, some of your Sims could get frisky from using the observatory. However, it’s a pretty cramped space. How comfortable can this wooden s?hack be? It might not be the weirdest of all the locations, but it just looks like it wouldn’t be a ve??ry pleasant experience. 

7. Bushes

Bushes are given quite a lot of versatility in The Sims 4, as they can be used not only as decor??ation but also to relieve bladder and o?ther activities. WooHooing in a bush doesn’t seem particularly comfortable, but they do make for an easy location if your Sims are in the mood and are out and about.

6. Piles of Leaves

If your Sims weren’t fazed by WooHooing in a bush full of sticks and thorns, surely a pile of leaves won’t throw them off, either. If you have the Seasons expansion, all you need to do is have your Sims rake a pile of leaves and jump on in. Jus??t make sure the pile of leaves is fresh so they’re not uncomfortable.

You’re likely to find ?these piles of leaves everywhere during the autumn, so keep your eyes peeled. If you see lea??ves on the ground, you can choose to have your Sim rake them too, so they can create their own pile of fun.

5. Money Vault

What’s better than a comfy bed? A comfy bed made of piles of Simoleons, that’s what. Included in the Get Famous expansion, your high-class Sims can purchase a vault to bask in their wealth, as well as WooHoo on it. Their date will be more than impressed with th?is.

4. Bat Form

Returning to the Vampires pack, if you’ve got two vampires who are feeling saucy and have unlocked the bat form, they can WooHoo as bats. Best of all, this can be done anywhere you want. So, no matter whether your Sims are in the comfort of their own home or in town, they?? can st?ill get it on. 

3. Ice Cave

If your Sims are willing to trek up the icy mountain in the Snowy Escape expansion pack, they’ll be able to have a romantic WooHoo in the ice caves you can find along the way. It’s quite a hassle to get all th?e way up there, not to mention it’s cold and snowy. Your Sims deserve a nice break if they can make it all the way to this location. 

2. Animal Shed

If your Sims don’t mind the smell of llama??s or cows, then an animal shed is a very convenient WooHoo location for them. This is another one of those spots that you’ll want to make sure is cleaned out before use. You also want to make sure you’re doing this so you’re not neglecting your furry friends.

1. Dumpster

There’s no way I couldn’t put a literal dumpster as the strangest WooHoo location in The Sims 4. Who would do this? It’s filled with garbage, it smells bad, and it doesn’t look particularly cozy. That won’t stop some Sims, though. If you’re morbidly curious about this WooHoo location, you’ll need the Eco Lifestyle pack to be able to experience it. There are plenty of dumpsters littered around Evergree?n Harbor, so feel free to use any of them for your romantic escapades.

The post 10 strangest WooHoo spots in The Sims 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Nearly a full decade after its release, The Sims 4 has plenty of content to offer up to its pl??ayers whenever they make a new sav??e. Whether you’re playing the base game or have every expansion released, there’s plenty to do in this life simulator.

But, unfortunately, the game doesn’t have everything that the series is known for. Right from the launch, series staples have been missing, and fans are still asking EA for them to this day. These are features from previous games that we want back in The Sims 4.

Features fans want to make a comeback to The Sims

1. Create a Style

One of, if not the best aspect of The Sims 3, was the famous Create a Style tool. For the uninitiated, this feature would allow you to change the pattern, te?xture, and color of nearly every??thing in the game. This included both clothes and furniture.

Fans were devastated when it was revealed that Create a Style had been cut for the fourth in?stallment due to performance concerns, which is a huge loss, seeing as the customization abilities were limitless. Now, fans must live with a limited number of swatches instead. We would love to see this feature be brought back.

2. Fairies

The Sims 4 has done a great job of expanding the supernatural life states that are available, including vampires, spellcasters, and werewolves. However, there’s a key one missing, and that’s fairies. Introduced in the third game, fairies were refreshingly bright and beautiful compared to the spooky aura of the rest of the Supernatural expansion.

Needless to say, this life state has not been introduced into the fourth game. Fans instead have to rely on custom content and mods if the??y want to be a magical fairy living in a cute cottage in the forest causing mischief.? What a shame.

3. Burglars

Was there anything more terrifying than the burglar music from the original Sims? Not that I can remember. Burglars added a bit of challenge to the game, with these sticky-handed Sims taking some of your most valuable items in the dead? of night.

They’ve been a staple of the series since the original game, and have been included in every entry �until The Sims 4. There are no burglars in the fourth in?stallment, and that’s a real shame. It made the gameplay much more exciting and made players appreciate every one? of their items a bit more.

4. Cars

What’s a bustling Sim city without endless traffic to get caught in? One that feels a lot less lifelike. Cars were first added to the series in The Sims 2 and stuck around as the best way to travel in the third installment. But, in The Sims 4, cars have been downgrad??ed to nothing more than set dressing. 

Instead, your Sims just disappear into the void when they go to exit a lot. While cars didn’t change up the gameplay that much, as you couldn’t? actually ?drive them, they made the game that much more realistic. Plus, what’s a dream mansion without a stunning sports car in the front?

5. Singer Career

The Get Famous expansion pack for the fourth game lets you dive deep i?nto fame, but unlike previous installments, it doesn’t let you do this as a singer. Sure, acting and content creation are fun to play with, but they are just not the same.

There not only is no ability to be a famous singer but there’s no way to form a band, either. For anyone who was convinced they were going to be a rock star someday, this is very limiting. It might not be the most vital thing missing from The Sims 4, but I want it back all the same.

6. Open World

This one is likely nothing more than a pipe dream, seeing as how the entire core gameplay model of Sims 4 would need to be reworked to include this. But the open world was so popular in The Sims 3, that it’s a w??on??der why it was removed in the first place.

Instead of having an entire world to explore without limits, players are forced to endure endless loading screens just to get to a different lot. This is playtime wasted, and many fans are still salty that Sims 4 chose to get rid of the open world. Perhaps we can g?et our hopes up for the fifth game.

7. Dying from removing the pool ladder

Is this one practical ?or realistic? Not in the slightest. But it’s such a beloved feature from the franchis??e that I want it back anyway. It was a right of passage to kill at least a handful of Sims by letting them go for a swim only to delete their exit.

Death as a whole is a bit sanitized in the fourth game, with ghosts given pretty much all the abilities of living Sims and multiple ways to bring them back to life. So to take away one of the most legendary deaths in the series feels like an extra kick to fans. It might not happ??en in real life, but I’d love for it to happen to my Sims once more.

8. Create your own world

The Sims 2 featured so?mething quite special, which was the ability to pick from a huge? template of cityscapes and build your own world to play around in. Want to make your hometown? Maybe New York City? It’s easy to do with the Create a World feature.

Sadly, this hasn’t shown up in any other Sims entries, although you were free to place more empty ?lots in the third game. This has also been removed, and now players are stuck with premade worlds that ?offer no customization besides the lots already placed. It’s very limiting, and we would love to see this feature come back.

9. Aspiration Failure

Sims have a set of needs they have to take care of in order to be happy and healthy, just like real people. In past games, they’ve also had to complete wants and goals in order to remain happy, also like in real life. In Sims 4? Nothing. 

Aspiration failure added a level of challenge to the game, as it was necessary not only to keep them physically healthy, but mentally as well. Sims felt more dynamic, and we’d love to see that put back ??into the franchise.

10. Zodiac Signs

Even the original Sims had these. Astrology is nowhere to be found in Sims 4, and nowadays the only way to get your fill of zodiac in the game is to download mods or custom content. This is a real s??hame because it’s never a bad thing for Sims to have more personality. 

It’s understandable that they didn’t want personalities entirely dependent on a Sim’s sign, as it was in the first two titles, but not eve??n being able to choose it at all seems like a big st??ep back. It just seems strange to remove zodiac signs altogether. EA should just put them back into the game.

The post 10 features we want back in The Sims appeared first on Destructoid.

The Sims 4's classic HUD layout has been updated with a new feature in the form of a cart icon. Rather than going through the hassle of closing your game to browse t??he shop, this mechanic allows you to get exclusive packs in-game during your usual Sims binge season.

A cart icon can be found near the upper-right corner, near all the traditional icons of Build Mode, Manage Worlds, and ???the Gallery. While there are some reservations about it from the fanbase, it is nice to have easy access to these goodies.

The only setback is the fact that the entire collection won't be right in front of you, as the new cart restricts it down ?to a select few. Instead, recommendations will be presented?, possibly based on your past purchases.

Besides the HUD element, the new Sims 4 update features a variety of f??ixes across the base game and expansion packs. For Rent issues have been the primary concern for most Simmers, and now the latest patch seeks to resolve these problems. For example, saving errors and laggy performa??nces in the Residential Rental lots have been adjusted.

The Sims 4 Seasons' holiday bug has also been resolved, where the themed panel only popped up with various Sims. But, even with these changes, modding will be heavily impacted, turning all the CC characters into some kind of weird Barbie (not that that's an entirely bad thing.) To adj??ust this, the game's Direct Communication Twitter/X suggests removing any mods or CC content for the time being.

Sims 4's newest update arrived just in time for the upcoming Crystal Creations. However, the latest Stuff pack will likely bring about more bugs and errors, so we could see more updates along the way for a better Simming experience.

The post New Sims 4 update ad??ds cart HUD element and For Rent bug fixes appeared first on Destructoid.

Some games provide intentionally scary moments, while other?s turn into horror masterpieces entirely by accident. In honor o??f the sentiment, here's a list of regular games turned into horror masterpieces via the miracle of video game glitches.

Skyrim NPCs can survive decapitation

‌The world of Skyrim is a magical place, though not all the magics contai?ned within are necessarily good ones.

Remember that guy who gets beheaded right at the start of Skyrim? Well, he does lose his head every time, as there's no way to mess with that scripting, but the wound isn't always fatal. This guy �as well as other enemies who wind up headless �can jus?t get up and go on with their lives.

While there's no recording of this headless horseless man going on a vendetta against Dovakhin for doing nothing to prevent his execution, I would keep my eyes?? open on a playthrough where ??that happens.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

Demon babies in The Sims 3

‌The Sims series is as far as it gets from a horror experience �or is it? Well, it turns out that babies in The Sims can become pretty hellish. There's a glitch that turns the babies in The Sims 3 into what feels like an early version of the necromorphs from the Dead Space series.

Putting our offspring in this world can be scary, yes, but I doubt this was an intentional allegory for the fears of parenthood like in David Lynch's Eraserhead.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

The Manimals in Red Dead Redemption

The original Red Dead Redemption could sometimes mix up human and animal models, which resulted in human NPCs behaving like animals. No, not in the Wild West sense where?? we expect everyone to play like barbarians??.

I'm talking about people literally behaving like animals. Some move like four-legged animals, some others even fly as if they were birds. Sure, this sounds fun when you're just reading ??abou??t it, but it's probably not as fun to get mauled by a bunch of suit-and-tie-wearing coyotes.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

The evolved Manimals in Assassin's Creed Origins

Video games have gotten better over time, and that's why Assassin’s Creed Origins features an evolved version of the Red Dead Redemption glit??ch shown above. Now, instead of having humans behaving like animals, we have?? some animal NPCs that adopt human mannerisms.

This mig?ht not be ancient Egypt done right, but it sure as hell is ancient Egypt? done cool.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

Inexplicable Statue in Witcher 3

‌The Tower of Mice is already one of the eeriest places in the entirety of The Witcher 3, but it gets even worse if you pay attention at the wrong time.

If you stand in the specific spot shown in the video above, you’ll get to see a weirdly lean creature phasing in and out of existence. Wha??t is it? Nobody knows for sure, but it's creepy as hell. The good news is that it's completely harmless. Maybe?? it actually likes Geralt.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: This s??pecter is there for any pl??ayer who wants to meet it.

‌Alma following you in FEAR 2

Alma is the little The Ring-inspired girl that serves as the poster child for the FEAR series. She shows up to spook players throughout FEAR 2, naturally, but this weird glitch makes her follow you around nonstop. The p??layer in the video above gets rid of her by throwing a punch, which caused her to fly away in the most awkward manner possible. This is the perfect combination of funny and terrifying.

‌‌The FEAR series is already scary enough as is. It doesn't need its scare factor to get further inflated by ?wacky glitches.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Astronomically low. Thi?s may be the only r??ecorded instance of this glitch.

NBA Jam has ghosts

�em>NBA Jam came out in �3, a few months after?? the tragic death of Drazen Petrovic.

Imagine trying to enjoy the game when the arcade machine starts shouting his name �and no one else’s �even though he's not even playing. That’s as close as it gets to a video game haunting �and it's totally real.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: 100%. This glitch is present in every early version of the ga?me.

Fallout 4 companion becomes your greatest enemy

Most Fallout 4 fans don’t like Preston Garvey very much because of how pushy he gets with helping settlements, and most of them haven’t even had to deal with him ??going mad.

Yes, it's possible that Garvey will turn into an unkillable Terminator-like figure that will hunt players down until the heat death of the universe. Yes, that's something that happens, and someone has lived to document it.

This brave wasteland journalist tried everything, from regular bullets to explosives. Nothing would stop Garvey. The best he could do was temporarily stun the unstoppable force. He then had an idea, to build the most powerful settlement ever built. Maybe its concentrated firepower would destroy G??arvey. Too bad the settlement refused to shoot Garvey, seemingly remembering that he's the only person in the land who cares about settlements.

The ordeal ended not with Garvey's death, but with him randomly going back to friendly ??mode. There's no way of knowing how long this p??eace will last.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Extremely low, but keep your eyes open, and don't?? neglect y??our settlements.

Mount and Blade’s terrifying skybox

‌In Mount and Blade: Warband, a weird g??litch might turn the entire skybox into the face of an angry man who merely stares at the player. Who is that? Why is he so pissed? Nobody knows.

I’m assuming?? that’s a very pissed-off medieval god, which is sadly the worst possible kind of god.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Very high. This is a surprisingly? common glitch.

The post Creepiest glitches in video games appeared first on Destructoid.

"Project Rene"

Based on a job listing posted by Electronic Arts, the next game in The Sims franchise may be free to play. According to the listing, developer Maxis is looking for a Head of Marketplace & Monetization for the newest entry to The Sims franchise (code-named Project Rene). For reference, Maxis recently confirmed via a post on the Electronic Arts Blog that Project Rene is the next entry in The Sims franchise.

A couple of the resp??onsibilities of this position indicate the game could be adopting a free-to-play model:

• Own Project Rene’s in-game marketplace of content and ugc (free and paid), and manage a data-informed player-centric player purchase journey - maximizing value to players, optimizing player spend patterns, and minimizing player churn.
• Own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game, ensuring we have an optimal pricing and content architecture. Provide guidance to content teams on in-game content needs to meet player demand.

[caption id="attachment_389857" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Electronic Arts[/caption]

Plenty of paid DLC wouldn't be new for The Sims

Anyone that has kept up with The Sims 4 should not be surprised by this news. Despite releasing almost a decade ago, The Sims 4 receives frequent updates in the form of paid DLC. In fact, The Sims 4 base g??ame will become free-to-play at the end of la??st year. Exi?sting DLC r?anges from $4.99 for a collection of skins and furniture to $39.99 for a full-fledged expansion pack. However, without any sort of discount, someone wanting to experience all content will have to spend some cash. While there is plenty of content to explore, someone looking to play it all would spend well over $1,000.

Evidently releasing paid content for The Sims is working, so it's easy to see financially why Electronic Arts would make this decision. Project Rene does not currently have a release date or window. However, Maxis recently started playtesting ?the game in a closed setting, so we may hear more soon.

The post The next game in the Sims series? ??may launch as free-to-play appeared first on Destructoid.

Y can't Sims crawl?

Thanks to a reader, this lengthy thread of Sims 4 fun facts from Twitter user OnlyAbiDoang came across my desk and I couldn't look away. Even if you haven't played The Sims series yet you likely know someone who ??has: or at least experienced it by osmosis through some sort of weird factoid throughout the years. It's that ubiquitous. But I didn't realize just how wacky I could get.

//twitter.com/onlyabidoang/st??atus/1640039940640890880

Here are a few choice facts from the thread:

• If you get struck by lightning in The Sims 4: Seasons you either die outright or you can wield the power of electricity like a superhero
• You can spy on the Grim Reaper (yes, Death himself) using a listening bug and hear his conversations
• Normally only child Sim characters can see elaborate imagination sequences playing out, but an adult with the childish trait can secretly view them too
• You can complain about food poisoning and get compensation

The thread goes on for a long while, and it's gre??at "weekend reading" material. It's essentially a series of Easter eggs and glitches/exploits, some of which yield some crazy results that are hilariou??s both in and out of context.

Every so often I dive back into The Sims and marvel at how well it's been supported o??ver the years, and how many quality of life features have been implemented since launch. It doesn't hold my attention as much as a lot of other games, but it's a decent reminder of how great Maxis could be as a studio.

The post This Sims 4 ?fun fact thread is? endlessly intriguing appeared first on Destructoid.

It's the little details that make the difference

The Sims 4's ongoing support from both its fans and developers speaks to the behemoth of the simulation genre that it is. Just when we thought the game offered anything players could possibly dream of, they turn around and offer even more possibilities -- which is exactly what Maxis is doing with the release of two mini-DLCs, also known as kits. The Simtimates Collection Kit and the Bathroom Clutter Kit are releasing on January 19 for PC and M?ac, as well as Xbox and PlayStation ??consoles.

The former includes upgrades to the usual set of pajamas that Sims wear, and the collection "will help any Sim look bold, flirty, & charming in the bedroom with lacey bodysuits, a variety of underwear styles & playful box?er prints." Now your Sim can lounge around in style, and of course, the new looks can invite some more spice into your game if you're into that kind of thing.

//twitter.com/TheSims/status/1615380171607126016

The Bathroom Clutter Kit takes a turn into the messy -- this kit allows players to customize their clutter, and scatter various knick-knacks around their bathrooms. The items range from Grandma's dentures to makeup palettes, so you'll be able to create a lived-in space for anybody in your Sims household.

Both of these kits were teased in the "It's All Relative" Roadmap for The Sims 4 posted on January 12, 2023, which also announced that the game will receive "one big update" and an expansion pack on top of the two new kits. In addition, there will also be more support for extended family systems in the game, which will also tie back into the big expansion that's coming this year, according to the Roadmap post. Looks like this is only the beginning of the exciting things the Maxis team has in store, and considering The Sims 4 is now free-to-play, it's an excellent time to jump in and join the ?fun.

The post The Sims 4 is getting some spicy, messy mini-DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

Players will be able to go solo or collaborate

Electronic Arts and Maxis are working on the next generation of The Sims. Currently dubbed "Project Rene", the next entry in The Sims franchise is confirmed to be in early ??development.

As shown during today's Behind The Sims Summit stream, Maxis is currently in "very early" stages of creating the next Sims game. The project title, Rene, was chosen to represent the team's "renewed commitment" for a bright Sims future.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmm6h6bHD3o

We see some experimentation the team has been?? working on with its creative tools, for building and decorating specifically. There's the ability to change patterns, colors, and shapes as players decorate and build in-game.

Collaboration seems to be a big focal point for this new Sims. Players will be able to play solo or collaborate with each othe??r, and will be able to play ??across supported supported devices.

No more information was given, as it sounds like Project Rene is still a ways out. Maxis says it wil?l continue to share more information on development as it goes along.

A new world of Sims

As for currently available Sims products, today marks the launch of The Sims 4 base game as a free-to-play title. Players can now jum??p in on PC, ?Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBBm7tWs_U

More is in store, too. Maxis says it's still adding new content, in the forms of packs, kits, free updates, and Sims Delivery Express drops??, for the forseeable future. Some early expansion content was also teased in?? today's stream, and the team confirms that infants will be arriving in early 2023.

The Sims is ?also partnering with Overwolf for an official mod destination in CurseForge. Modders will not be required to move over to or use CurseForge, but it's meant to provide a "supplementary experience" to exi?sting avenues for modding. It also provides a moderated mod platform.

The post The next generation of The Sim??s is currently in? development appeared first on Destructoid.

Sims fans rejoice

The Sims is one of the most prolific series in gaming, and has managed to stay at the forefront of the games space for over twenty years. The Sims community is especially known for their mods, with the most recent entry Sims 4 being incredibly robust in that regard. Now, as a thank you to fans for making the game the success that it is, EA has announced that the base game of The Sims 4 will be fre?e to download on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayS??tation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One starting on October 18, 2022.

"EA and Maxis have welcomed millions of The Sims players over the years, and have watched in awe as they unleashed their imaginations, discovered and connected with ideas, experiences, and versions of themselves, both in-game and real life," EA said in a press release. "With The Sims 4 b?ase game going free??, the team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful experiences for players, and will continue to develop and release packs, Kits, and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFkqTSU9tSo

As if that's not good enough, players who have already purchased The Sims 4 by October 17 will get the Desert Luxe Kit as a free gift. EA Play and EA Play Pro members will also get a special treat on October 18 �with The Sims 4 EA Play Edition, players will get The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack, and the EA Play Pro Edition come with both The Sims 4 Get To Work Expansion Pack and The Sims 4 Toddler Stuff Pack.

In addition, EA will be hosting a special-edition stream on October 18 at 10 am PDT on The Sims' YouTube and Twitch channels called the "Behind The Sims Summit," which will give players an inside look into what?? the team has in the works. EA re??ally pulled out all the stops for this one, because this has to be one of the coolest events I've seen in gaming in a while.

The post The Sims 4 base game ??will be free to download starting next month appeared first on Destructoid.

Much-requested feature finally rolls out

Electronic Arts has finally launched its long-awaited Custom Pronoun update for its popular sandbox lifestyle simulator The Sims 4. The new update, available now on PC and console platforms, offers a selection of pronouns that players can now afford their communit??y of in-game?? Sims.

When creating a new Sim, players can now select a new option labeled "Hello, my name and pronouns are� in order to name their character and their respective pronouns. Players can currently choos??e from "He/Him," "She/Her," "They/Them," or "Custom," which allows full control over Subjective, Objective, Possessive Dependent, Possessive Independent, and Reflexive forms of the character's pronouns.

The developer notes that the update is currently only available in English, and more information regarding bringing custom pronouns to other language editions will be released as and when it is available. "There is a lot of complexity around how different languages and cultures use pronouns," read the official patch notes, "so we'll need additional time to research how to properly integrate grammar rule?s into other languages that the game is available in."

Additionally, developer Maxis notes that The Sims 4 pronoun update is a work in progress, and as such players might initially experience occasional grammati??cal errors such as "They likes" instead of the correct "They like." The team at Maxis will be adjusti?ng incidents such as these as the update rolls out.

This update, produced in conjunction with LGBTQ+ friendly organizations It Gets Better and GLAAD, will no doubt be incredibly beneficial to trans, non-binary, and other LGBTQ players within The Sims 4's expanded community. In recent years, we have certainly started to see these options become a little more commonplace in gaming's custom character creators, and hopefully, more developers and publishers will add?? this simple but important feature to their titles in the future.

The Sims 4 is available now on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platfor??ms.

The post The Sims 4 now has customizable pronoun options for English-speaking pla??yers appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh, you didn't hear? The Witcher is for girly girls, too

I am someone who identifies as a very girly gamer. So much so, in fact, that my TikTok algorithm figured this out pretty quickly, which means my For You page is full of creators who share similar interests to my own, which usually equates to looking cute and playing video games. One of them happens to be a girly gaming creator named Navami Nethravathy, who goes by @pinkjusitsu on the app.

The Yassification of Gaming

My favorite series she does is called "The Yassification of Gaming," the premise of which is to show femininely-presenting gamers how they can play games in a "girly" way. The term "yassification," like most popular slang these days, came from LGBTQ+ spaces dating back to the drag ball scene in the 1980s, and specifical?ly from people of color. It derives from the simple term "yas," which is a way of exp?ressing overwhelming approval of something �having to describe it like this makes me uncomfortable in the way of having to explain why a joke is funny, but I digress.

Yassification, then, takes this a step further, and thanks to Urban Dictionary, is defined as, "the process of making something substantially better than its original version, or of having something appear to be significantly better than its similar or comparable predecessor." The meme swept Twitter last November, filling our timelines with pictures of historical figures and fictional characters sporting new hairdos and full faces of virtual makeup that were created in FaceApp.

An example of a "yassification" relevant to the gaming scene is the viral image of a before and after of someone putting makeup on Aloy from the Horizon series to bemoan the crime of the developers not making her pretty enough. A key difference here is that the origin?al poster of the image was seemingly lacking any self-awareness, while those who post the memes now do so ironically.

//twi??tter.com/merestromb/status/146140400741985?0760

The type of content one would expect to see from "The Yassification of Gaming," then, are titles like The Sims, Stardew Valley, and Animal Crossing �games that are inherently seen as more "girl?y" because of their relaxing gameplay and large female player-bases. ??You know, the kind of games that only girls can play because they're too frivolous compared to the more intense, manly titles gaming has to offer.

Reclaiming the "manly" games for the girls

But what's so brilliant about Nethravathy's series is that she instead chooses to focus on titles like Skyrim, The Witcher 3, and God of War, just to name a few. Anyone who's been around the gaming scene for more than like a day knows these games are considered t??o be some of the most "manly" titles you can play, and have predominantly white male fanbases. Rather than shying away from these titles due to their reputations, Nethravathy describes how to play them from a female perspect?ive in a way that's really eye-opening, and quite frankly, fun.

//www.tiktok.com/@pinkjujitsu/video/7075054227344723242?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device?=pc&web_id=7049580001914684934

The Witcher 3 is girly because "you can ride a unicorn, date hot women, and dress up your swords with runestones, which proves that accessories are the best weapons." In the 2018 reboot of God of War, you can "forage for flowers in a witch's magical garden" and use them to "heal woodland creatures." BioShock's appeal to girlier gamers is "obvious" because you "literally get to live out your mermaid dreams." My personal favorite is the inclusion of Cattails, because nothing is?? girlier than "fending for yours?elf in a cruel and thankless world."

One of her TikToks even includes her taking Link from Breath of the Wild on a "sel??f-care picnic" because "even the hero of Hyrule needs a break sometimes," which I think is one of the most delightful examples of role-playing in a game I've? ever seen.

I love the energy of her page so much, because there are a ton of layers here. While her tone is purposefully silly and ??satirical, she really is appealing to tho?se who enjoy feminine activities and aesthetics in a way that helps break down the intimidating, gatekeep-y feeling that this corner of gaming tends to have, and introduces more feminine gamers to amazing titles that they may not have tried otherwise.

//www.tiktok.com/@pinkjujitsu/video/7080936664310320430?is_fro??m_webapp=1&;sender_de??vice=pc&web_id=7049580001914684934

Something else that's going on under the surface here is a reclamation of the label "girl" or "girly." These terms are often used to address women even if they're well into adulthood (when's the last time you heard a grown man be called a boy?), and are used to infantilize, discount, or downplay women in subtle ways. We've seen a huge resurgence of women taking back derogatory terms that have been used against them in the past (the "bimbofication" movement is a great example of this, and goes hand in hand with "yassification"). It's cool to see someone like Nethravathy presenting "girly" gaming as a fun, uplifting thing to do, especially be??cause of how historically sexist the gaming industry has been.

There's more than one way to play

Apparently, some of the male viewers who have come across her videos aren't too thrilled that she's presenting their favorite "masculine" games as something girly. A lot of women have noticed a trend of men looking down on the things that women lo??ve, perceiving anything feminine as inherently having less substance or importance �a phenomenon in pop culture that has?? been well-known for years now.

I find any backlash to Nethravathy's videos to be pretty ridiculous, because perceiving The Witcher or Skyrim as a girly game is in no way negatively affecting anyone. The beauty of interaction through games is being able to experience a fictional world in any way you damn well please, and for a portion of us, that means making things look pretty and rid??ing around on horsies.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"] _{[Image Source: Twinfinite]}[/caption]Sometimes not taking things so seriously and just enjoying them for their aesthetic beauty or the feeling they evoke in us can be fun, and even freeing. She never said that there's a right or wrong way to play the game �something some of the male pl??ayers seem adamant about �but instead si??mply presents a new way to interpret the content.

Gender performance in games

Another wonderful thing about Nethravathy's discussion of girly gaming is that it also shines a light on gender performance, and how games allow for a safe space for us to play around with how we want to present ourselves. We've seen this for decades with character creators, and even more recently with character creators that allow users to choose genders outside of the male/female binary. Games with inclusive gender options run the gambit, from Dream Daddy to Forza Horizon 5 to Cyberpunk 2077.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1200"] _{[Image Source: Mic]}[/caption]It can be so affirming for LGBTQ+ players to have the option to explore their identity in a virtual world, but actual gameplay outside of the character creator isn't a conversation I've seen quite as often. Using The Witcher 3 again as an example, the player has no other choice but to play as Geralt, and while the player can't change his physical appearance or even romance anyone who isn't a woma??n (at least to my knowledge), players can choose to perceive Geralt's actions as more feminine �which is where Nethravathy's examples of riding a unicorn and decorating your swords with gemstones comes into play.

Calling the game girly flies in the face of the male fans' insistence that The Witcher can only ??be interpreted as a super macho game, because at the end of the day, gender performance just comes down to how you choose to follow or reject the arbitrary rules that our culture has placed on us, and you can play around with those rules in a lot of really fun ways in an interactive artistic medium.

@pinkjujitsu is? putting the kind of girly energy I want to see so much more of in the gaming space, because at the end of the day, they're for everyone. Games are entertainment �the whole point of ?them is to have fun, so just play them how you want. And if you want to try something new, maybe try playing your favorite game in a girly way, if you haven't already.

The post This “girly” TikTok creator is redefining gaming through the female gaze appeared first on Destructoid.

The series is 22 years old today, which is reason enough for a trial event and an expansion sale

As a well-timed nod to The Sims celebrating its 22nd anniversary (oh my goodness, it's really that old? Where does that leave us?), EA has flipped the switch on another free trial for The Sims 4 on PC. The weekend-long free play event will run on Steam until Monday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific. That's plenty of time for some mischief.

If you're down to meticulously craft recreations of your friends, family, and sworn enemies and watch them thrive or �let's be real, probably suffer �then you can crack into the PC version of The Sims 4 with this extended trial, or save on discounted packs right now.

There's honestly way too much to sift through at this point in the game's protracted lifecycle, but I can easily point to the Cottage Living expansion if you're looking for a singular recommendation. It's got the general glorified appeal of games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley in terms of living off the land, and, cru?cially, you can have a llama.

Aside from the trial, the base game for The Sims 4 is down to $4.79, while the bigger expansions like Cottage Living, Cats & Dogs, and Discover University are on sale for $19.99 each. Yep, the Sims 4 racket really adds up fast. I'm sure some fans out there have a distinct category in their monthly budget dedicated to Sims stuff. Speaking of which...

I'm not a Sims 4 player, but I recently reopened that can of worms for my once-hooked fiancée (with a long-forgotten free PS4 copy from PlayStation Plus), and I've enjoyed watching the Sim that's based on me sob in bed all day and grow old and gray. The? kids have become kind of funky-looking young adults, the Reaper came for their Very Very Vocal dog, and the cow vanished at the fair. It's an eventful household, to say the least.

My attention comes and goe??s, but the music? It consistently slaps.

The post The Sims 4 is free to play all weekend on Steam appeared first on Destructoid.

No middle sliders

When a game gives you a character creator, that mechanic can be more fun than actually playing? the rest of the game. How you choose to make your character can say a lot about you �maybe you want an in-universe version of yourself to roleplay with, or an original charact??er, or maybe you're just trying to make the most hilarious monstrosity you can think of.

Sometimes playing around in the character creator becomes the point of the game entirely �this can happen often with The Sims, especially those who enjoy making Sims that look as close to their favorite celebrities as possible. Some even go out of their way to create meme icons like Shrek or Handsome Squidward. And I can't be the only one who has made multiple joke Bloodborne characters without playing with th?em at all, right?

[caption id="attachment_295385" align="alignnone" width="1280"] [Image Source: YouTube user Dalaric Wolfborne][/caption]No matter what you make your character look like, something that always interests me is the metanarrative that can emerge from custom character designs. Players often prescribe their own ??narratives outsid?e of the game's story to their characters, with players eventually overwriting the built-in narrative with their own, like how people will watch a movie with the sound turned off and make up the dialogue to their liking.

An awesome example of this is the series Monster Factory created and hosted by Justin and Griffin McElroy of My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and The Adventure Zone fame. If you haven't seen this series on Polygon's YouTube channel, it's absolutely worth a watch. It started back in 2015, and regardless of how you feel about the McElroy's, you can't deny that the serie?s has produced some true comedy gold during its run.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1jGnFt78H8

Each character they make in a new game, which usually constitutes at least a few episodes of the series, has its own personality and story that the hosts impose on it, which can lead to some downright hysterical roleplaying moments. My personal favorite is The Final Pam from their Fallout 4 ?series, which is so ridiculous and goofy and something that still makes me laugh to this day when I think about it.

While games obviously let us live out our stories while playing, I think character creators go even further, because they allow us to attach our story that extends beyond the game's own. This kind of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is often more aligned with tabletop games, bu??t I honestly think that's because most of us don't realize we're even doing it.

I personally don't plan for my own original characters to be any certain way when I play them, but lo and behold, it ends up happening anyway. Take my Mass Effect playthrough, for example. I started playing through the series with my friends, and after learning that I could in fact get with some aliens through the course of the series, I decided to camp up my character creation a bit. I decided my version of female Shepard was there to save the universe, of course, but also had a highly prioritized side goal to hook up with Garrus, and in turn created her to look as close to the Instagram beauty standards ?as possible, with blonde hair, a tiny nose, and huge lips. After much debate, I ?ended up naming her Boney Shepard for obvious reasons.

While I definitely found this a great deal funnier than my friends did, it was a really fun way to blow off some steam, and create my own version of a classic c??haracter, even if it is a purposefully silly one. More serious roleplaying in a game can be equa?lly as fun, but I can't think of any other media that would let you experience its otherwise very serious story with the same level of whimsy, and I find that delightful. The whole thing ends up feeling much more personal, as you create your own memories of the experience that otherwise wouldn't be there.

So what's your favorite way to roleplay in a gam?e with character creators? Do you have ??any fun stories of your characters' adventures? Which game has your favorite character creator of all time?

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Exploring the hilarious ??metanarrative of character creators appeared first on Destructoid.

The Sims started gaywalking long before a lot of others

In terms of inclusivity, EA isn’t the worst, I guess. I have my doubts that a corporation has any interest in what’s between my legs and who I invite to the bedroom ??beyond how they can profit from it, but baby steps here. They try. Maybe.

However, long before Mass Effect let you be gay if you were a girl, and Mass Effect 3 still said you couldn’t flirt with Garrus if you were a dude, The Sims were just letting same-sex couples exist. In 2000, no less. So, let’s have a golf clap for EA and Maxis. Oh, wait. It was done by mistake? Okay, let’s slow down here.

Video games haven't been the quickest at acknowledging people of the LGBTQ+ persuasion. It’s a bit hard to track the early history of it, but the first known game with an LGBTQ+ basis is Caper in the Castro from 1989. After that, things get a bit spotty with some same-sex possibilities in Great Greed (1992), Fallout 2 (1998), and Persona 2: Innocent Sin (1999).

These days, it’s become more common to have a game with gay content, but that's mostly in the indie sphere. It’s still somewhat rare in mainstream titles. To be fair, however, romance in general doesn’t seem to get much representation since most significant others are just there to die in the first chapter and give the protagonist a reason to become a killing machine in the name of justice. When same-sex romance does pop up, it can often feel like there’s this gated off area for people with different sexual preferences. It’s like, “here’s your token gay character. Please deliver us praise.�/p>

The Sims was different. Dudes could kiss dudes, ladies could kiss ladies, dudes could kiss dudes and later kiss ladies (as long as the first dude wasn’t in sight). Same-sex romance has just been a thing with The Sims. It’s part of its DNA.

But it almost didn’t happen. The Sims, in general, was something of a surprise hit. The developers at Maxis plugged away at it, feeling that the executives had absolutely no faith in the final product. Therefore, EA’s exec?utives were cagey ab?out adding same-sex romance at all, thinking it wasn’t the right game to make such a controversial statement. It was in Maxis' vision for their social system, but the executives asked for same-sex romance to be scrapped. Maxis was willing to acquiesce.

Luckily, ??no one told that to Patrick J. Barrett III, who was handed an outdated design document an??d went to work writing the code for social interactions while his boss was on vacation. Upon seeing his progress, Will Wright praised the social interactions and the inclusion of same-sex romance, so no one on the Maxis team questioned its inclusion.

Then E3 rolled around, and during a scripted demo, two female sims went off script and started making out, which brought a lot of unintentional attention to the game. Everyone on the team still expected EA to ask for that feature to be canned, but they never did. They just sort of backed off and put their faith in Maxis. Barrett even went back into the code to alter the social interactions so sims would lean straight, gay, or even bisexual if that’s what you preferred. Your Sim could have whatever sexuality you wanted, The Sims doesn’t judge.

Sorry, that’s not exactly true. You could have monogamous romance between two gay sims, but they could never marr??y. If they lived together, they’d just be defined as “roommates,�which is kind of funny, because that’s exactly what you’d tell your parents if you were still in the closet and wanted to live with your partner. Again, to be fair to Maxis and EA, same-sex marriage was still illegal in most countries, so it wasn’t too divergent from the reality at the time. You could still adopt children, so it wasn't entirely discriminatory.

The point is, however, that same-sex romance did land in The Sims. There was no getting that golden egg back into the goose; EA had to live with the fact that its breakout hit had a case of the gays. The Sims exploded in popularity, probably not due to its inclusivity, but definitely because it was addicting and let you electrocute children. Same-sex romance was stitched into the fabric of their 10-million selling? mega-hit, and what were they going to do now? As most doctors will tell you, you can't surgically remove the gay.

Surprisingly, despite its popularity, there wasn’t much backlash. I scoured the internet for some perturbed lawyer or religious group decrying the corruption of their youth, but I came up with bupkis. Just some stuff about recent titles being banned in certain backwards countries. There’s a chance that some people didn’t even notice. If they were af?raid they'd get aroused b??y seeing two guys kissing, they didn't have to see it.

Instead of trying to backtrack, the developers ended up doubling down. Same-sex romance returned in The Sims 2, but now you could actually tie the knot. Sort of. It was called a "joined union" rather than a marriage, but the difference was just in the nomenc??lature. You could still adopt kids and they could also be gay. Or not. Your Sims would be proud of them however they turned out.

And this continued throughout the series, especially as it became more sex positive. “Woohoo,�The Sims nomenclature for sexual intercourse, began as something that you could only do in the appropriate bed, but from where we are in The Sims 4, you can get dirty in a bush ?or a changing stall for all it cares. New ways to lock thighs are added with practically every expansion pack, and it never cares about logistics. Or they'd be fed to the cow plant, you'r??e calling the shots here.

Not only that, but The Sims 4 added the ability to set, regardless of gender, whether your sim pees standing up or sitting down, if they could become pregnant or get other sims pregnant, and whether their body type and clothing preference leaned feminine or masculine. Sims could be transgender, which means they could also be pansexual.

It's unfortunate that this sort of thing should even be commended. When you’re playing with your virtual dolls, the game shouldn’t be judging you for who you bump their pelvis against. For that matter, I’ll go as far as saying the sexual preference of every romance option in every game, no matter the genre, should be completely up to the player, regardless of what your avatar has between their legs. Why the hell not? If y??ou’re straight, you can just continue being straight, but those who prefer otherwise aren’t getting roped off. Why do gay men get thrown boring human du jour? Let them make out with Ga?rrus if they want to.

However, it’s worthwhile mentioning that Maxis and EA have a rather unique place in the tapestry of LGBTQ+ games. The Sims was an incredibly early example of an inclusive game, and it helps demonstrate how far we've come. A cynic would say that they’re only appealing to tha??t market for their money. That's likely at least partially true. However, given how it started, when it started, and how it continues today, it feels less like checking the gay box and more like stay??ing true to a small facet of the series�design.

Again, EA shouldn’t be commended for not stompi?ng out a perfectly wholesome facet of their dollhouse game. It shouldn’t have been an issue to begin with. But, props where they’re due, I guess.

The post A history of The Sims’ rampant bisexuality appeared first on Destructoid.

Conformity would be pretty difficult in this port

With The Urbz, EA tried to get another line of credit on their hugely successful series, The Sims. I found it entirely repugnant. It was literally a game about conformity. Not in the “if they jumped off a cliff,�kind of way, but more in the “if you want to be popu??lar, look and act like everyone else,�kind of way.

On handheld, it was a bit of a different story. It was a weirder story. Rather than try to emulate the dismal mess of the console version, The Urbz was a direct follow-up to the portable version of The Sims Bustin�Out, which was pretty interes?ting to begin with. As it turns out, another go around with the formula was exactly?? what the handheld series needed.

The typical formula of The Sims, a virtual dollhouse when boiled down, wasn’t going to work on a portable system like the Game Boy Advance. Not without a lot of concessions, anyway. The result was the Game Boy Advance (and N-Gage) version of The Sims Bustin�Out.

It was more of an adventure game, tasking you with running around town and taking care of everyone’s problems. You still had needs you had to fulfill, lest you pee yourself in front of everyone. You could still decorate the various houses you moved into, but it focused less on being a life simulator. Even social interactions were different, requiring you to pick topics that characters might like rather than just, “joke, flirt, compliment.�/p>

You progressed through five chapters that just got weirder with every turn. The Sims has always had a playful side, but The Sims: Bustin�Out went its own way to create a strangely compelling experience ??separate from the mainli??ne games.

The Urbz was the follow-up, and like Bustin�Out before it, it went off the rails. You’re in a city, there are a few social groups, thus ending the similarities it has to console The Urbz.

The setup here is technically a continuation of Bustin�Out, but the narratives are separate and the connection only hinte??d at, so you don’t need to have played the previous game to understand what is going on. Here we have Daddy Bigbucks buying up the city to make an urban theme park. When this results in you getting booted out of your classy janitor job and onto the streets, it gets personal.

From there, you have to help people by solving their problems, make friends by navigating th??e social system, and thwart Daddy Bigbucks in his evil(?) plan. You a??lso help cure vampirism and play the fiddle for your soul against the devil. You know. Life simulator.

What gives The Urbz and Bustin�Out their satisfying character is the gameplay loop. You set out in the morning, get as much questing done as p?ossible, then return to your pad when you need to recharge. It gives a sense of groundedness that I honestly wish more games w??ould incorporate. Yeah, you’re basically repeating the same steps with better and better toilets, but it’s a dash of flavor to what would otherwise just be a routine adventure game.

Once again, the narrative is separated into 5 chapters, but it makes better use of them than Bustin�Out. Most chapters involve some sort of curveball thrown in, and the story as a whole is more coherent than Bustin�Out’s “nothing happens, then something bizarre happens, the end.�The world is also rather diverse, completely straying from the urban setting and throwing you into quite a lot of bayou for some reason. To make a long story short, it refined the design of Bustin�Out and is a much more rounded a?nd enjoyable ex??perience.

It’s not all lemon wedges and turpentine, however. It still has its rough spots. The skill system is pretty dumb on a handheld. If you’re unfamiliar, sims build their skills by way of progress bar. This is sometimes tolerable on the life simulator versions when y??ou have a fast-forward button and the ability to multitask, but when all you can do is watch them on a tiny screen, it’s pretty irksome. They included the ability to tap the A button to build skills faster, but this is just adding a finger exercise to the routine. If you don't like watching a bar fill while you?r thumb gets tired, you can also buy skill points outright at the university for exorbitant amounts of money.

You’re also a slave to the mini-games. Jobs are replaced with these little diversions. While?? a lot o??f them are tolerable, having to play them repeatedly can become tiresome.

The social groups are also sort of just tacked on to make the connection with the console formula. You do vari??ous rep missions for them, but it just gets you some overpowered gear, but by then, you’re already late game and it doesn’t make much of an impact.

The Urbz�/i> greatest?? asset is that it’s constantly surprising. From the outset, I would never have expected to find a fun game here, but somehow the developers managed it. If you can forgive me for my uninformed theorizing here, I almost get the feeling that the developers, or at least the writers, approached the game with a certain derision. There’s an anarchic quality to the writing that definitely wasn’t lifted from the source material. A game packed with a cheeky personality is the result.