EA has announced various content updates for the latest installment in their life simulation game, The Sims 4. These updates - some of which are available now - and others that will be available November and December, are going to be free.
The content updates are being implemented in an attempt to ease some of the angry Sims fans who previously complained about various features that were present in older games but were now missing from The Sims 4, most notably the lack of swimming pools. The general consensus was that EA were planning on selling the features later as premium additions (DLC) or via expansion packs - you can imagine that this idea outraged many players, even in lieu of confirmation from the publisher.
During a Twitch live-stream at the start of the month (which can be seen here courtesy of TheSimsVIP), EA announced:
- Ghosts (available now)
- Star Wars Costumes (available now)
- New Gnome (available now)
- New Eye Colors (available now)
- Pools (November 2014)
- Careers (December 2014)
Ghosts will now appear when a non-playable Sim dies. The player will then be able to click on their urn or tombstone and have the option to interact with the character’s spirit. Apparently, you can make then help out with house chores (if only this was possible in real life!).
There’s still no sign of toddlers - a life stage skipped over in The Sims 4 which featured in previous Sims games and the other major cut feature that caused Sims fans to protest.
Players who are hoping for toddlers to make an appearance are sadly going to be disappointed as there is unfortunately still no sign of them in The Sims 4. Exactly why developer Maxis left this life stage out of the new installment is a bit of a mystery, as it was a major feature in the previous games and its disappearance caused fans of the series to protest - something that, in my opinion, EA should have seen coming.
EA responded to the various fan protests after release by promising that the removal of certain features was due to technical reasons, and not as part of planned-for paid DLC, which is what many were speculating over.
The Sims 4 was reviewed by Heather Williams, our resident MMO fanatic. She took a crack at it and gave it an unsatisfying 3/10 saying that “The Sims 4 feels like a backwards step. It’s prettier, it has new features like emotions and living capabilities, but in the end the hints of greatness that are there pale in comparison to what’s not there.”
What are your thoughts on the latest installment in EA’s mega-selling social simulator? Have you been enjoying it or do you think it’s a backwards step for the series? Let us know in the comments below, and feel free to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to our RSS feed to be kept up to date on all of our latest articles.
Oliver Zimmerman
Latest posts by Oliver Zimmerman (see all)
- Intel allocating $300 Million specifically for workplace diversity - 9 January 2025
- Defining Moments - Doom 3 - 8 January 2025
- PlayStation 4 has officially sold 18.5m worldwide - 7 January 2025
