I have to reassess my list.

TS1 : Pixel nostalgy. Although for me gameplay > graphics, this game just feels a little too dated for me.
TS2 : Great game. But I know now about CASt and open world and I just can't stomach the idea of downloading recolours. I can see myself just downloading recolours and never get down to play the actual game.
TS3 : This game hates me. It bloody hates me. I am sure that inside this game a supersecret highly intelligent AI is hidden that tries to get rid of me using weird glitches and performance problems. Atm I have this weird camera rotation issue that only happens when I rotate the camera using the mouse in build mode. It is as if the evil TS3 AI refuses to let me look at the bad camera side of his tiny houses. This is just one of the many weird little issues that this game can come up with to make me understand that I will never be in control! And I am normally such a down to earth person that sees computers and software for the metal and binary bits that they are! I tell you, The Sims 3 is evil! Awesome, but evil!
TS4: It exists I guess.

So yeah, for me there is only the love/hate relationship with the evil mastermind AI in TS3. I know, I keep coming back for more abuse, but I can't help it :/

I started with The Sims 3, but here's my list.
The Sims 1 - over the top difficulty, it's just like real life. Needs decay so quickly that when you walk across the lot to play on the computer to fullfill your fun need, by the time you get there. one of your other needs have dropped and an angry cycle starts and there is no time to do what you want(just like real life) . The music is the best of the series hands-down, and the graphics still look nice.

The Sims 2 - Excellent game, my favorite game in the series for its difficulty, graphics, charm, and a million other aspects Maxis perfected. It is a masterpiece compared to the monstrosity that is The Sims 4

The Sims 3 - Lag, Bugs , Glitches! The Sims 3 was a slow paced game you could say, because sleeping took forever! Time runs so slow in this game that it makes me wonder. why does it stutter so much? It goes like ----------- for a few seconds then the game starts pausing like ----_----___---- and then it freezes ________ . If this game didn't have the open world and CAST, this would be the worst of the series.

The Sims 4 - The Sims 4 is at first glance, just a mediocre game, but actually, deep under the hood, it's a failed product of making things catered to mobile gamers. Things are either super hard or super easy for some reason, and it took away what made the previous game good because EA wanted an online Sims game, and because of that , bye bye CASt and open world. This game is so unreplayable,once you're done with it once, you're bored doing it again, it's like a movie, a flat, ugly and horrible one for that matter, This game is a poor imitation of what The Sims 1-3 was about, But still, for a reason, I keep coming back to it, thinking that maybe things will be better, I keep telling myself that EA will eventually give us the charm of The Sims but everyone knows that that is a lie, a sad little, pathetic lie.
Also, I forgot build mode is improved, I guess that's it.
VERDICT : -1/10 too much weirdness.

Which game is better? Of course, I'm subjective.

I have to preface that I've played Sims 1 and 2 on PC, and 3 on console. However, the latter has many of the features in the base Sims 3 game, though one cannot mod them, as far as I know.

And my answer ... it depends on what you want.

Sims 1 ... quirky, funny and not easy. If you want a basic game that if your computer accepts it, will run fairly smoothly and is not entirely predictable (for instance, your Sim could spend many Sim hours trying to woo another Sim, and the attraction level is strong, but the second Sim changes moods like a pop star changes clothes during a concert), this is your game. It's charming, but don't expect it to be a pushover!

Sims 2 ... Like the freedom of putting lots where YOU want them? Using cheats and tools to get the house you want, with lots of options of where you want it? The luxury of choosing from dozens and dozens of hoods of all different types, from those allowing only a few buildings to vast ones with different terrains? Making different meeting spots and stores where your Sims can hang out? Like choosing your play style?

This is the game for you. It's still quirky like its predecessor, and can be challenging, if you want ... or unbelievably easy. Again, my experience is limited when comparing it with 3, but it seems to me to allow for the most play choices of the series. It's the one that most demands your imagination. It's also not as goal-driven as 3 or 4, I believe. The latter is a good or a bad thing, depending on your play preferences.

Problem is, as much as I truly enjoy this game, without the custom content, it does seem dated. It does rely heavily on custom content for not only the Sims, but for their surroundings. I don't consider it a negative, but others might. And yes ... too much CC can lag the game. How much is too much depends on your computer and your configuration. And the game is not without its glitches and snags.

Sims 3 .. may limit your hood preferences, and seems to prefer story progression over rotational play (though I believe one can use mods to alter that, thank goodness!), but there are other freedoms to note. You can design different body shapes without downloading tons of CC, and even unmodded, the scenery is beautiful. And you can design with less reliance on CC recolors as well. However, I've read scores of complaints of how the game freezes, crashes and lags if you add more than a few EPs and SPs. It seems to me the promise this series holds is just ... within ... reach ... if your computer behaves itself.

But that one moment when your Sim first goes out the door and across the neighborhood .... wow. I do admit it's one strong advantage over Sims 2.

Rabbit holes, though. Another negative for me, in my opinion. I love designing commercial lots.

Sims 4 ... I abstain from much comment for now. It holds promise just within reach, too, but question is: Can EA fulfill that promise? People disagree on whether it can or cannot.

I keep wondering if I'd like the console version of S3.

Sims 1:
I occasionally play it for classic pleasure (and the music if i need to unwind). On the other hand, it has little customization, alot of sims look the same. I like it a bit more with CC
Sims 2:
This the one i play mostly, if you look at my page, you can see all my cc is sims 2 only. It is even good without CC! It was a MAJOR upgrade from TS1 even with the upatched base game, it is amazing! I highly recommend you buy that for $4 off of amazon and contact origin to get the ultimate collection because it is worth your spare time!
Sims 3:
I play it sometimes and its kinda meh... i guess you love it or hate it. It has CASt and open world which I love, also the graphics are satisfying and realistic and i haven't downloaded any CC for it on this computer so far...
Sims 4:
I love this one and personally dont use CC for it, if I would i'd use maxis match because theres just something about it that i like. I dont care about the missing features and I think it is the 2014 version of TS2, I love all the new content in expansions as well but... there is also the fact that you cant make your own hood and place your own lot which annoys the heck out of me

Winner: Definetely sims 2

TS1

This is the game that started it all for me. Unfortunately, I don't have too much to say about it. It wasn't very realistic, but it was still pretty darn cool. I actually was a pretty big fan of the content, and for some weird reason I absolutely LOVE the build / buy music.

TS2

I own [and still play] every single game and pack released for S2, and it's by far the best. I love the little things that my sims do that make them seem more real, like when they "worry," or have coughing fits. They interact with one another in such a comical way, it's just so entertaining. I feel like it was slightly more needs-based than the other games, which I actually enjoyed. I could play my sims in a single household, never leaving home (bc of the gnarly loading screens), and be perfectly happy for 10+ generations. I don't know how they did it, but I never really felt the need for an open world. There was SO much content that I could have anything I really needed or wanted on one lot and be just fine. One of the few complaints I had about the game is that I felt almost discouraged from leaving my home lot. I typically play in a realistic manner (as in my sims sleep at night, eat at meal times, etc.), so the fact that the clock would reset when returning from an away lot but your needs would still be low prevented me from doing so much. I couldn't play two separate 8hr periods and then still have enough energy to go to work for another 8hrs, etc.

CAS - 6/10
BUILD - 9/10
LIVE - 9/10

TS3

I hated it at first. I bought the base game upon release and was utterly disappointed. I went back to playing S2 until I forced myself to give it another shot. It's actually not so bad, aside from being bugged to hell. I liked the eyelash adjustments in CAS, and of course I loved the fact that you could customize EVERYTHING. I'm mostly a creator (with the exception of playing legacy families every now and then), so being able to adjust the color and pattern of everything was my dream come true. Basements were also a great addition, because S2 & early S3 basements took so much more effort. S2 & S3 build mode was delightful. Being able to build houses in the sides of mountains or extended over lakes / oceans was probably the best feature, since it allowed for such unique and versatile homes. In agreement with nearly everyone else though, I'd definitely put S3 behind S2 and above S4.

CAS - 7/10
BUILD - 10/10
LIVE - 7/10

TS4

So I understand the massive hatred towards this game, but as someone who has put in just under 600 hours (don't you judge me...), it's really not that bad. I have a love/hate relationship with build mode. It's pretty intuitive, and 9/10 times it cooperates with me. The ability to drag walls, rooms, and roofs is a feature that I can barely manage without. I've been switching back and forth between the three games all week, and I keep trying to drag the roof and walls in earlier games bc it's just such a convenient and smart tool. The game has also allowed me to master my roofing skills, since I no longer had the auto roof option. It's actually made me a much better creator. Being able to adjust foundation height and shape so freely is another must-have feature, as well as wall height. In earlier games, they could sometimes be a little buggy or picky if you wanted to add in some foundation after completing your house. Finally, the rounded foundation feature is another aspect that really opens up build mode for me. Things that I like but need a lot of tweaking are the roofing trims (great feature, poorly executed), and not being able to delete single tiles (when using foundation floor). I'm sure there's other things, but those two are big ones for me. One of the most terrible parts of build mode is the fact that you're stuck with a 100% flat lot. No ponds. No mounds. Nothing exciting. It's way too cartoon-y (I really HATE the shrubbery). Also, as it stands, a very poor variety of wall-coverings, especially outdoor paints.

As far as game-play goes, I'm about 50/50. The routing is awful. I like the idea of multitasking, but in action, it's so bad. When my sim needs to get to work in the morning, I don't have time for them to play musical chairs and take 30 pictures of their food. Seriously. And don't get me started on the housekeepers. I will literally sit there and yell at my computer screen, "WELL WHAT AM I PAYING YOU FOR YOU OBSOLETE POTATO!?" The sims themselves feel very one dimensional, despite the newly added emotions. My S2 sims have more emotion than these guys do, you know? And the fact that we only get three traits from such a tiny trait pool is also quite the bummer.

One final thing about S4 that, in my opinion, they got right is CAS. Everyone seems to hate it, but it's the best yet. We have so many customization options (excluding the amazing color-everything-tool from S3). It's nice to be able to adjust the bodies in a detailed manner for once, though. And even though the hair is cartoon-y, I kinda like it. It's got a super "sims" feel to it, which is good bc realism isn't for all of us. Anyway...

CAS - 9/10
BUILD - 7/10
LIVE - 4/10
_______________________________

TL;DR

TS1 - solid beginning to a franchise.
TS2 - best overall game.
TS3 - best for building.
TS4 - give it time.

Remember, these are just my opinions. Not everyone has the same play style, and that's okay!

It's okay. If you're looking to play, it's actually pretty fun, especially the pets version. If you're looking to build, however, I would not recommend it. There's this feature called a "fire limit," which basically restricts how much stuff you can furnish your house with. Even changing the colors of objects adds to the fire limit, which is pretty lame.

Hello,
Now me.
I would agree with DespicableSki's description more or less.
I started with with TS1 and was immediately in love. I have all EPs and must admit I am not sure I have explored all nuances of the game, especially the last ep Making Magic because more or less at that time TS2 came out.
I return every now and then to play it and must say there are certain aspects of the game which I miss. The graphics of course is the main problem of the game.
TS2 is definitely the winner for now.
I have never been a builder, when I needed more space I just added on some rooms and that's it. The house from the outside was never that important for me. I have tons of cc and absolutely happy with it.
The gameplay of TS2 ,which is what I am after ,is the best of all four installemnts of The Sims. The intersim interactions, moods, feelings...the best so far.
The only minus is the loading screens which take forever with that much of cc. But I am ok with it. Got used to it. I can make myself a cup of tea, or take the dog out or do some tai chi in the meantime!
TS3 was a tremendous disappointment for me . Eventually I got used to the one town one famiy game style. Although I am for a rotational option. But I couldn't get used to the sims themeselves. They were repulsive for me and I couldn't bear to look at them. How was I supposed to play a sim game if you could not look at the sims without a shudder?
I liked the open world though .
Now TS4... I genuinly wanted to believe it to be the TS2 sucessor. I loved the CAS and loved the sims themselves. I hoped that with nice looking sims everything will be fine.
After 300 hours in the game I must say that the game is not bad although it is not a real sim game. All those tasks to be done, all those talking and partying.
Evidently the game is addressed to teenage girls who can't wait to become young adults.
It's a nice looking game but trivial, A mere shadow of TS 2.
Well, that's my opinion.

I'm not seeing TS4 as a successor to any existing Sims game, but as a game in its own merit. Maybe that's why I can't get excited about it's flaws the way some people do or go all commando on EA and demand this or that feature in the game. I've recently learned (by lurking) that while I can respect the different opinions of people who see it differently, they see me as "gullible" (their words). If anything, it reminds me of the first Sims video/console game and for me is not quite as engrossing and engaging as Sims 1 or 2, but is still a lot of fun.

I'm just going to randomly drive by this thread and say...

TS1 had the best music by far! Ugh, it's so great.

TS2 was next then TS3 and TS4 music just doesn't capture me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs5...2DFF37B18C4F943

Hearing that makes me want to play TS1 and just randomly build my old style of giant box houses

Nostalgia. Sims 1 had awesome music.

I can't stop listening to Build mode 3, a.k.a "Frolicking wind dancer"... It's nice that they've included the best of music from previous games.

I took the mp3s from my old sims 1 game and put it on my playlist. It's great music and I love it. I also like the music from Sims City 4.

I can see your point but the fact remains that they DID promote the game as a successor and a lot of us feel we were ripped off/let down by this.

Anyway, if you were a Sim I'd prefer to say you might have the "easily impressed" trait, which is not always a bad thing to be.

Has this always been here? *fades into the shadows*

There's a trait like that? It's in Sims 3, right? I've got to get that game working again - right after I get a handle on a few nagging things in my life.

I can understand why people feel ripped off, especially when it started out as an online game and was later abandoned and then salvaged. Too many shortcuts were taken and the consumer had to pay for some of their mistakes. But on the other hand, I see a lot of really neat little features in this game that are enjoyable. All of the games added some things and took away others and they all feel different.

This was created when the Receptacle was closed.

When will sims 5 come out ? Sims 4 is horrible so far, and the producers is like they're trying to make it even worse by selling loads of crappy stuff packs with only 1 animated item and loads of crap instead of a good solid EP which could improve the game.

I've tried several times to play this game and I can't. How can you be in 2015 and have those bulky square items and cartoony graphics ? It's outrageous

It's called the Sims 4 which would suggest that it is a successor to 1,2, and 3. If it's a worthy successor is a separate issue. From what I've heard it could've been called The Sims: Ambien.



This thread was created on March 19 - The Receptacle was closed on May 11.

I know it's called Sims 4, 3, 2...but to me, that does not mean successor, not in any case. It means next version. This isn't just a case of semantics, but of conceptualization. *Edit* I'm not trying to convince you that it is not a successor, I'm telling you that my perspective is different. This is an explanation, not an argument and I don't believe that either one of us is objectively "right", but that we each have our own perspectives.

Ah - I missed when the thread was created, thank you for pointing that out. When the receptacle was closed, I thought I remembered the mod suggesting people move to this thread to discuss comparisons. I may have missed that part, too. Sorry.

If I wanted to say which is a great Sims game, then in my opinion, it's no contest, because I think all of The Sims games are great, despite their strengths and weaknesses. Yes, I even love the fourth installment despite it's flaws.

Sims 1 - never played
Sims 2 - I still miss it
Sims 3 - My only complaint is that fire doesn't spread from one house to the other. After 30 minutes the only thing I want is to annihilate the entire city
Sims 4 - too simple.

They all have good thing
Sims 1- it was so unique in 2000 and it had the best expansions. I haven't played in like ages so.....

Sims 2- I love how it felt like it had believable storylines, and the pre made family's had story's for example the famous I Goth and her alien aduption, how easy it was to just play for hours. This is my favourite so far!

Sims 3- it is laggy at times but is worth and it is ambitious for putting open world in, and create a style. But I miss building my very own town from scratch easily while actually having fun while building it.

Sims 4- I haven't got but i am disapointed in ea for pulling out core things like age groups. I don't mind colour palettes but age groups! A you kidding me?! I like the new cas and the modern sims 2 look.

TS1: Never played

TS2: I don't think I've played this since TS3 came out (maybe once or twice right after?), so it's hard to review. I do have fond memories of it. It's a great game and I played it for years (Strangetown was my favourite) but I don't really miss it, because...

TS3: This is my favourite of the series! The open neighbourhood puts it way above everything else for me. I love finding all sorts of little things (the neighbourhoods are so detailed!) and making my sim go to some far-off alleyway on the other side of town, or picking a house and having my sim visit the family just by clicking on it. I love just telling my sim to walk their dog and just following them to see what hidden streets they find. It's the sims game with the most magic and possibilities for me.

My favourite EP might be University (it would be cool to have multiple universities like in the TS2 uni EP, but with a uni neighbourhood as detailed and beautiful as this one it's hard to complain), but I love Late Night (especially for Bridgeport), Ambitions (my favourite career is private investigator), Pets (so customizable, like almost everything in TS3), and Seasons (and Generations, but it's integrated so much into gameplay that I almost forget it's there); I like the neighbourhoods in World Adventures, but I'm not as fond of the quests, and I haven't played the other EPs (except for Island Paradise, which is beautiful, but the only EP that's made my game lag! so I wound up uninstalling it).

TS4: Honestly, I'll find lots to enjoy in any sims game you put in front of me, and I like a lot about TS4, but the loss of the open neighbourhood is a massive step down for me. It's thoroughly disappointing that if I want to go to the house NEXT DOOR, I have to go through a waiting screen, even though I can see it clearly, and going out is such a hassle that I usually wind up staying home. (I realize this could just as easily describe TS2, but this is post-TS3 so it feels like a glaring problem to me!) The neighbourhoods are so tiny, too, so there's not a tremendous amount to explore compared to TS3, and exploring is one of my favourite things! I love CAS (though the absence of CASt is super frustrating) and the game itself looks and sounds beautiful (though I'm not entirely a fan of how they blur out things in the distance to create depth - this was much better achieved in TS3, I think). I hate that teens look exactly like adults (I may download a height slider for this). The moods are fun. I like playing it but there's just not as much to do.

I recently started playing TS3 again, and aside from multi-tasking, there's nothing in TS4 I feel is missing from TS3. I still have it installed (I also have the new EP, though I haven't played it yet), but it doesn't excite me like TS3. I am tempted to install TS2 and my EPs again since it seems to be the popular favourite, though.

EDIT: I feel like I gave Seasons short shrift by listing it last! I guess it's such a big part of the game that I almost forget it's there when it's summer. It just changed to autumn in my game and it's so cool to see how everything slowly changes. It may be my favourite EP rather than University.

So already, sorry for my English
For me it's what I miss what I do not miss what I say.
This is not to put the colors and materials I want for clothes, furniture. Change the color of hair and makeup as well.
Half walls.
And I find myself neighborhoods and too Pettits land (insufficient number of ground for me. Apart from this I really like

And while I am; does anyone know where I could find land 'mirror'

Sims 3, while overly ambitious to the point where it was too much for many players' computers, is still one of my favorites out of the series. I love the gameplay and the little touches in Sims 2, but when I play it seems a bit emptier and restricted. Sims 2 was quirky, had interesting little moments, seemed less about skill-grinding and more about experiencing and play. Then again, if I play Sims 3 for long enough, I feel like a lot of my sims live pretty bland lives of just skill-grinding and such while the population of a town is far too small for any sim to do much of anything. The open worlds are great but without the towns changing at all it seems a little weird. Sims 3 was about customization in a big way. It was about being free to be creative within the game and to create unique sims through more personality options and such... but it lost touch with the spirit of Sims 2. I think a good combination between Sims 2 and Sims 3 would have been a good Sims 4.

I haven't gotten to play Sims 4 but I'm not sure that I want to unless it's gifted to me. I don't want to shell out the money on something that I might end up hating. I got the CAS demo and it seems like it had a lot of good ideas for sculpting, but it seems really limited and I'm noticing that, even after a year, a lot of the sims seem to look the same. I don't mind the semi-cartoony style, though, and actually kinda like it. And the removal of CASt is a huge bummer. Maybe I didn't need to be able to put hibiscus patterns on a leather jacket but even simple recoloring abilities would have been good, imo. One of the reasons why I enjoyed Sims 3 so much was that I didn't have to create a huge folder full of recolors and a simple skirt could be used in hundreds of different ways. And maybe if they didn't have the clothing option, I'd still miss it for the sims themselves. Some of the gameplay also sounds very frustrating, not to mention some of the stuff that kinda put me off before the game came out like tethered babies and stuff. I dunno... maybe I'll try out Sims 4 if the price gets low enough or something. I just don't feel like it could really be my kind of game right now.