Sims
Electronic Art’s goal for their new expansion pack, “Sims 4: City Living,” was to create a diverse town for its Sims citizens. And the creators did just that. It offers many new features, like a new city, careers, trait, furniture and clothes, that will appeal to all players.
This pack makes a jump from rural to urban life which comes with perks and disadvantages. One advantage of the big-city scene is the new features that came with it like apartments, festivals and new hang out spots, while a downside is hurricanes and rodents which can put a damper on gameplay in Sim apartments.
EA introduced San Myshuno, the new city Sims can settle in. The creators made four different districts within the city: the Spice Market, the Arts Quarter, the Fashion District and Uptown. Each one offers different activities, apartments, festivals and its own unique ambiance.
The Spice Market is bright and upbeat. It allows the Sims to sample food at the Spice Festival and play friendly basketball games. The Arts Quarter is similar. It resembles San Francisco, and is full of modern art as well as location of the Romance Festival.
Sims can find tons of entertainment in the Fashion District. One notable addition is karaoke. The Fashion and Uptown districts are inspired by high-tech cities like Tokyo and Shanghai. Uptown is for Sims at the top of their career and have the extra cash to spare on a swanky home, while the Fashion District is a little more affordable for Sims.
Besides the new city, the biggest addition to the game lies inside the apartments. Sims can now reside in shabby studios or lavish penthouses. The pack also came with new furnishing options, and they did not disappoint. Whether you want your Sim to live in a chic apartment to bohemian-style loft, the wide range of options will appeal to every type of player.
As for the new clothing and hair options, EA went out of their comfort zone and it payed off. The company included many different options for different cultures and styles, including turbans and traditional chinese dresses. All of the clothing looks beautiful with the different layering and textures EA incorporated.
Festivals are new events added to the game. They allow the Sims to have different experiences than those offered in past packs, like participate in the curry challenge at the Spice Festival or selling creations at the Flea Market. Other festival that are included in the pack are Geekcon, Romance Festival and Humor and Hijinks Festival. Each one appeals to a different type of Sim allowing them to make friends with other like-minded Sims.
Sims can now join the social media career, critic career or political career thanks to this pack. The social media career allows Sims to keep up a social media account and expand their fan base. The critic career expands into two branches: food and art. The political career allows Sims to fight for causes they are passionate about. EA nailed these new job additions and each one has the option to work from home or go into work making it more interactive for the player.
The shift from rural to urban has been a theme throughout each Sims pack but this one surpasses all the previous ones. “Sims 3 Late Night” included vampires and a wider variety of practical clothing, but “Sims 4 City Life” is more successful because of the diversity of the additions EA made.
