The Sims 4 has finally landed, for those who prefer to use a PC for their gaming over an Apple Mac, and after months of being promised the best in-game experience that the franchise has ever had to offer, just how does it rank when going up against its predecessors?

That answer isn't as straight-forward as some may think, so let's start at the beginning when we got to grips with the creation process. I decided to create a Sim who emulated my real-life self as closely as possible, and I have to say, the result is more life-like than ever before.

The level of realism is extremely impressive

Now able to click on any part of the body to make a quick edit, you can literally drag out your belly if you fancy a muffin top, or tighten up those abs if you don't fancy hitting the gym in-game.

It's the most hands-on we've ever gotten with the build system, and is a robust one that players should now be willing to plug hours into rather than pressing the randomise button and setting off immediately. There is of course also the option of downloading a Sim created by someone else - how many Angelina Jolies do we think are being played with right now?

When you do eventually step foot into the world, you're given short and snappy tutorial tips and guidelines to help you along your way before choosing your starter home. Without a great eye for design, I went for one that was already furnished, but it wasn't long before I was moving things around and making additions.

The landscape is colourful and vibrant

The build system has also been dramatically improved for people like me. I can now choose pre-build motifs and click-to-buy on items that take my fancy. Even placing walls has become substantially less frustrating.

Before long I had to give myself an in-game job. After choosing attributes in the creation system that matched my real-life self, one of the first I saw offered to me was writer - there's a certain sense of satisfaction playing the game so closely to life. Just make sure you're near a toilet at all times so you don't embarrass yourself.

Multi-actions are new, meaning you can do things such as watch television at the same time as chatting to your neighbour, increasing both your social and fun need bars concurrently and giving you more time to do your own thing.

Multi-actions are a great new feature

Making friends is easy but don't think you can immediately become besties. Make one wrong move and you'll be left embarrassed and hiding away from the world beneath your bedsheets.

The mood feature is one I feel could have been implemented a little better. I'm 'inspired' one moment before feeling down in the dumps the next, not always sure exactly how I got there but given an action to perform which is promptly rewarded.

And though I've now got a job as a writer, when I'm actually in work I have to sit and wait for my shift to end instead of being teleported to the workplace and being given something to do. It would have been a nice touch to allow that level of exploration.

Travelling into the city you can go to a score of different places including the library, the gym and a nightclub, where socialisation is again at the forefront of what you can do.

Learning skills based on personality traits is rewarding

Though we've no toddler stage of life or pools quite yet, they're likely to come in the future in the way of expansions. Rumours are rife as to when and what we'll see when they do hit the shelves, with some even claiming up to 30 expansions are planned to be released in the coming years.

This is The Sims game we fell in love with all those years ago, improved in some ways and slightly taken back in others. But, all in all, it's not something we have major complaints about, and we'll happily spend more hours getting ourselves promoted at work, hosting house parties and exploring the city before additions are made in the near future.

The Sims 4 is out now for PC.

by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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