Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's said quite frequently when the subject of nixed content comes up that it cannot be expected that a brand new Sims game can be as fleshed out as the previous incarnations in all their expansion pack glory; I disagree. The Sims 4 is a "core" game in a franchise that has been wildly successful and around longer than kids born in the 2000s. It has plenty of added features and is created on a brand new engine that is designed around being as smooth and accessible as possible, even on the lowest end of computers. So why am I giving this game a zero? I think most people are confused as to what an expansion pack is supposed to be. An expansion was a way for a developer to continue to develop updates for a game. The process of patching new content for software that's already released costs a lot of money and resources. When you purchase an expansion pack, you're paying for the team to continue to patch in new content. Expansion packs for video games should be considered just that. A patch that elaborates upon the core game in a way that completes the experience. By ignoring content they've already released into the franchise; they've made the base game smaller and bareboned. They've ignored all the iterations they've released of their software. Yes. The game runs very well. (minus a crash or two I've received with the autosave function being non-existent despite the claim that it's implemented) It looks fine, but it's full of archaic loading screens; invasive saving, and several design choices that boggled my mind to the point where I simply couldn't continue playing. There's such an exceptional amount of customization to a Sim's body and face-- very few complexion changes (every Sim ends up looking like a barbie), limited make-up or hair colors. Every Sim ends up looking the same with one of the 21 total male hair styles or the slightly more extensive 25 female hair styles. Teens, Young Adults, Adults and Elder are all the same height with very few differences that place them apart. Why even have variation? The neighborhood system is very restrictive. Under the current system it's completely possible to run out of lots to place Sims. In fact, if you want a new neighborhood for each family you make? Can't happen. They all exist parallel to each other in the same neighborhood. And I.. just the jobs and what happens when your Sims are on different lots from each other. Any game should be an evolution of it's previous iterations. This one attempts it giving it fresh paint and a new engine; but almost all other features are either stripped out or downgraded. I spent 60$ USD on a complete experience and instead of getting Microsoft Word I received Notepad.