I seriously loved the Sims. The CAS, however, was severely limited with only a head and a body to mix and match. So it was easy to tempt me to leave behind my beloved game by getting a whole new CAS with so many more choices that included hair and eye color. The fact that babies would turn to toddlers and that children would now age to teens that would eventually turn into adults was definitely another huge factor for making the switch. The new individualization in Sims goals and wants was also great.

I loved the Sims 2 and found my biggest annoyance was behaving to use Photoshop to get matching plumbing in the bathroom. I could use Photoshop like a pro and recolored outfits and furnishing easily enough, but every recolor meant one more item had to be stored in my game. So, for me, the switch to Sims 3 was all about the new Create a Style.

I didn't really care about everyone aging together or being able to walk about all over town. I had to ease into that. I actually used mods so that I could play Sims 2 style for awhile. I sure did NOT like the families playing musical houses or single sims moving in with families. What good was making friends with someone when they suddenly moved out of town on you? And I think that is why Grandma still only plays Sims 2. She loves all her families and wants to play them all at the same time.

Now, here I am playing Sims 3 and I find some annoyances I'd like to see changed. I want windows and doors that can be centered on either one or two tiles. (And I love the custom content that gives me the two-tile windows and doors.) I'd love to slide them up or down, and  I do use mods to slide the curtains up and down on windows. Just like with Sims 2, the ability to have what I want exists easily enough; it just must be done outside the game.

Like almost everyone else, I want to see the baby blanket go. I want the baby to have arms and legs and a diaper. I want the option to put the baby into a sleeper at night and dress accordingly in the morning. An option to dress up for formal occasions would be nice. A little variation in hair choices for all the bald babies would also be great. I just want to CAS the baby too. Why leave the little ones out? Again, thankful this ability is somewhat moddable, but is limited to one look for all.

The abrupt change in size from one age to another could be better. Again, there is a mod to have the Sims grow a bit, getting progressively taller as they age up to young adults. I had thought this could be make an appearance in a new game.

I have enough traits for my Sims. I am happy with the sliders I have. I was excited to see 3D mesh capability in the new game, but it's not worth losing the ability to recolor and retexture. And it's not worth losing toddlers, water play, and an open world.

To me, Sims 4 is one step forward and then watching the mountain crumble. I could still be happily playing Sims 2 with Grandma without having spent vast amounts of money on an entertaining, but glitchy game that EA consistently patches, yet rarely fixes.