Typically I'm reviewing Christmas games right about now but
then comes along the sims 4 'get together'
the second expansion pack for the sims 4 and also the second one with the word "get" in the title
beyond this emerging naming pattern, it's an amusing name!
'Get together" like it's been a year and 2 months since the sims 4 launched, and their just now getting it together ha! ha!
alright, enough pot shots and bad jokes, lets dive into this thing!
the whole idea of 'get together' is to uh... get your sims together? in ways they never have before
dancing and partying and DJing and all this is totally new stuff guys I swear
actually they kind of are here since DJing has many more options than ever before and dancing is a skill now
and can even be done choreographed in groups and dance offs and stuff like that
but still as there's still some unwritten rule where every sims game has to have an expansion that dumps a ton of partying activities into a pack of ambiguous description?!
the sims 3 showtime did this, the sims 2 nightlife, the sims 1 houseparty uh
however even though I don't care for the series bizarre fixation on jockeying disks and shaking groove things, the sims 4 'get together' has an ace or 2 up it's sleeve
first up is the new town of 'Windenburg'
A fictionalised european setting that looks absolutely awesome if you ask me
classy cafe's, hopping pubs, ancient ruins, a haunted mansion, tudor style architecture with a modern twist, even a sea monster if your patient enough
of course your still waiting through a loading screen between everything but hey! at least the map has some color now, so that's a fair trade?
uh... ok it's not, really... I'd just rather have no loading screens but
any variety of location in this game is welcome by me
and the map screen does look nicer
and thankfully there's more things than ever to do in each lot, so you've got more of a reason to stick around in 1 area
new things! like the walk in closet which not only allows you to dress yourself, but also dress your friends! and even your enemies!
anyone whose on your lot can be dressed up, which is quite handy for townies that randomly ended up in the worst mish mash of costume clothing imaginable
it's also a place for children to play, somewhere for depressed sims to break down and cry
and a new woohoo location and... good greif! this is so steamy even the topiaries get turned on!
you can also woohoo inside a bush now, making for 1 delightful double entendre
there are also new games for your sims to play within the game, things like fussball and darts and 'don't wake the llama' making a return from previous entries in the sims!
and by far the biggest addition to 'get together' are clubs
er although the way I play them, there more like cults
clubs, calts, clans, whatever you want to call them, there a new way to manipulate the world of the sims by way of forced comradery and social pressure
anyone from children to adults can join or form their own clubs
and while this sounded pretty tame to me at first, this has turned out to be one of my favourite additions to the sims in ages
there are a variety of existing clubs to join with typical interests like dancing or reading or even just being mean
but making your own is where the real fun begins and we'll get to that here soon
once you've pledged your allegiance to a club, you can meet up with other members and perform activities that that club approves of
the more of these approved activities that club members do, the more powerful and influential that club becomes
and the things that they can do are all over the place, for example you can make a club with the soul purpose of collecting frogs and obsessively cleaning homes
and if they do it long enough they will be feared for it
I am completely serious, it gets that specific
another club could be for young adults who are interested in banging old people and hating violins
or a group of rich sims that feel guilty about their success, so they go around tending bars for free while hugging everyone and telling jokes
whether they like it or not! see here!
almost every action in the game can be applied to a club's do's and don'ts and the possibilities here are astounding
especially with the perks and emotional influencers you can unlock
you can make a club infamous! or private, give your members secret handshakes and friendship bracelets
force everyone to wear hotdog suits or stupid hats
make it so that members level up faster in certain skills
build them a private lodge or compound to hang out at
and even manipulate their emotions so that any time they're at an event they will feel a certain way
and if your thinking this can be absolutely abused then your absolutely right!
and I love this! you can make sims in a club woohoo each other all night long and it doesn't matter if they don't like each other that much if the club's mood is extra flirty
or are you tired of cleaning up, form a child labour club of random kids from around the neighbourhood to take care of all your housework!
and even make sure their not aloud to sleep or talk back
you can even form rivalries with other clubs
infiltrate them in secret, sabotage their plans and overthrow their leader
then once your in control you can change things around to your heart's content
I've taken over a peaceful book club that met in a coffee shop and turned them into a violent bunch of cheeseburger eating lunatics that dance naked around a bonfire!
that was fun!
combine this with the other miscellaneous additions and you've got quite a worth while pack
I already mentioned the dancing and DJing earlier, both of which are skills now
but it's worth bringing it up again, simply because it will take up a lot of your time if your into that
then there are things like barister npc's, caterers and hired performers, all of which tie into the cafe's
you can sit down, order some food and drinks to eat there or take home with you
and even run your own as a business with the previous expansion installed
there are also the additions of public pools as community lots, diving platforms for said pools
giant hedge mazes to explore, new food and drink options, user interface improvements
and something like 350 new objects to the game in build mode
including the afore mentioned leisure activities along with everything from new windows to new chairs
11 chairs to be precise, along with a slew of couches and oddments
of course you also get quite a selection of clothing options for men, women and children
some of it goes into full on nightcub douchebag territory but most of it is actually pretty easy on the eyes!
I've got no complaints here! I mean you get a suit of armour that looks like something straight out of a looney toons episode, so I approve!
alright so is the sims 4 'get together' expansion worth buying?
it's a 40 dollar pack as always and honestly, I'd say go for it
this is the most fun I've had with the sims 4 since it launched and that's due in no small part to the addition of customisable clubs
if they were just another way for sims to fart around and go places together like I thought they were gonna be, then I wouldn't have given a crap
social groups and outings in the sims 3 were boring as balls, but these are a huge improvement
the sheer chaos you can create is wonderful, as is the sheer good you can do for your community if you desire
yeah you can create a horrible bunch of sims but you can also create a club that just goes around fixing up people's broken items or giving words of encouragement and growing lush gardens
this kind of tool for player driven creativity hits right at the core of what makes the sims, The Sims in my eyes
and it's high time for this kind of freedom to be added back to the game
now this recommendation assumes that your into the gameplay that's already here because once you look past the fancy new interface, all these clubs really do is let you play with what's already in the game
when all is said and done, it's still the sims 4
and there are still the usual complaints of loading screens, no toddlers, wonky AI ect, ect
so, if your still on the fence about the game in general, I can't imagine this fixes that
but if you've had it since launch like me and wanted a fun reason to jump back in and screw around with crazy possibilities
'get together' is a fun choice indeed
even if you wait for it to come down a little bit in price, it's definitely worth playing
and in case you wondering, this is not a stuff pack
so Ralph does not lose a limb, that only happens for stuff packs, er yes so
well that was my take on this pack and if you'd like to see my take on others, then click some of these
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