The Sims Freeplay is a free-to-play version of The Sims published and developed by EA Games. It incorporates most of the favorite aspects of the previous Sims games with a little bit of the regular free-to-play timers and currencies that annoy so many mobile gamers nowadays. Looking past those annoyance, The Sims Freeplay sets itself up to be a wonderful and delightful casual simulation game. After all, my girlfriend cannot seem to put the game down!
Graphics (4/5)
The Sims Freeplay's graphics is not much different from its PC or console counterparts. Now, this is misleading. Although it sounds like it is "console quality", the fact is that The Sims graphics has never improved much over the years and over many many many different iterations of the game. However, what graphics it has is sufficient to have an enjoyable time. I guess EA held firm to the believe that "don't fix what ain't broken". If you zoom in, the game still offers a good amount of detail and finesse to bring forth its charm upon you.
Sound (3/5)
The music and sound effects in this game are really good. Every little action has a sound to it and the background music is like a tune that gets stuck in your head long after you have stopped playing it. The sound effects are also quite realistic, obviously taken from mimicked real life actions. However, I wish that they had included more variety of sound effects for each action. Currently, each action only has one sound and it repeats itself on a loop over and over again until the timer is up. Even the background music never changes. It gets old real fast, and soon I was muting the game and listening to my own music.
Gameplay (5/5)
This game is addictive. There are tons of ways for your characters to improve, so you NEVER lose a sense of progression. The game also features an XP system to keep you clicking until day turns into night and night turns into day. From improving your Sim's family, work performance, to learning different hobbies, to buying and decorating houses and the many different buildings, you are guaranteed a neverending flow of achievements. There is also a mystery island that you can build cool monuments and structures for extra bonuses. In addition to that, there are special event updates that allow your Sims to go through the same holidays as you (ie Christmas Event) with additional special quests! Trust me, there is just an endless amount of content here for the price of nothing.
Price model (5/5)
Throughout the (what must now be) hundreds of hours of game time devoted by my girlfriend and I, we have never once been compelled to pay real money to get the in-game cash or any cosmetic items on sale. The game is totally playable without opening your wallets, and since this game is neither competitive or has an ending, players cannot complain that this is pay-2-win.
Overall score (4.25)
Overall, this game is a great game to pick up and play casually while you enjoy the wonders of building a family and decorating a house to your heart's content. If you are a fan of The Sims, I can't see any reason not to have this on your phone. It's free! What else do you want?
