The Sims FreePlay

The Sims FreePlay is a strategic life simulation game developed by EA Mobile and later with Firemonkeys Studios. It is a free version of The Sims for mobile devices; it was released for iOS on December 15, 2011,[1] released for Android on February 15, 2012,[2] released for BlackBerry 10 on July 31, 2013, and released for Windows Phone 8 on September 12, 2013. The game was released for Fire OS in October 2012.

The Sims FreePlay
Developer(s)EA Mobile
Firemonkeys Studios
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Composer(s)Nick Balaban
Michael Rubin
SeriesThe Sims
Platform(s)iOS, Android, BlackBerry 10, Fire OS, WebOS, Windows Phone
ReleaseiOS
December 15, 2011
Android
February 15, 2012
Blackberry 10
July 31, 2013
Windows Phone 8
September 12, 2013 (discontinued)
Genre(s)Life simulation, Social simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

In The Sims FreePlay, players "build" and design houses and customize and create (a maximum of 34) virtual people called Sims. Players can control their Sims to satisfy their wishes, and let them complete different kinds of actions to gain Simoleons, Lifestyle Points, and Social Points (all three currencies in the game). The game runs in real-time, and takes real time to complete actions.[3] All actions must be instructed by players, unlike in the Windows version, where Sims have some degree of autonomy. Players can progress through 55 levels to unlock content (such as furniture for the Sims’ houses) that can be purchased with the virtual currencies previously mentioned. Families of Sims can have children provided there is one adult; there is a limit on the amount of allowable couples due to a limit on the people in the player's town. However, if the player buys items from the online store, they become a VIP that will allow them to increase the number of Sims they can have in their town. In the game, there are "quests" that players are required to complete as well as optional quests ("discovery quests") that they may choose to pursue. Sims must bake a cake to age until completion of a certain quota of discovery quests.

Currency

The game features four types of currency: Simoleons, Lifestyle Points, Social Points, and Simcash, the latter being obtainable by spending real currency.[4]

Life Stages

There are 6 life stages and they differ from each other both in terms of the graphic aspect of the sim and the actions it can perform. Each Sim can advance in stage (therefore in age) via a birthday cake, an item that is obtained for the price of five life points after a day of work on a sim in the oven. The various characteristics for each stage are these:

  • Newborn: to give birth to a newborn, just buy a crib from the catalog, and wait 24 hours for the stork for the birth of the Sim. Then with an update, released in early summer 2018, a Sim can now become incitement, in 2 different ways: The first lasts 6 human days, and is the cheapest. During this time, the Sim's belly grows until delivery at the end of the 6 days. Then the second, the most expensive, lasts 9 days and you can carry out various actions that at the birth of the newborn will give him or her a life bonus that will give him or her various enhancements (his or her needs are lowered more slowly, he or she finishes the actions earlier, etc.) up to his or her death. Once the wait is over, the player can customize the baby's appearance and name. Infants can only interact with adults, seniors and teens.
  • Toddler: Toddlers can do many things, such as walking, talking, going to the toilet, going to bed alone, riding toy horses and more. They cannot eat alone and therefore need an adult Sim to give them food, unless using a dish cooked by another Sim. They also need the help of an adult to wash themselves. They can also interact with peers and preteens.
  • Preteen: When a Sim is preteen, they can start pursuing hobbies like dance and Karate, go to Sim elementary school, and learn to read and write accordingly. At this age he or she can wash himself or herself and eat alone, but he or she cannot cook.
  • Teen: The ability to become a teen Sim was introduced with an update released in October 2013, along with the ability to build the Sim's High School. Teens can have romantic relationships and become "teenage idols". They can also start using the stove and toaster for cooking.
  • Adult: The main state of the game. An adult Sim has the ability to work, build homes, and start a family. This is the only case in which it is possible to create a sim without cost, it is enough to have a free house to be able to create a new adult sim.
  • Senior: If adult Sims use a birthday cake they will become senior. Seniors can have new hobbies, play bingo, and have new animals, such as birds.

House customization

A limited number of houses can be built depending on the player's level and in any case not exceeding that of empty land on the city map. The player can build a house starting from standard blueprints that include houses to be furnished (lower price) or already furnished (higher price) or from special architect projects, also can start from extra game projects if unlocked in one of the various missions.

The furniture of each house is customizable by the player by buying objects from the catalog that concern both the exteriors and the interiors, moving the various objects (including doors) in the rooms. There is also the possibility of moving objects between different houses via the player's inventory. There are standard furniture items that are unlocked as the player progresses and special items that can be obtained through special missions or bought during special offers in the catalog.

Updates

As of April 2017, Windows Phones no longer receive updates from the game.[5]

In June 2018, pregnancy and baby showers were added to the game.[6] People said that fans requested the feature be added to the game ever since FreePlay[7] launched. Before this update, Sims had to marry for an option to be given to add a baby to the family.[8]

On October 15, 2018, augmented reality multiplayer was added.[9]

In July 2019, autosave function was added.[10]

Reception

The Sims Freeplay received "Generally favorable reviews" from critics, holding an aggregated Metacritic score of 80/100.[11]

Gamezebo site called FreePlay more than just a social app, but a beautiful reimagining of The Sims 3.[12] Nissa Campbell of TouchArcade believes that FreePlay is very similar in spirit to the original The Sims of 2000 and seems to be listening to the claims left back in those days - to add MMORPG elements to its gameplay.[13] AppGamer also noted that the timing mechanic makes the player either love Freeplay or hate it, especially for those who don't like to wait for hours.[14] Everyeye.it called the timing mechanics the worst decision in this game.[15]

Censorship

The video game was banned due to the possibility of establishing a homosexual relationship in: China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt.[16][17]

References
  1. "EA shows mobile and social games for winter fun, from Battlefield 3 Aftershock to a new Tetris | GamesBeat". venturebeat.com. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. Gunther, Cory (February 15, 2012). "EA's The Sims FreePlay available today on Android". Android Community. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  3. "INTERVIEW: Iron Monkey talk about The Sims going free on iOS | Trade Media". Trade Media. December 19, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. "Guide: The In-App Purchases of The Sims FreePlay on Windows Phone 8". Windows Central. September 25, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  5. "EA kills updates for The Sims FreePlay on Windows Phone". Windows Central. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  6. "'The Sims Freeplay' Adds Pregnancy Allowing You to Plan a Baby Shower and More in Your Sim's Pregnancy Story". TouchArcade. June 22, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  7. "The Sims Freeplay Cheats & Unlimited Simoleons/LP MOD". The Sims 4 Cheats. August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  8. "Why it took seven years for a Sims game to add pregnancy gameplay". The Verge. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  9. Fogel, Stefanie (October 15, 2018). "Latest 'The Sims Freeplay' Update Adds Augmented Reality Feature". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  10. "The Sims Freeplay-Updated features (July 2019)". Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  11. "The Sims FreePlay". Metacritic. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. "The Sims FreePlay Review | Gamezebo". web.archive.org. June 28, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  13. "'The Sims FreePlay' Review - Play God in Real Time". TouchArcade. December 21, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  14. "AppGamer.net | The Sims Freeplay". web.archive.org. September 27, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  15. "Recensione The Sims Gratis". Everyeye.it (in Italian). Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  16. "The Sims vietato in 7 Paesi per i suoi contenuti LGBT". Gay.it (in Italian). June 29, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  17. "'The Sims FreePlay' banned in seven countries". Newsweek. June 26, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.