Being the full-on Sims addict that I am, I was very excited when the trailers for The Sims Medieval started coming out. The concept was great, taking the Sims back to medieval times, fighting battles, rescuing damsels! It seemed like the perfect expansion, and in some ways it was. The only real issue that I had with the Sims Medieval is that it ends instead of being a non-linear, never-ending game. I managed to finish the game in a day and a half, which pretty much defeats the object of playing a Sims game. That being so, here is my review of the game to give you a bit more info before you decide whether to buy it or not.
The Good
The Sims Medieval brings a whole new element of gameplay to your normal Sims experience. Once you have chosen the Sim you wish to develop (knight, monarch, priest, etc) you will be presented with daily chores which your Sim must complete each day to avoid being penalized. On top of this you also have quests and other objectives that need to be fulfilled.
All of this makes for quite a fun game experience. It sounds like a lot of work but you will quickly get swept up in trying to keep on top of all of your tasks which are mostly pretty fun.
The environment around you is full of things to be discovered, mined and inspected. And for those with a particularly sadistic streak (you know who you are – the ones who like to lock your defective Sims in a room and then burn it down, or put them in the pool only to take away the ladder so that they drown) there is the fun of the monster pit!
The bad
As I said before the game is just far too short. The reason why I (and I’m sure most other Sims players) play the games is because there is no limit on how long you play. You decide whether your Sim is immortal, or if they will grow old and die after they have brought about the next generation of Sims. With The Sims Medieval there is no such option, once your characters have reached a certain point you are given the option to start from scratch (and thus complete quests that you may not have chosen or completed in your first play through) or to effectively finish the game.
The options for customizing your environment and your Sim are also very limited when compared to the normal Sims 3 games and expansions. It was bad enough that The Sims 3 made us wait until the Night Life expansion to be able to adjust bust size again (be honest, you know you wanted that feature back too). The lack of choice may just leave you frustrated and wanting for more.
The Verdict
The Sims Medieval is a thoroughly enjoyable game that will keep you playing despite the issues you may or may not have with the game. Hopefully the recently released expansion, Pirates and Nobles, will bring some necessary improvements to the game. Keep your eyes on the blog for my upcoming review of the expansion 😉
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