The Sims 4: Vampires Game Pack Release Sparks Controversy Over Toddlers' Sudden Addition

All right, time to take a look at the fourth game pack to The Sims 4. WEBVTT Kind: captionsLanguage: en All right, time to take a look at the fourth game pack to The Sims 4: Vampires– wait a minute! Hold up.

Toddlers were released? Just like THAT? Two years of silence and suddenly – Toddlers! Yep! Seems they made them available for free in a recent patch. And I don't know about you, but to me, that is the bigger story than Vampires.

In my comments section alone, it's been Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, TODDLERS! And then like one person saying,

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"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enAll right, time to take a look at thefourth game pack to The Sims 4:Vampires– wait a minute!Hold up. Toddlers were released?Just like THAT?Two years of silence and suddenly–Toddlers!Yep! Seems they made themavailable for free in a recent patchand I don't know about you, but to me,that is the bigger story than Vampires.In my comments section alone,it's been Toddlers, Toddlers, ToddlersToddlers, Toddlers, Toddlers, TODDLERS!And then like one person saying,\"hey, uhh...\"\"vampires look cool I guess.\"Okay, that's an exaggeration.I know plenty of folks wanted them, but still.They released what is essentiallya Toddlers game pack for free,and this Vampire pack costs $20.Don't get me wrong,I'm GLAD it's not the other way around,because there would havebeen riots in the streets.But color me surprised that the onefeature so many Simmers have requestedfor over two years is here at no charge.Not only that, but it's GOOD!Real good.Toddlers are a fully featured life state,complete with plenty of newclothing, voices, interactions,skills, traits and Buy Mode objects.You can play with them, potty train them,teach them how to walk, talk and learn,and attend to their unique needs and outbursts,like attention spans and temper tantrums.And when they age up into children,it makes them feel more interestingand invested in your world.And there's an additional connectionformed as they continue to growinto more complex virtual humans.By Jove, it's like toddlers should have beenin the game from the beginning or something.What a crazy thought!Point being that, comparedto the surprise of Toddlers,the Vampire pack thatI'm here to talk about todayseems like the lesser,not quite as exciting topicat this point in early 2017.Oh, well. Still worth talking about.And on to what you're here for,starting with what you already know.The Sims 4: Vampires brings about the returnof everyone's favorite HotTopic-shopping neck suckers.I've been messing with themfor a little over a week now,thanks to EA providingme an early review copy.And if you've seen mycoverage of packs in the pastlike Nightlife, Late Night and Supernatural,then you'll know I'm notbig on vampires in The Sims.When I'm playing thesegames on my own time,I prefer a more down-to-earth,realistic representation of realityso I can immerse myselfas much as possible,which then makes screwingthings up a lot more fun.I typically only findsupernatural Sims appealingif I'm freakin' bored andI'm looking for anythingto shake up the old routines.Oh, wait, that me with The Sims 4 lately,so maybe this pack isjust what the doctor ordered.First up with Vampires is thenew spooktacular neigborhood,Forgotten Hollow,a dark and foggy placethat reminds me quite a bitof Midnight Hollow from The Sims 3.Well, a lot smaller version of it,since, in typical Sims 4 fashion,it is lamentably lacking largeness,containing only five lots.Still, I quite enjoy the overall feel of this place,even if it's sometimes to darkto see much of what's going on.In fact, it stays darker forlonger than other locales,making it the perfect destinationfor the fang-wielding population.And I enjoy the creepy statues,creepy mood lighting,creepy graveyards,and creepy ambient noises,if only because it's distinctfrom all the other neighborhoods.To go along with the eerie environs,there's a respectable loadof eerie Buy Mode objects,all of which readily fitsthe vampire theme.And would also fit in rather wellif you're just wanting tobuild a mansion in general.And maybe I'm not entirely sold onthe supernatural side of Simming,but I freakin' LOVE the way thesedecorations and objects lookjust from an aesthetic standpoint alone.Also, a Vampire trying tobe all evil and foreboding,and yet playing an organbadly just cracks me up.Beyond this, you get an arrayof clothing, hair and accessoriesthat's ideal if your Sim is a total goth ball.Mostly, this stuff is for adults,but there are a few optionsfor younger Sims as well.Which makes sense, seeing asany age Sim can be a Vampire.Yep, Vampire Toddlers. Those exist.And if they are a mature Vampire,then you get to create twodifferent physical forms,just like you do with aliens,allowing for some Nosferatucreatures of the night.The nice side effect of all thisis that you receive morewrinkles and facial disfigurements,darker eye rings, pointed earlobes,and various teeth options.And as introduced through a recent free update,some of these grilles aren'teven traditionally vampiric.So if you've been cravingcrooked and golden chompers,the game's got you covered,with or without the pack.Of course, the main star of the showis the Vampire life state itselfand the new gameplay this introduces.Not only are they somewhat immortal,but they're host of amultitude of exclusive needsand supernatural abilities.First up are their needs,which beyond the typicalFun, Hygiene and Social bars,they also have to worryabout Thirst and Energy.Thirst, as you might expect,relates to a Vampire's need to drink blood,referred to as \"plasma\" inrated-Teen Sims tradition.This can be accomplished byeither feeding on other Simsor binging on plasmafruit in its various forms.Not that there's anything wrongwith a vegetarian option, but come on.Who's *really* going to pass upwatching those hot, sucking animations?The bit marks on their necksafterward are a nice touch,and I'd love to hear Simsexplain *that* the next morning,if you fed on them without their consent.The next thing to worry about is Energy,which wears down quicklyby vamps using their powers.It's also going to drop down fastif they stay out during the daytime,even if the animation involvedisn't particularly impressive.But hey, at least they don'tfreakin' sparkle like they didin the Supernatural expansion for The Sims 3,so I'll take what I can get.In fact, it's such a lackluster reaction to the sunthat you might not evennotice or treat it seriously,which will result in an untimely death.But as long as you stay corporeal,Energy can be regained by doingthings like sleeping in a coffin.Those sexy coffins.They're multi-use, by the way.Fun fact: Vampires make irresistible lovers.But if you've seen any young adult fiction in,I dunno, the past decade,then you already knew that.Anyway, supernatural powers are where mostof the appeal of being a Vampire comes into play.And I was impressed by how far they went with this.It's not just a bunch of interactionsto cue up right off the bat–Heh heh. Bat...Instead, becoming a Vampire is likeembarking on a new life's journey.A sort of self-guidedsupernatural career, if you will.Just hop on Sim Googleand research secret Vampire knowledge,or read through expensive old booksthat probably smell like dead skin.You can also seek out fellow Vampiresand talk to them about Vampire things.Training under them oreven sparring with themin a mostly harmless manner.Once you've accomplished enough animations,you then move on tounlocking a skill tree of powersas you dive deeper into studyinghow to become a Master Vampire.And powers aren't just a free-for-all cheat mode,since there are weaknessesthat come along with strengths.And I like this, because honestly,Sims in The Sims 4could use more character flaws in general.And I'm not just talking about theirslightly quirky and irritating traits,like Hot Headed and Kleptomaniac.I mean straight-up physicaland social drawbacksbecause more often than not,everyone just goes aroundas Mr. or Mrs. Perfect in this gameregardless of their traits,and it gets a bit old.So, even though these fatal flawshappen with a supernatural slant hereI appreciate it for introducing a bitof much-needed character to Sims.Even if it's a character that sucks necksand has a garlic phobia.What it comes down to withThe Sims 4: Vampires game packis that it's a $20 add-on thatI'll rarely visit after this video.Now I'll certainly keep using some of the newBuy Mode objects, because those are awesome.But by and large, I have zero desire toplay through my Sims' lives as a Vampire.It's fun to do once, though.And yeah, I actually had funwith this pack, doggone it!But unlike the Vampires themselves,the fun is short-lived for me,and my usual play style.There's also the fact that this is20 bucks for essentially a single life state,whereas in The Sims 3: Supernatural,Vampires arrived alongside Witches,Werewolves, Fairies, Zombies and so on.And I've read comments from a subset of Sims fanswho were hoping for thatkind of fully fledged expansionand take a bit of offense bythe chopping up of this content.And, yeah, I can get that notion.On the other hand, I still think this isa neat little distraction for a little bit.So if you don't mind the gameplay caveatsand piecemeal sales approach,I'd say give the Vampires game packa dark, brooding look.And if you enjoyed this episode of LGR,perhaps you'd like to \"sink your teeth\"into some of my other videos.I've covered a bunch of other Sims stuff,and I also talk about weird oldcomputer hardware and softwareevery Monday and Friday here on LGR.And as always, thank you very much for watching.\n"