I've now played TS4 extensively and can say that I prefer TS2 because it's just more interesting to play. When I play TS4 it feels like I spend days just trying to accomplish X goal, e.g., completing a collection or finishing a college major. It's very linear and I'm not inspired to create back stories for my sims or build relationships outside of whatever they need to keep their social motives up while they accomplish their goals. I really like a lot of the gameplay in sims 4, like Get Famous and the Jungle game pack. I just don't remember any of my characters names once my game is closed for a while. With Sims 2, I have legacies and all of my sims have their own stories, there isn't as much to do as in TS4, but I enjoy watching the interactions and getting surprised by my sims and their wants. I hope with Sims 5, the sims will be a little more quirky and interesting and the gameplay options will be as rich as they are for sims 4.
I also prefer Sims 2 neighbourhoods. I gave up trying to build a unique neighbourhood in my TS4 game. Too limited.
I would definitely rank my games as Sims 2, Sims 4, Sims 1 now. I think I used to rank it as Sims 2, Sims 1, and then Sims 4.
I own Sims 3 and all of the packs but I don't play it so I can't rank it. I use it for converting stuff to TS2.
Lol, reading earlier comments, in 2014 people were complaining about this thread being necroed! Anyway, I personally prefer TS2 because I love the sweet look of the Sims’ faces.
I'm only playing sims 3 now as I can't get sims 2 to work on my laptop. A couple of years ago I would have said 2 but now I find it really hard to choose, I suppose I will always have a soft spot for sims 2.
The Sims 3 was always my favorite but it lagged so much it was almost impossible to play. I still have to go back to playing that one but I am playing TS2 again and am really enjoying it.
I laughed when she went to stuff her face in the fridge,
and cuddled in bed, both of them waking up while repositioning but just for a moment,
and the water getting hot on a sim when the toilet is flushed while one is in the shower
The Sims 3 was always my favorite but it lagged so much it was almost impossible to play. I still have to go back to playing that one but I am playing TS2 again and am really enjoying it.
I laughed when she went to stuff her face in the fridge,
and cuddled in bed, both of them waking up while repositioning but just for a moment,
and the water getting hot on a sim when the toilet is flushed while one is in the shower
I never played much of The Sims 2,But for me The Sims 3 is by far much better it has more lifestages more choices you can go far from your house there is no military school so if Children,and Teens get bad grades they won't get sent to military school plus you can buy much food,The Sims 2 was just like The Sims 1 only with more improvements you can't buy much food meaning you can't buy from supermarkets you can only buy from a phone plus there is days ad weekends Children Teens and Adults don't have to go school and work everyday you can go far your house without The University Expansion there is no Young Adult Lifestage only Baby Toddler Teen Adult and Elder if Children and Teens get bad grades they get sent to military school in The Sims 3 there is more choices there is no more military school meaning Children and Teens won't disappear if they get bad grades there is more lifestages Baby Toddler Child Teen Young Adult Adult and Elder you buy food from supermarkets you can go far from your house there is also days,and weekends meaning Children Teens Young Adults and Adults don't have to go school and work everyday.
I come from an era of only knowing the sims 2 base game when i was really busy with work in my life and I played it once at a friends house when i was visiting for Xmas when it first came out and while I loved the concept coming from a non gaming background I shelved it due to work commitments at the time but then when I got to have more free time I remembered the game and went looking for it many years later only to find series 3 was out by then and I suppose I did what most people do and bought 3 as the latest series. I love series 3 (still do) and just purchased every pack and store content as they came out to enhance my game despite some of it's bugs and laginess-) (not a word i know-) I remained with the 3 series overcoming the inevitable bugs and updating my PC as I went along to help the game to run more smoothly but at that time I never really understood what mods & CC was all about but when the series came to an end I started to explore and learn all about them and in the end my S3 game became something I adored because I was suddenly able to play with all these new ideas that mods provided me with including the custom worlds that many of our best creators had made along the way so honestly if I had not been given sims 2 ultimate due to already owning the base game I had once bought long ago I would never have thought to try it out again which I suspect happens to many players who come into whatever series of the game that is current and never look back or understand what past iterations of the game is like to play.
I was torn (still am-) because I thought S3 was the ultimate in sims gaming and suddenly I had to get a grip on rotational play where time stood still and frankly while I appreciated having the whole series at once I was overwhelmed by the difference between the S3 & S2 gameplay in general and if not for some dedicated S2 players on these forums I might have given up-)
After a long period of frustration trying to get used to the particular style of game-play I truly began to understand the appeal of what sims 2 was all about and I still love to play the series today (with mods & CC to make it more modern) and recognize that there are so many things missing from later iterations of the game including my beloved sims 3 at times..
Slow dancing while in 3 is still not in 4
the date and romantic interactions I feel are the best in any series. The cuddling and automatic small gestures out of player control that are just so unique.
The instinctive way sims react to one another even when we as players cannot predict/control it makes game-play so appealing but very infuriating coming from S3 where I could basically override almost anything I felt like I wanted to lol
as someone else mentioned the stuffing face from the refrigerator made me laugh out loud when i saw it for the first time-)
Kids dancing on adults feet, the way parents swing their kids around and so much more that I love to watch..the ways cars move when sims get in them..when sims cook they automatically cook for how many sims are on the lot and put the meal/plates down on the table as soon as they have finished cooking.
I love sending my sims for groceries just to see that puff of ice when they take something out of the freezers-) and I always send them to buy clothes because I love watching them do that too. when I got used to the businesses in game I made sure my sims could only go and buy what they needed from a store as opposed to any other method making it feel like real life and even today I still get a kick out of sending my current playable sims to my other sims businesses where I watch them selling their wares to each other.
I still adore my sims 3 game for the open world and so many quirks that come with the game but also love and adore Sims 2 as well now so will never stop hopping into 2 to play for all the things I have come to love about the series and lately to a lesser extent can appreciate 4 for some of the gameplay it brings to the table too but if money was no object and i could actually control sims games and the direction they would be going in it would defo be sims 2 marrying sims 3 with it's open world and I could be very happy with that style gameplay for a very long time
I also went further back and bought the sims 1 complete series and stuck it on an old laptop which i still drag out to play that series every now and again because it hilarious and my favorite NPC of all time has got to be Mrs crumplebottom who I wish was in every sims iteration of the game along with that famous handbag
Sims 2 is far more detailed. Sims act like people, not horrible sitcom/animated show parodies. It also will run on most any PC, unlike TS3. And, I have only had my copy just short of a year. Found it at a local business for $5 used.
For the last month, I have bounced around between TS2, TS3, and TS4. Each one has their own strengths and weaknesses. From what I've seen (and experienced), TS2 is superior in the gameplay. It's more detailed and the sims feel more alive and different. TS3 has more customization and an open world, which I don't care one way or another about. TS4's CAS and Build Mode are better than the other 2. I take each game for what they are and enjoy each one.
I think TS2 is way better than TS3. It's better gameplay and the Sims have more depth to them. Having said that, I prefer the cooking/gardening/fishing skills of TS3.
Comments
I also prefer Sims 2 neighbourhoods. I gave up trying to build a unique neighbourhood in my TS4 game. Too limited.
I would definitely rank my games as Sims 2, Sims 4, Sims 1 now. I think I used to rank it as Sims 2, Sims 1, and then Sims 4.
I own Sims 3 and all of the packs but I don't play it so I can't rank it. I use it for converting stuff to TS2.
I laughed when she went to stuff her face in the fridge,
and cuddled in bed, both of them waking up while repositioning but just for a moment,
and the water getting hot on a sim when the toilet is flushed while one is in the shower
I never played much of The Sims 2,But for me The Sims 3 is by far much better it has more lifestages more choices you can go far from your house there is no military school so if Children,and Teens get bad grades they won't get sent to military school plus you can buy much food,The Sims 2 was just like The Sims 1 only with more improvements you can't buy much food meaning you can't buy from supermarkets you can only buy from a phone plus there is days ad weekends Children Teens and Adults don't have to go school and work everyday you can go far your house without The University Expansion there is no Young Adult Lifestage only Baby Toddler Teen Adult and Elder if Children and Teens get bad grades they get sent to military school in The Sims 3 there is more choices there is no more military school meaning Children and Teens won't disappear if they get bad grades there is more lifestages Baby Toddler Child Teen Young Adult Adult and Elder you buy food from supermarkets you can go far from your house there is also days,and weekends meaning Children Teens Young Adults and Adults don't have to go school and work everyday.
I was torn (still am-) because I thought S3 was the ultimate in sims gaming and suddenly I had to get a grip on rotational play where time stood still and frankly while I appreciated having the whole series at once I was overwhelmed by the difference between the S3 & S2 gameplay in general and if not for some dedicated S2 players on these forums I might have given up-)
After a long period of frustration trying to get used to the particular style of game-play I truly began to understand the appeal of what sims 2 was all about and I still love to play the series today (with mods & CC to make it more modern) and recognize that there are so many things missing from later iterations of the game including my beloved sims 3 at times..
Slow dancing while in 3 is still not in 4
the date and romantic interactions I feel are the best in any series. The cuddling and automatic small gestures out of player control that are just so unique.
The instinctive way sims react to one another even when we as players cannot predict/control it makes game-play so appealing but very infuriating coming from S3 where I could basically override almost anything I felt like I wanted to lol
as someone else mentioned the stuffing face from the refrigerator made me laugh out loud when i saw it for the first time-)
Kids dancing on adults feet, the way parents swing their kids around and so much more that I love to watch..the ways cars move when sims get in them..when sims cook they automatically cook for how many sims are on the lot and put the meal/plates down on the table as soon as they have finished cooking.
I love sending my sims for groceries just to see that puff of ice when they take something out of the freezers-) and I always send them to buy clothes because I love watching them do that too. when I got used to the businesses in game I made sure my sims could only go and buy what they needed from a store as opposed to any other method making it feel like real life and even today I still get a kick out of sending my current playable sims to my other sims businesses where I watch them selling their wares to each other.
I still adore my sims 3 game for the open world and so many quirks that come with the game but also love and adore Sims 2 as well now so will never stop hopping into 2 to play for all the things I have come to love about the series and lately to a lesser extent can appreciate 4 for some of the gameplay it brings to the table too but if money was no object and i could actually control sims games and the direction they would be going in it would defo be sims 2 marrying sims 3 with it's open world and I could be very happy with that style gameplay for a very long time
I also went further back and bought the sims 1 complete series and stuck it on an old laptop which i still drag out to play that series every now and again because it hilarious and my favorite NPC of all time has got to be Mrs crumplebottom who I wish was in every sims iteration of the game along with that famous handbag
Happy Simming!