Gamescom will arrive in Cologne, Germany on August 5, and The Sims 4 is scheduled to make an appearance at the big computer and video game event.
It seems likely that The Sims 4 publisher Electronic Arts will have something new to announce concerning the games, and many fans hope it has to do with a new expansion pack. The first and only Sims 4 expansion pack released so far was Get to Work, which dropped in March — so it seems high time we get some new ways to put our Sims in crazy situations, doesn't it?
Back in March, EA reportedly sent around a survey asking players to choose which items from a list of expansion pack ideas tickled their fancy the most. Some of the suggestions included expansion packs similar to those released for previous Sims games (University, Pets, Seasons) and also some new ideas (Weather & Disasters, Crime & Justice, Magic University).
Could the next Sims 4 expansion pack be on that list? Well, since EA has yet to officially announce anything, this is one of those times when we'll just have to wait and see.
In case EA is still taking suggestions, I've got a few ideas to submit. EA has released many expansion packs for The Sims games over the years that have made for some fun, creative and ridiculous gameplay. However, the software company does tend to produce similar expansion packs for each incarnation of The Sims. So for the next expansion pack, I want to see The Sims 4 go crazy. Here are six ways it can do that.
1. The Sims 4: Time Machine
The Sims 3 had an Into the Future expansion pack that allowed Sims to hop in a time portal and mosey on into a new world hundreds of years into the future — complete with robots, jetpacks and the ability for your Sims to communicate with their future descendants. Experiencing the future was pretty sweet, and unlike any other expansion pack introduced for The Sims before.
What would be really cool is if your Sims could board a time machine and visit a past world — so they could hang out with cavemen, rule the upstairs in a Downton Abbey-esque manor and get some flower power during the Summer of Love. This expansion pack could add new neighborhoods that each take place in a different era, complete with the clothes, objects and social customs of the time.
The standalone Sims game The Sims Medieval, released in March 2011, gave us an idea of how Sims could look and act in another time and place. Better yet would be bringing different time periods into The Sims 4 so you can vicariously experience what it would be like to actually live during these periods — rather than focusing on completing quests. Who doesn't want to their Sims to be able to buy a souped-up DeLorean?
2. The Sims 4: Reality Show
With all of the fights, love triangles and betrayal that you put your Sims through, the game is basically like creating your own reality show. It's no surprise, then, that many fans actually put together full-fledged Sims "reality shows" with episodes and everything. Even the most recent season of The Bachelorette got The Sims treatment.
So, it would make so much sense for The Sims 4 to get an expansion pack that introduces a new career track of reality TV star. Your Sims could either sign up to live in a house with 11 strangers as part of some social experiment or try to win a bunch of money in a crazy competition that physically pushes them to the limits. Social interaction is already a key element of playing The Sims – so putting your Sims in a reality show would take that to the next level – maybe even scoring you some rewards in the process.
Life after your Sims reality show could consist of getting arrested, going on embarrassing social media rants and appearing at the local hotspot — for a fee. You know, the stuff that happens to reality TV stars in real life as they try to remain relevant when they're no longer on TV.
If The Sims 4 introduces a future expansion pack similar to The Sims: Superstar or The Sims 3: Showtime, it could also introduce celebrity reality shows into the mix — for the aftermath of your Sims hitting it big, when they're has-beens who hope for their star to rise again.
3. The Sims 4: Outer Space
You can already put your Sim on the astronaut career track in The Sims 4. However, an expansion pack devoted more to space exploration, both for professional astronauts and regular Sims, would be – pardon the pun – out of this world.
In this expansion pack, Sims would actually be able to go into space, land on other planets and see what's going on there. Of course, this means they could stumble upon interesting new animal and plant life, as well as meet extraterrestrials. And as with all expeditions into the unknown, that could work out splendidly for the explorers: allowing them to bring back discoveries that would advance their careers and the Sim race — or end horribly for them, in a turn of events worthy of a sci-fi movie.
Though we may still be figuring out this whole commercial space travel thing, everyday Sims could already be flying to other planets and checking them out for fun. Who knows? If your Sims like what they see, they could also have the option of staying in outer space to create new colonies on other planets, starting a whole new life for Sims there. We all know those piles of garbage your Sims leave laying around are going to make their home world unlivable one day anyway.
4. The Sims 4: Politics
Politics is a subject that's always on people's minds, but it's especially hot right now. Politics take center stage in popular TV shows like House of Cards, Veep and Game of Thrones. The 2016 U.S. presidential election is also heating up, with potential candidates grabbing plenty of headlines these days.
The Sims franchise has featured a political career track in the past, but this expansion pack could expand on that even further to have everyday Sims choose political affiliations specifically created for the game, which could help shape their opinions, relationships and actions.
Politics in The Sims 4 could also be more immersive — featuring Sims actually taking part in political campaigns. Sims could run for office, be campaign managers or volunteer to help their candidate of choice get elected. All the while, Sims would have to keep their relationships in check, make strategic moves and avoid scandal at all costs. As we've seen in real life, that will all be easier said than done.
5. The Sims 4: Superheroes
The Sims franchise has occasionally introduced extraordinary abilities into the game. The Sims: Makin' Magic allowed your Sims to cast spells, The Sims 3: Supernatural let your Sims turn into werewolves, fairies and vampires, and in the recently released Spa Day game pack, your Sim can obtain the ability to levitate. That's cool and all, but I want my Sims to be heroes — even if it's just for one day.
That aforementioned survey suggested Heroes & Villains as a potential expansion pack, and I think that's a wonderful idea. Since you basically already choose whether your Sims are good or evil anyway, this would just heighten your choice.
The expansion pack could add the Superhero career track to the game in which your Sim fights to protect his or her world — complete with a tragic origin story, secret identity and, of course, a spandex suit. The cape is an optional – although maybe not advisable – efforts. Your Sim would have to complete heroic missions that would either make or break his or her career, depending on how well they do.
Along the way, your Sims would be met with the choice of whether or not to switch over to the dark side and become a supervillain. This would come with a diabolical costume, evil lair and an impressionable minion — all essentials for any major baddie. Your Sim's mission will then be to wreak havoc on his or her neighbors in the hopes of eventually taking over the world.
Of course, the expansion pack would not be complete without showdowns between the heroes and villains, which could break out whenever these two types of Sims cross paths. Whether the hero or villain wins, there's always going to be another face-off — because that's just what super people do.
6. The Sims 4: Post-Apocalypse
Many have compared the hit mobile game Fallout Shelter to The Sims — so why not incorporate that post-nuclear disaster gameplay into this franchise, too? This expansion pack could have your Sims live and just try to make it by in a new world that has seen better days.
Your Sims could scrounge around for food to help them survive, and choose to follow the inevitable totalitarian regime that rises to power — or be a part of the resistance. New objects introduced to the game would be bleak, brutalistic and dilapidated. Dwellings would be underground shelters or mere shacks, compared with the nice digs your Sims lived in before the apocalypse. You would have to resist the urge to make all of your Sims look like Imperator Furiosa, which I know will be very difficult.
The struggle to survive post-apocalypse would be very real for your Sims, so much so that you'll probably be tempted to use some codes to make life a little easier for them — but where's the fun in that?
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