The Sims Medieval - worth my money?

[SimCityBusDriver]

I have plenty of money spare, way over the amount that The Sims Medieval costs. Do you think that it is worth my funding?

SimCityBusDriver

[Metropolis Man]

Well, for what it's worth my middle daughter is also 10 years old like you and she loves it. But, everyone's different. You just have to read up on the game and watch some gameplay videos and decide for yourself.

[RunAmokSims]

Metro is right, you need to do some research and look at some game play. I'm sure a lot of people will say they love it but honestly it's a game I could have done without. I got bored with it rather quickly.  I'm sure I'll play it more but it will be an occasional diversion not something I would play a lot.

[TheChronicR]

See, it's different than any of the other Sims games. It's mostly quest-based, but you can explore the world freely at any time. There's a lot of things to do, really, like leveling up your heroes, getting them married, having a child etc. But, there is a big but. For TS3 players like me (who do not play RPG games and such), it might take some time to get used to the game and its main aspects. For instance, I fell in love with it after playing for two days, but with TS3 it was instant love. I am 14 by the way, and I tried out many RPG games before, didn't like them, but a mix of RPG and Sims turned out really good. For me, it's my second favorite game of all times. But, our tastes may differ. I suggest you watch some videos, read Carl's Medieval Guide, and watch some screenshots, as well. Like Metro said, it's your decision.

EDIT: RunAmok is right. You might get bored with it pretty soon, if you like infinite gameplay. After the first ambition, the same quests are getting repeated quite often, but doing them with different heroes might be interesting. Anyway, after a certain amount of ambitions, the game will finish, so there is an end, after all.

[Katluvr]

Like so much of life the answer is, 'it depends.'

Some people seemed to love it right out of the box while others, myself included, were initially disappointed.  You might want to check out this thread to get a wide variety of opinions.

If you are a hard core Sims or RPG fan you may be disappointed, at least at first, as TSM really tries to straddle both genres while leaning more towards RPG.

If you go into it with an open mind and not expect your usual Sims game then you will most likely enjoy it.  There are some things you should know, though.  The game consists of a series of kingdom ambitions that are achieved by creating and leveling heroes through questing.  There are a limited number of quests, but each one has at least 2 different approaches, often involving different heroes and a different outcome.  Once you complete an ambition you have to create a new kingdom to start the next one.  You select 1 hero from a completed kingdom to become monarch of your new kingdom - they carry over their level but that's it (my lvl 10 merchant became a lvl 10 monarch for my new kingdom but none of her wealth or property accompanied her.)  All kingdoms are physically identical to each other - the only differences will be the order in which you place buildings/create heroes and which aspects and heroes you choose to develop.

My opinion is that there are not enough quests/approaches to allow all ambitions to be completed before I get tired of repeating the same quests over and over again.  Since this is advertised as a base game, I am hopeful that EA is working on EPs for TSM, but only time will tell.  If there are no EPs in the works then I don't see myself playing TSM as much as some other games I enjoy, TS3 for one. 

 

[Metropolis Man]

If there are no EPs in the works then I don't see myself playing TSM as much as some other games I enjoy, TS3 for one. 

Oh, I definitely have my money on seeing a Medieval expansion by the end of this year. The game world is pretty large with more space for more buildings and Heroes. I definitely want to see more Quests though. The repetition hurts replayability.

[Joria]

My opinion for what it's worth is, if you have the money to spare and don't mind the chance it might just be something you burned, then get it.  As an RPG it's, only mediocre.  As a Sims it's only mediocre.  However, there is enough to it, despite the fact it gets repetitious, that it has continued to hold my interest since it came out.  I haven't played anything except Medieval since then and I usually play 10 or more hours a day.  In our case, we do NOT have money to burn but this game has even interested my "I could care less about Sims" spouse and we consider it a worthwhile investment.

[samoht04]

Well if you have a £30 to spare it is a great game in my opinion but the camera ruins it a bit. Check out some of my pics in the Gallery in the Link on my Siggy. If you have a Birthday coming up soon it might be better if you suggest that.  

[RunAmokSims]

Oh, I definitely have my money on seeing a Medieval expansion by the end of this year. The game world is pretty large with more space for more buildings and Heroes. I definitely want to see more Quests though. The repetition hurts replayability.

When it was released it was called a new base game so I would imagine there will be EPs for it.

 I just found it tedious. I've liked role playing games and quest games but this just didn't do it for me. If I had to describe it to someone who was familiar with the Sim franchise I would tell them it reminded me of the quests  in World Adventures but not as much fun (and WA has been my least favorite EP).  Once I got used to the "doll house" view of the buildings it was fun to decorate, I love the look and ambiance of the game but I found the characters a little flat with not much personality. I just didn't feel the urge to connect with the characters like I do in TS3  I found myself spending a lot of time going from place to place so I was fast forwarding a lot.