This is an old topic, but I figure as Barnacle Bay is still available, people might still be buying and might want to read opinions. So here's mine.
I bought Barnacle Bay months ago, but never really played it. For some reason I just didn't get interested, and only now, months later, decided to give it a chance. I hope this doesn't sound harsh but I couldn't last more than one sim day on this town.
First impression: the buildings are from Sunset Valley. That's OK, But the layout doesn't seem to be well planned in my eyes. It's like they placed a straight road and just threw the lots there without thinking about laying them out nicely. They don't really go well together like this.
But then I found some new buildings: the hangout/bar, and the gym! But one peek inside and... they call this interior design? Here's the gym... are they serious? Well, it seems someone threw two outdoor chairs in there but forgot the rest.
The bar isn't too nice, either. I feel like they used the copying tool (is it called eyedropper?) to fill the room with stools and bars. I bet if my 10 year old nephew played sims, he might be able to design nicer interior to a building. (Even I might be able to do it, and I'm a real bad builder
)
Oh yeah, the library is also new. I guess they learned their lesson from Twinbrook, and made sure they wouldn't forget the bookself with skill books. There's one room that's filled with them. I didn't really enjoy the library either, it's just so bland and uninviting... They tried to decorate: there's some random dinner table and and a flower pot by the door at least. Umm, nice...
I understand, this is an old town. And Sunset Valley buildings & houses weren't that nice either. But they weren't completely bad. And I like Sunset Valley, despite the townie houses are sometimes a bit... well, not nicely decorated. The city central is well planned with the rabbit holes, etc. BB isn't, they have been just placed somewhere without careful planning.
Also, *everyone* is a celebrity. So if you're not into celebrities, this might not be your town. I have Master Controller mod installed so I removed celebrity stars from everyone but the overall blahh-feeling of this town still made me quit the game I started here.
My final opinion: Riverview is a free town, and I like it! It's beautiful and I like the sims, layout and lots. Compared to that, Barnacle Bay feels like a rip off. Can't recommend it, even if it is on sale, unless you want to own everything that has been released. And really don't mind if everything seems to be quite hastily put together.
I hope my "review" didn't offend anyone. I understand there's as many tastes as there's people, and BB just wasn't my thing.
If only it was possible to gift purchased store content, I'd send this to someone who might want to try.
