The Sims Medieval - First Impressions

[Katluvr]

-ve ... you are basically led by the nose to do things.  "Yellow icon comes up, do that".  The only player involvement is ensuring sleep/food is OK, and doing those pesky side-tasks.  Yawnnnn.

That was one of the first turn-offs for me, Slingsby.  I felt like I was playing one of those really old time text-based RPG and that if that was all there was to the game then it would get old very fast.

What helped me to alleviate that feeling was after I got the basic game mechanics down and enough different heroes in my kingdom, to start thinking strategically about which quests to do.  At first I was picking quests based on which aspects of my kingdom needed improvement and whether or not a legendary trait was available.  Then I started to think about which hero would it be most beneficial to play.  For example, when I needed better gear for my knight and monarch I purposely chose a quest using my blacksmith.  I spent a good amount of time crafting and delivering the new gear to my other heroes - which saved them money since they didn't have to pay for their gear - and bought me enough game time to get to platinum level before completing the quest.

One of the things I have come to appreciate is that you can play the game quite casually - do your responsibilities, complete quests, rinse, repeat - or you can be more strategic in your thinking.  Either way is bound to be fun, but the strategic aspects really amped up my enjoyment when I recognized that they were there.  That may or may not make a difference in your experience of the game, but it might be worth considering if you're finding it a bit boring.

[Slingsby]

Thanks for that perspective ... I guess we're still trying to get a full grip on the game. 

But I suppose we have started thinking a bit more deeply.  Yesterday the Blacksmith was the Primary with the Priest in the support role.  Whenever the Priest had a minute to spare, or was walking into Town, he'd do a bit of fishing on the way so that he could give some of the catch to the Blacksmith to spare him a continual diet of gruel.

[samoht04]

Got my game! Just need to get home! 

[Katluvr]

Got my game! Just need to get home! 

Yay!! Have fun!  Can't wait to hear what you think of it!

[samoht04]

Ah nearly full installation bar! 

[samoht04]

I played from my last post all the way till 10pm when I had the Black Screen, luckily for me I had just saved when I got the feeling something bad was going to happen! I don't mind too much though if it's only every few hours or so and it seems to be so quick to save! I love this game so much! If it wasn't for the camera and no building it may even have overtaken Sims 3 for me!

So far I have only really tried out my Monarch. Lady Michelle, she is a Level 5 now. A good Queen with Scholarly and Eloquent (I may have forgotten) and Licentious as a FF. She married a Knight who I have yet to play. They were married in a Peteran Church. So far I have not really gone much further that the Tutorial but think I may start a new game soon.

This is her talking to some guy and then getting married. Being the Monarch is awesome, the people do what you tell them and they all follow you like lambs!

[Allan72]

Besides the original Sims, I haven't play 2 or 3.  I was wondering about game play and fun factor.  After reading the post here, I am gonna get one now lol.  Great feedback.

[samoht04]

I am officialy in love with this game! It's so much faster than Sims 3 but I still need my Sims 3 Sims who I am about to go and say hi to. I am really amazed at the scenes and think some of my pictures turned out pretty good.

My Blacksmith:-



From the Pond towards the Town Centre:-



Praying:-



Cooking:-



Docks:-



The Pit Monster:-

[Skyberry]

Whoa awesome pic of the pit beast! That was truly well done.

[Ellenser]

I've finally had enough time to sit down and play this game, and it's great! I had my doubts, thinking things would be much too easy, boring and repetitive, but I was wrong. The beginning tutorial seemed a bit tedious as I already understood the basic gameplay mechanics, but even that wasn't particularly long or ridiculously boring. It's similar to the sims castaway in a way, but so much more in depth.

[Katluvr]

I'm working on my second kingdom ambition now and still loving the game.  So far the quests and ambitions have been pretty easy and I'm not having too much trouble completing everything at platinum level.  I'm anticipating that the more ambitions we unlock the more difficult they will become - has anyone had any experience with this yet?

[kattiq]

I agree Katluvr the quests are relatively very easy to do! I am kind of hoping down the line they change up the layout of the kingdom too.

And I love the pictures samoht! The praying cracks me up every time I see one of them do it! And also when the marriage officiator comes out of no where.

[StamperCat]

Well, here is my first impression of this game:
I enjoyed it for the first Ambition. I took my time, enjoyed the quests, creating all my heroes and leveling 7 of them up to above 7. I think all my quests but one were completed in Platinum as was my whole Ambition. Got some nice things unlocked at the end. I saved my game and chose a new Ambition.

I never saw an option to use one of my developed heroes as my new monarch. It must be well hidden or at the least not very apparent. I chose a new thrown room (the wizard one) and decided to change the thrown. I don't see that particular thrown in the buy catalog, so I would assume if I sell it to use another one I will loose it altogether. I had annexed a couple of territories and I see I lost those territories and have to start at zero level there too. Of the 6 quests offered to choose from, only 2 had not been done. Yes, I know, I can play the same quest with a different hero, but the variations are not going to be great. I am seeing the same NPC's from the first Ambition, but yet, I can't use my same characters.

So, for me, it was a fun game the first time around, but with no creativity in building, no custom content (not even much variation in CAS for different patterns), limited camera view, no relationships to speak of (married couples or children), repeats of quests, loosing skills and foreign relations, I am done until EA decides to open it up to more variety. I am really disappointed in the way it is structured. I don't think the Achievements needed to be separated into completely new games. The unlocking concept is fine, but I see no need to cap levels at 10 and have to start with an empty territory. It would have been more fun if they would have made it so you unlocked a new kingdom and could only take one of your heroes to that new place with different scenery and different quests. Can't imagine how boring it would be to still be looking at that same territory as you play through 12 Achievements.

We are all different and enjoy different play styles. This one just doesn't resonate for me at the current way it is structured. Just my 2 cents worth on first impressions. Thanks EA for something different. It was fun for the first time through.

[Saltypaws]

I too finished the ambition, pretty much in the platinum and moved to the second ambition.  I did get to choose a hero from the first ambition.  However, on the second ambition, even though I finished in the platinum in some games, I found that although, there were items in my sims inventory, it would not register and I could not complete the opportunity.  I did cancel  couple of quests and that made me fail the second ambition.  I still got the unlocked items, which was cool, but could not go on.  I have to start over to unlock more games.  My impression is, overall it is a great game, but I think the repitition is going to get old for some people.  I know you can do the same quests with different hero's, but I would think they would have added a few different quests as the game progressed.  I am still having a great time with this game.

[MrGabic]

I am at my third ambition and still having a great time playing Sims Medieval and even though I'm repeating lots of quests I'm trying to always do different things in my spare time before falling behind a quest. I think the different ambition in every new kingdom will keep me playing a long time.