* Everybody's Doing It...

...playing Sims Medieval, that is. Me... notsomuch.... then all the time... then notsomuch. I honestly can't decide if I love it or hate it. The graphics are to die for, just looking at the game is a pleasure. The gameplay is very similar to Sims 3, but this one is all about the RPG... and that's where I come unstuck.

Originally, I wanted this game because it was supposed to be different to Sims 3 - a change is as good as a rest yadayadayada.  It is different. Just not different enough. I cannot help but make constant comparisons because of the similarities, there's just no way to seperate the two so completely that I can accept this as a stand alone game. I find I keep thinking things like "If only we had this in Sims 3" or "The Sims 3 camera movement is much better than this" and even "I wish I could design an actual building for this one"... the list goes on.

I'm a true glass is half full person (as opposed to half empty), so I'm not overly happy with my own grumpiness and thought I'd attempt to take the edge off by sharing a few images from my game. I'm not going to explain how to play it - that's what the offical site is for - The Sims Medieval - and it does explain it very well. But I can tell you a bit about what's going on in my own game etc...

Above, is Queen Lillith LeCochon of Lildonia (yes my ego knows no boundaries) and she's my very first Monarch in my very first Ambition - New Beginnings. She's eloquent and adventurous... and bloodthirsty. She's constantly starting fights and then has to apologise for them (sound familiar???). Within two days of beginning her new kingdom, she had married the minstrel and had a daughter by him - Princess Polly (I was tired and a bit bored when it came to naming her). Lillith is currently only a level 7 Monarch.

She went out and killed a bear for that leg joint she's carrying (sounds far more interesting than it actually was - a lot of this game is *rabbit hole* based... so she wandered off into the woods whilst I waited for her to return... made a cup of coffee, baked a cake kinda thing). Sadly, the beast that lives in the pit, decided to be invisible (glitch, not gameplay) for this scene. He did, however...

... show up for this shot. Scared the living daylights out of my Knight - Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Last King Of Wales if you're wondering about the name) whilst being totally ignored by the executioner and a little boy, deep in conversation about what one should feed a beast that lives in a pit... cauliflower, bear or Knight???!!!. 

Above are a band of brigands (sounds good doesn't it) that appeared for one quest and questioning and then disappeared when the quest was complete. Very possibly eaten by a bear that lives in a rabbit hole.

Of course, Sims still do some things in the exact same way as in other incarnations of this game. The only difference being the colour and opacity of the little love hearts.... oh yes, and the surprise pregnancy that arose from this bit of impromptu woohoo. Apparently, Sims were far more fertile in medieval times and never opted to *try for baby* - there was no need. One thing I genuinely like about this game, is the speed at which social interactions are offered. It's a lot less like hard work to kindle a romance, or a friendship.

You can, quite genuinely, never get bored with looking at this game (even though - apparently - every single Ambition has the exact same kingdom). You have to remember here, that I've not exactly played it to death yet - it could get boring to look at... it just ain't yet. The above photo is of the Clinic and the Wizards Tower at night. The wizard herself (Morgana Pendragon - no explanation needed for this name (I hope)) is in the first picture of this post, creating a concoction.

This is her, below too...

... alongside my merchant John Fortin. I think someone from EA described the new appearance of the sims as Painterly - it fits. They are. CAS is very similar to Sims 3, but without the endless options that can trap you there for days, creating the perfect sim... only for your game to crash unexpectedly... deleting the perfect sim because YOU DIDN'T BLOODY SAVE HIM!

Once you've worked out how to use the camera - you can desert your sim and wander the terrain of your kingdom. There are hidden gems to discover everywhere. I imagine photographing every thing in sight could get tiresome eventually - especially as there are only so many things to see - but currently, I'm still happy with that aspect of the game. I can see that it'd be great for story telling - but I don't think that's a route I'll take with this one.

I have many, MANY more photos to share of this game, but I reckon this'll do for now - don't want you snoring on your keyboards.