The Sims has always been eaten up by hordes of long-time fans, so it makes sense that it should be accompanied by some dedicated peripherals. So are the Sims 4 branded peripherals up to task, or are they just a quick cash in?
DESIGN
I donβt usually like white peripherals in any circumstance. My entire set-up is black and red, for one, and itβs ridiculously easy for even the tiniest bit of dirt and grime to show up, leaving you questioning your lifestyle choices or obsessively sanitising your mouse. Damage is also much more apparent – my Logitech G500 mouse has been a trusty companion for about four years now and it still looks just as rugged as ever. But the Steelseries Sims 4 peripherals are irresistible, with a muted, glossy look that brings to mind Apple products (in the best possible sense) with a touch of irreverent trademark Sims whimsy.
The Plumbob – really the only sign that this is a Sims branded product at all – illuminates with a soft green glow that also accents the underside of the mouse wheel. The LEDs are set by default to change between three colours, and these are intended to reflect your Simβs mood ingame. Itβs a nice aesthetic touch, but when you get into the software behind the mouse, you can do a hell of a lot more with the LEDs, making the mood lighting a little bit redundant.
When set to pulse, the LEDs blink slowly from colour to colour, but itβs not an organic, smooth looking shift, rather a staggered dim that looks like itβs happening frame by frame. This is a really small, niggling complaint, but it just doesnβt seem to do the quality of the illumination itself justice.
FUNCTION
Aside from the Plumbob this is a heavily standard, basic gaming mouse – light, snappy, and easy in the hand. The two programmable buttons sit neatly in a curve right about where your thumb rests and the Plumbob is a button itself, large enough to be easily accessible but not sensitive enough to accidentally trigger all the time. Itβs a nice touch.
In all honesty you could play The Sims with a Β£2 budget mouse and it wouldnβt be a hinderance, this is something of a luxury purchase for hardcore Maxis nuts who want peripherals that reflect exactly how their Sims feel as they trap them in rooms without windows or doors and wait for them to die in a congealed puddle of their own excrement. The potential uses in The Sims 4 are great – you can set the two custom buttons on the side to change between house floors or rotate objects, making build mode a hell of a lot easier to deal with.
It works just as well as a general gaming mouse – the adjustable DPI and customisable individual profiles for different games ensures itβll be up to task for whatever you play, be it MMO, RTS, or FPS. Not being able to change the DPI onboard the mouse itself is something of a sticking point in shooters – Iβve gotten used to flipping between faster speeds for auto rifles and handguns and slow crawls for precision weapons – but itβs still a product that ticks the boxes of quality weβve come to expect from Steelseries.
SOFTWARE
You donβt need to install anything to use the mouse. Just plug in and play – it comes preloaded with quick shortcuts on the buttons specifically tailored for The Sims 4. But itβs highly unlikely anyone is buying a mouse just to play The Sims. So to really get the most out of it, youβre going to want to download the SteelSeries Engine, a ridiculously simple to use piece of software that lets you map custom commands to each button and design different profiles for individual games. Itβs all gloriously simple, a clean cut design choice backed up by effortless software. Changing the DPI is simple as clicking a gauge. The only thing it really lacks is on-the-fly DPI adjustment – something my old G500 handles with a simple pair of buttons on the left side.
And thatβs before we even get onto changing the colour of the LEDs. Oh, yes. Itβs time.
With the Engine youβll be able to choose a colour from the RGB spectrum or use the ColorShift function to set it to pulse between some pre-selected colour ranges. In my opinion, itβs a much more effective use of the Plumbob LED than the factory standard.
THE MOUSEPAD
Come on. If youβre already buying a Sims-branded mouse, you may as well grab the mat too. Itβs all the usual quality youβd expect from SteelSeriesβ QcK pads, a generous size, faced with some officially licensed Sims artwork featuring a bunch of characters who look like theyβve been rejected from the cast of every buddy sitcom ever made. Itβs the perfect companion to the mouse itself and adds some vital extra personality to the set. The backing grips to most surfaces and itβs durable.
It looks great, altogether. Not quite in line with the solid black monolith that is my usual setup, but for those who like their desktop to look a bit more lively, it really couldnβt be any better. A quality, affordable product paired with a gaming franchise beloved far and wide. Steelseries have stepped up to the mat (har har) and delivered.
IN CONCLUSION
This is by no means a complete gaming mouse package, but itβs not meant to be. Itβs an essential purchase for hardcore Sims fans and a solid starter gaming mouse. Itβs not enough to tempt me permanently away from my old faithful G500 with its unlockable scroll wheel, on-the-fly DPI adjustments, and customisable weights, but itβs more than adequate for someone just looking for more Sims goodness from a company that has always delivered quality peripherals.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artistβs personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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