The Sims 4 has been out for nearly a month, and its first free major content update is now available. Login to Origin to update your Sims 4 game with today's patch!

The Sims 4 released on the PC last week, nearly one year after it was first revealed. The lead-up to its release was a flurry of mixed emotions from longtime fans of the series; between concern over missing features (compared to Sims 1-3), the shift from an open world to single lot environment, the small introductory neighborhood size and more.

While I've certainly invested a lot of time into many other series such as EverQuest, Elder Scrolls and Civilization, the Sims franchise takes the cake for having devoted hundreds (or more *cough*) of my life to. I've been playing The Sims longer than any of my children have been alive (the eldest of which will be able to get his driver's permit next year). Let's just say my excitement for the announcement of The Sims 4 included many exclaimation points, and after my first 49 hours of playing it, I'm quite happy with the game, despite its spotty issues and omitted features.

This review is going to be extremely lengthy and touch on every aspect I've experienced thus far.

Lindsay "geektr0n" Ferguson hosts ZAM's first-ever edition of Friday Update Arcade! Topics discussed are:

• PAX Prime Recap from ZAM
• The Sims 4 isn't blowing minds (...yet?)
• A new Saint's Row game, now with more Hell
• WildStar gets a megaserver
• ESO is hit with massive layoffs

Tuesday is the day for new games. This week, we’ve got five!

They span a wide array of genres: life sim, third-person shooter, dance, shoot ‘em up and...murder mystery? What a group! Check out all the latest releases below:

The Sims 4 will be hitting the shelves next Tuesday and its official launch trailer has already been released this past weekend. Are you ready to enter the next generation of Sims?

Welcome back to Gamescom 2014!

Gamescom's third live event (3 of 3) is from EA. We'll be covering it live, keeping this page fresh. Open the stream and keep refreshing this page!

When: 4:00AM Eastern / 1:00AM Pacific — Watch on Twitch.tv!
All Events: Xbox, PlayStation, EA

Part 1: Chill – Part 2: Action

The first week of August was a great week for game trailers – too good, in fact. Instead of cramming a dozen videos into one super-post, we've got a double feature! This post is relaxed, while the next one cranks up the dial.

As per usual, sit back and enjoy!

End of the week, start of the weekend! We've got an unprecedented eight videos today, but they only hit 14 minutes total. Crank up the volume and let's load 'em up!

Over the weekend Maxis released a video showcasing The Sims 4 demo that was shown to press at this year's E3 (check out our retrospective here). Narrated by Sims 4 producers Graham Nardone and Ryan Vaughan, you can check out almost 20 minutes of gameplay, from the Create-a-Sim (CAS) mode through a very strange house party. The demo is from a one-month-old beta build of the game, so there may be some bugs or changes from what is shown prior to release.

During this year's E3, The Sims 4 was finally given a launch date of September 2, 2014. Players were treated to an extended hands-off demo on-site, and during EA's press conference a 4-minute long gameplay presentation was shown.