The Urbz: Sims in the City
Score: 80% ESRB: Teen Publisher: EA Games Developer: Maxis Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Simulation
Graphics & Sound: There’s no denying the popularity of The Sims. The original game, as well as its expansions and sequel, have sold millions of copies and have become a pop culture phenomenon. As the name suggests, The Urbz: Sims in the City takes the Sims out of their white, picket fenced lives and throws them into the city, a move that brings new challenges and a completely new experience. With the change in location comes a new style. The Urbz still retains the Sims look, but with a much more stylized appeal. Similar to the system found in The Sims 2, character customization is much more open to creativity. Not only can you put together your own unique outfits (once you purchase them), but you also have complete control over your Urb’s body type and look. You can start with a selection of pre-set body parts, but if you can’t get what you want, you can morph them to find just the right look you’ve always wanted. The system is so adaptable, in fact, that I was able to make a few celebrity doppelgangers -- including my vapid socialite Urb, London BestWestern. If you can’t find the exact look you want for your Urb, then you’re out of luck. One of the game’s main headlines is its soundtrack, which features tracks from the Black Eyed Peas. While the group doesn’t supply the soundtrack to the entire game, you’ll still hear at least one of the group’s featured songs every time you play the game. These include songs like “Shut Up,” “Let’s Get it Started” (re-recorded in Sim Speak), and a brand new song, “Friddy Dope.” The tracks really fit the game, and blend in nicely with the game’s other tracks. Some of the tracks can get repetitive and thus, annoying, but you can always leave the area and come back later.
Gameplay: The Urbz: Sims in the City manages to do what previous console Sims games have had a hard time at -- bringing goal oriented gameplay to The Sims. Previous installments like last year’s Sims: Bustin’ Out managed to evolve the Sims formula beyond the sandbox mode that was the PC game, but still didn’t quite reach the level in interactivity and direction console gamers are used to. A major focus within The Urbz is gaining rep points and having fun. You still have to manage your character’s mood and can purchase items for your apartment, but some of the more time consuming aspects like getting (and holding) a job are gone and replaced with mini-games. The Urbz is broken up into nine distinct areas, including 125th Street, Gasoline Row, and Central Station. Each area features its own particular style. 125th Street is a hip-hop rooftop paradise, whereas Gasoline Row is a haven for bikers. Each area is a small, self-contained area featuring everything your Urb needs to survive, including food, restrooms, and entertainment venues. You can also visit clothing and items stores, meet people, and take jobs in each area. You’re only allowed access to one area from the start and must complete goals in order to unlock new areas. Goals include completing jobs, and more importantly gaining rep points by interacting with people. Each area has its own sub-culture that is more welcoming of certain looks. Some cultures like tattoos and leather while others don’t, meaning that you’ll have to dress the part depending on which setting you’re in and who you’re trying to impress. If you’re trying to make friends in the Central Station area, which is a punk sub-culture, it’s probably not a good idea to wear your best hip-hop or formal attire. Talking to other Urbs is your main source of gaining rep points. You begin with a short list of commands like Gossip and Talk, but as you earn street cred (and get closer to certain characters), new options will become available. Some will even teach you special attention grabbing moves, like blowing fire, or the “secret handshakes” of each subculture... like banging foreheads. Eventually you’ll earn enough of a rep with someone to perform a Power Social. After initiating a Power Social, your Urb will challenge another to things like chugging a soft drink. If you’re successful, you’ll gain a new friend and rep points; you may even unlock new areas, such as VIP areas which feature some of the better mini-games, like the “Fight Club”-like fighting cage. As you gain friends and rep points, you’ll eventually be able to invite people to join your crew, which will become your family.
Difficulty: The Urbz: Sims in the City isn’t as demanding as the other Sims games. The game’s main focus is having fun and earning rep points rather than running someone else’s life. You still have to attend to your character’s basic needs like hunger, rest, and hygiene, but these tasks are much easier to tend to since the meters fill (or empty) at a much faster rate than other games. Jobs are fairly easy, as is making friends. Doing well at a job is simply a matter hitting the right button presses at the correct times, and even when you mess up, there isn’t much of a penalty. When it comes to making friends and earning rep, all you really have to do is make sure you choose the green color options -- taking some of the challenge out of the game.
Game Mechanics: Each area has its own goals and jobs that you can complete. While on 125th street, the big craze is tamed ferrets, leaving you with the task of having to tame and box them. After taking the job, your Urb enters a mini-game that involves pressing buttons in sequence. The better you do at matching the sequences, the easier it will be to get the ferrets tamed, packed, and shipped. Other jobs include stripping bikes and packing the parts in boxes, or making piercings. After completing bottom level goals, you can move on to bigger ones. These require you to build up your Urb’s stats in order to take them on. For example, in order to move up and take on the Master Piercer goal, you’ll have to build up your Urb’s strength. Performing actions in your apartment like riding an exercise bike can improve skills -- tasks fans of the Sims should already be familiar with. This works for The Sims, but I would have liked to see a more dynamic system in place that built skills up in a more natural way rather than plugging into a machine and tapping a few buttons. Jobs are reflex-based, meaning the more accurately you press buttons, the better a job you’ll do. But they also tie into your Urb’s mood ratings. When making piercings, you’ll have to keep an eye on your hygiene and rest meters. A low hygiene rating means that people might get infections from using your stuff, which will end up costing you a paycheck or two. It’s also important to keep your rest up, otherwise you can fall asleep on the job. There are two ways you can do this; you can lay down for a bit, or grab a can of Red Bull. Each option brings its own baggage with it that you’ll have to weigh. Resting will cost you some time you can spend making things, delaying completion of the goal, and a can of Red Bull will give you a burst of energy, but it will go through you quicker than you can produce things. Making these choices adds a shallow level of depth to performing jobs, which brings up the game’s major flaw -- it tends to get boring. The Urbz still presents the same addicting qualities as the Sims, but doesn’t bring quite the level of action required to grab the attention of a console gamer. Nearly all of the mini-games and other “action” areas of the game boil down to button mashes. This is entertaining the first time you take on the job, but gets old. The game’s control scheme, which uses the same setup found in the other two Sims console games, doesn’t help in catering to an action-oriented audience. Instead of controlling your character, you instead control a marker that you can use to click on items. Clicking on objects will cause your character to interact with the object. Like the trait leveling aspect, a more dynamic system would have been much more enjoyable. As a bit of side note, I’d personally like to thank EA for including support for the PS2’s hard drive by allowing players to save games on the HDD. Even though its a minor deal, it’s still nice to have the option and would be wonderful if other companies, like Sony themselves, would actually include the option. The Urbz is a different direction for the Sims, but it manages to maintain the core addictive nature of the series. Action-oriented gamers may not enjoy the game, but fans of The Sims or those who want more low-key action should get what they’re looking for.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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