It’s a wonder that the designers decided to keep the motives intact. With the home aspect of the game all but gone, someone thought it would be pertinent to include a little mini-home for you in each of the game’s locations. In all of the scenes the game sets you up with a little room, complete with a bed and enough space for a shower, toilet and any other amenities you desire. This effectively rids the need for the home aspect and you can actually play through the entire game without returning to your home at all. If you need to shower you can simply buy one and plonk it down in the middle of the level. Hop in and you’re all set. While you’re at it you can drop down an exercise bike right into the middle of the street, no one seems to care.
The Sims has always looked good but the engine is really starting to show its age. Most of the environments lack refinement and the characters could use some more transitional animations. All of the actions are really jerky and just emanate and dissipate out of nowhere. There’s no real cohesiveness in the movements, just one action after another. The designers tried to spruce things up by utilizing a number of lighting effects but they can’t mask the archaic architecture and weak character models. Hopefully the next iteration of the Sims looks better as this one is a pretty disappointing effort.
All three versions of the game come packaged with a coupon redeemable for four free Black Eyed Peas tracks at the iTunes store. This is a great freebie that further solidifies the Black Eyed Peas role in the game. In addition to appearing in the game, the group lends a few of their songs to the soundtracks. They’ve even taken the time to re-record some of their more popular songs (such as “Let’s Get it Started”) in Sim-glish so that it fits in with the universe.
Although all three versions are technically identical the PS2 version has the edge over the others. Those who have the Eye Toy peripheral will be able to take photos of themselves. As your Urb gains more rep those photos will be displayed around town, showing off your popularity. It should also be noted that Urbz is the first game I’ve ever played that allows you to save and load directly from the PS2 HDD. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for those of you who shelled out $100 for that 40GB paperweight.
I’ve always been a fan of the Sims but I’m not so sure that I’m a fan of the URBZ. The series was solid to begin with and it seems that the developers tinkered with a formula that didn’t need to be changed. For sure, the social element of the game has received a significant facelift, but the Urbz leaves the home aspect behind and with it, a significant part of the fun. It’s an interesting direction for the franchise, we’re just curious to see if the designers can add to the formula without taking away from it.
C
With the first two console Sims, Maxis tried to recreate the formula of its PC hit while adding some structure to the game. For the most part the developers succeeded and even managed to better the PC cousin by adding in 3D graphics and a linear storyline. Apparently that wasn’t good enough and someone decided that the franchise needed a drastic change. It’s here now and its name is The Urbz: Sims in the City.
Page 2 of 2
