The Game Boy Advance version of The Urbz also has a brand new city adventure. Welcome to Miniopolis, a bustling city poised on the brink of ruin. After getting fired from your job as a window washer, you stumble upon Daddy BigBucks’ devious plot to take over the city. To thwart his evil schemes you have to get access throughout the city by building up your reputation to become the biggest “player” in the city; ultimately making it to that deluxe penthouse in the sky.

• GBA to GBA Link: Link up to four GBAs together in the Multiplayer Café and play head-to-head mini-games, trade for "rares", and unlock new features.
• Exclusive content includes: Hop on a scooter, fanboat, or Graviboard and explore 25 locations including Urbania, Sim Quarter, and the Bayou where they will interact with residents, master eight mini-games such as Moogoo Monkey Madness and Motocross Mayhem, and collect over 120 new objects including a Sensory Deprivation Tank, Personal Sky Diving Machine, and a Boogalooga Box.

REQUIREMENTS: * Game Boy Advance gaming system

Source:

www.eagames.com

The Urbz brings some Xizzle to the Game Boy Advance.

EA Games shows perfectly how you improve on a good thing.

Features * Explore 25 locations in Miniopolis * Collect more than 120 objects * Easy-to-use interface * Four save slots

As a Sim just trying to make it in the big city, you start out as just another face in the crowd who's destined to go through a series of bad jobs. That is, until you cross Daddy BigBuck's path. The multi-jillionaire wants to take over all the property in Miniopolis and turn the city into his own center of commerce. You must rise from being just another number to the number-one Urb who is the only hope to stop BigBuck's vision of monopolizing Miniopolis. The city belongs to everyone!

The Urbz aren't satisfied with a simple suburban life, where the biggest concern is which neighbor to invite to your hot tub. The Urbz lead a much more complicated, and fun, existence.

Unlike The Sims, The Urbz have no set career path. They do odd jobs (these are cool minigames) and run errands to make ends meet. Your Urb starts at the bottom rung of the ladder in these jobs but can make more money in each minigame by increasing his or her skills. Having skills, not making friends, gets your Urb closer to the top of the pay scale.

Connections and friends count on the street, though. The Urbz, for all its nonlinear aspects, is a goal-based game. You meet all kinds of people and certain ones give you important tasks to perform. Your Urb needs to use his or her street smarts to make friends and build up a reputation with the city's Rep Groups: Richies, Streeties, Nerdies and Artsies. This is tougher than it sounds because cliques are what they are for a reason.

Your Urb's Rep Group is determined when you create your Urb. After choosing your Urb's likeness and sex, the game asks you a series of personality-based questions. Your answers will determine what group you're in. Each group also has a separate set of Xizzles, or bonuses Urbz receive for making friends. Every time you make a good friend, that friend gives you a set of Xizzle Beads. Exchange three sets of beads at Club Xizzle to gain big player bonuses, such as 10,000 Simoleans or resistance to tiring.

If The Sims left you feeling a little flat because the game was more about interaction than action, The Urbz will pump you up. Every one of the minigames is well-designed and fun. (You can play the minigames against others with the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable.) Instead of reading a book about a skill, get up early and take a quick class at the university. For a few dollars, you get the opportunity to pump up your skills without using all your time and body resources.

The local thrift shop hosts a daily auction. Compete against four other Urbz to get the best deal on an item.

Of course, The Urbz includes all the elements that made The Sims such a phenomenon. Buy a pad and fill it with all the touches that say, "This is my crib; give me some mad props." Cook grub and keep the burglars at bay. Even though you live in a city that never sleeps, you still need to.

And when you've done it all, a new section of the city opens up for you to explore, make friends and expand your real-estate interests.

Bottom Line

Not only is this game incredibly addictive, the easy-to-use interface will help you become the biggest player on the streets.

Source:

www.nintendo.com

**THE URBZ: SIMS IN THE CITY IN STORES WORLDWIDE

Newest entry in the multi-million selling Sims franchise offers stylish, non-stop city lifestyle**

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 10, 2004– Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) today announced that The Urbz’: Sims in the City ’ has shipped to retail outlets worldwide under the EA GAMES’ brand. Following the record-setting launch of The Sims’ 2, the development team at the celebrated Maxis studio today launched The Urbz’: Sims in the City ’, the newest entry into the award-winning franchise for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, the Nintendo GameCube’ and Game Boy® Advance. The Nintendo DS’ version will ship on Tuesday, November 16 as a launch title for the new handheld system.

“The Urbz’: Sims in the City ’ is all about three things: cool city style, building your reputation, and living the dream in a 24/7 city that never sleeps. It gives players the opportunity to create and control their sims in a completely unique way and in a very different environment,” said Sinjin Bain, Executive Producer and Vice President. “We’re thrilled with the new experience we’re able to offer our millions of fans.”

In the three console versions of the game, take your sims from the suburbs and place them in the heart of the big city. The Urbz: Sims in the City has a completely new urban look, attitude and feel that The Sims franchise has never before explored. It’s all about reputation: which gets you access to the coolest people and hottest places; then use your new-found influence to style the city in your own image. Explore nine unique districts and renovate multiple apartments as you work to become the biggest player in the city.

Take a job working for The Black Eyed Peas in the Cozmo Street district while listening to nine exclusive tracks recorded specifically in Simlish by the record-breaking band – a first in videogame history. The first 700,000 console copies of the game include a pre-paid download card redeemable for three exclusive Black Eyed Peas songs via Apple iTunes, as well as the band’s top hit, “Let’s Get it Started”.

In the Game Boy® Advance version, players explore the city of Minniopolis, searching for a way to save the town from the vindictive Daddy Big Bucks. Players complete up to eight mini-games and mingle with over 30 characters, all the while maintaining their reputation.

EA has also partnered with Atomic Toys to produce a line of action figures from the Game Boy Advance version of the game. The toys will be available at specialty retailers nationwide in conjunction with product launch. Toys based on the console game will follow later in the year.

The Urbz: Sims in the City is rated “T” (Teen) by the ESRB on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube and has an MSRP of $49.99. The Game Boy Advance version is rated “E” (Everyone) and has an MSRP of $29.99. The game will also ship on the Nintendo DS on November 16 as a launch title for the new handheld. For more information on The Urbz: Sims in the Cit , visit the official product Web site at http://www.theurbz.com.

Source:

Press Release

Become a Player in the Big City

EA Games shows perfectly how you improve on a good thing.

Features - Explore 25 locations in Miniopolis - Collect more than 120 objects - Easy-to-use interface - Nintendo DS exclusive features

As a Sim just trying to make it in the big city, you go through a series of bad jobs and are just another face in the crowd. That is until you cross Daddy BigBuck's path. The multi-jillionaire wants to take over all the property in Miniopolis and turn the city into his own center of commerce. You must rise from being just another number to the number-one Urb who is the only hope to stop BigBuck's vision of owning the town. The city belongs to everyone!

The Urbz aren't satisfied with simple suburban life where your biggest concern is which neighbor should you invite over to hop in your hot tub. The Urbz lead a much more complicated, and fun, existence.

Unlike The Sims, The Urbz have no set career path. They do odd jobs (play minigames) and run errands to make ends meet. Your Urb starts at the bottom rung of the ladder in these jobs but can make more money in each minigame by increasing their skills. So having skills, not making friends, gets your Urb closer to the top of the pay scale.

Connections and friends count on the street. The Urbz, for all its non-linear aspects, is a goal-based game. You meet all kinds of people on the streets and certain ones give you important tasks to perform. Your Urb needs to use his or her street smarts to make friends and build up a reputation with the city's Rep Groups: Richies, Streeties, Nerdies and Artsies. This is tougher than it sounds because cliques are what they are for a reason.

Your Urb's Rep Group is determined when you create your Urb. After choosing your Urb's likeness and sex, the game asks you a series of personality-based questions. Your answers will determine what group you're in. Each group also has a separate set of Xizzles, bonuses Urbz receive for making friends. Every time you make a good friend, that friend gives you a set of Xizzle Beads. Exchange three sets of beads at Club Xizzle to gain big player bonuses, such as 10,000 Simoleans or resistance to tiring.

The gameplay is similar, for the most part, to the impressive Game Boy Advance version of the Urbz. Add a second screen and DS exclusives to the mix and you have a must have game for the Nintendo DS. The touch screen works mostly as your game menu. So instead of hitting Start all the time to bring up your menu, it's always at your disposal. Pressing Start will now just pause the game. While your Urb is doing some of his or her daily upkeep chores, you can go through the menu to see what items you have and goals you need to accomplish.

If The Sims left you feeling a little flat because the game was more about interaction than action, The Urbz will pump you up. Every one of the minigames is well designed and fun. Instead of reading a book about a skill, get up early and take a quick class at the university. For a few dollars, you get the opportunity to pump up your skills without using all your time and body resources. The local thrift shop hosts a daily auction. Compete against four other Urbz to get the best deal on an item.

Of course, The Urbz includes all the elements that made The Sims such a phenomenon. Buy a pad and fill it with all the touches that say, "This is my crib; give me some mad props." Cook some grub and keep the burglars at bay. Even though you live in a city that never sleeps, you still need to.

And when you've done it all, a new section of the city opens up for you to explore, make friends and expand your real-estate interests.

The Nintendo DS version of the Urbz also features an exclusive location, five new minigames, seven new characters and an exclusive feature: Create-A-Pet. Does life in the city get lonely, despite the mass of people living in Miniopolis? Get yourself a little buddy and it will even help you meet your goals! Who needs a dog when you can have a jackalope, unicorn or dodo? The Urbz takes full advantage of the Nintendo DS wireless features and allows up to four players to compete in mini-games.

Bottom Line

Not only is this game incredibly addictive, the easy-to-use interface will help you become the biggest player on the freshly paved Nintendo DS

Source:

www.nintendo.com - Nintendo DS

Big City Life!

• Earn reputation to rule Miniopolis
• 26 locations including DS exclusive Splicer Island
• 8 minigames, 5 pets you create, Touch Screen support & more!

Source:

Back of Case - DS (US)