PlayStation 2

The Urbz: Sims in the City

The Urbz takes the Sims series in a new and good direction and should appeal to a broad audience. While the game lacks some components such as online play, it’s still a good game that should keep you busy and interested for a while.

The Sims keep going on; now they have to keep on keepin' on. In the latest installment of the long-running relationship simulator, The Urbz: Sims in the City, the gibberish-spouting creatures have taken it from the relative safety of the 'burbs--provided you leave the ladder in the pool--to the buzz of the big city, with its neon lights and wide variety of city dwellers. As a result, the locations and other "Urbs" they meet have the tendency to be varied in appearance and personality, which isn't an unwelcome change from previous takes on the concept.

I have to be honest with you: I've never played any of The Sims games. It's not that I didn't think they were any good or couldn't understand their allure for some people, it's just that my tastes run more toward shooting aliens or pretending to win the Super Bowl. So when EA's new Sims spin-off, The Urbz: Sims in the City, landed on my desk, I had no idea what I was going to say about the game. Then I realized that, in some ways, I was the perfect choice to review the game. EA wanted to bring their celebrated franchise to a different type of gamer (namely the console type), and my fresh perspective might allow me to write a better review than someone who knows the ins and outs of the uber-popular PC series.

The Urbz: Sims in the City tries hard to separate itself from its bigger brother, and succeeds in that goal for a great deal. The original concept and the cliché subcultures will keep you busy for several hours. Too bad the game has some flaws that decrease the replay value. Long loading times, no variation in missions and the sometimes irritating music cause that you won't be replaying the game any time soon. But everybody in search for an afternoon of brainless fun, will love this sim. But do keep the target group in mind a bit.

The Sims has been a cash cow for Electronic Arts. It seems that people love to play games that are based on… well… life. The Sims 2 reached all new heights in the series. And now people are aching for a Sims 3 game. But for now Electronic Arts has taken the Sims out of the suburbs and into the city. But sadly the transition is not as good as one might think. The whole basis of The Urbz: Sims in the City is that you start out with a character and your main goal is to become popular. It is a popularity game literally. It sounds like realfun doesn’t it. If you are a fan of the regular Sims series then you should feel at home with this game.

For the most part, console gamers tend to lean toward the hip side of the gamer spectrum. Not that console gamers boast high maintenance looks (although they can) and form the cornerstone of a particular city's social elite (although they sometimes do,) but on average, they're younger and more inclined to boot up Tony Hawk's Underground than Myst.

The Urbz: Sims in the City is the latest title based on developer Maxis' incredibly successful PC game The Sims. And instead of restricting itself to tiny neighborhoods, the new game takes place in the big city. Maxis' bold changes to the original formula set forth by The Sims aren't all for the better, but they make The Urbz a very distinctive and surprisingly solid game. The removal of some aspects of the series and the emphasis placed on other areas suggest that The Urbz might be best suited to a specific audience, but it retains enough core elements to appeal to most any fan of The Sims.

First came Sim City, a game that revolutionized strategy and resource management entertainment. Then came The Sims, a game with just as much revolutionary content, but focused on the lives of individual humans, not one gigantic city.

The Sims franchise has traditionally been about building homes and nudging your little virtual people toward eventual overall happiness, in a sort of ever-evolving, hyper-spatial suburban Skinner box (where everybody shops at Old Navy). The Urbz; Sims in the City, on the other hand, is set in a sprawling (and almost desperately "funky") urban landscape, and gives players a much more hands-on approach to... well, getting Urbz of various stylistic "sets" to like their characters.

Pour être méchant, on pourrait dire que le principe des Urbz reste aussi superficiel que le sujet traité (les fringues et la cool attitude), mais c'est davantage le manque de renouvellement au fil du jeu qui dérange. On finit par toujours faire la même chose, d'où une lassitude qui se manifeste bien trop tôt. Dommage, car il y avait de quoi faire, en incluant par exemple des objectifs plus variés entre chaque quartier.

De Urbz: Sims in the City is een vermakelijke titel, al zal het voor de 'die-hard' gamer veel te makkelijk zijn. Door de nieuwe opzet is het een hele nieuwe spelervaring geworden, maar ook weer meer van hetzelfde. Dit komt de levensduur van het spel niet ten goede, omdat spelers van het vorige deel het al snel voor gezien houden. Spelers die compleet nieuw zijn met dit spelconcept zullen er iets langer plezier aan beleven, maar het grootste probleem zit in de moeilijkheidsgraad van het spel. Het spel kan in ongeveer tien uur worden uitgespeeld en biedt een tweede keer spelen geen vernieuwing.

Overall, The Urbz is another formula release in the Sims series. This one has some new environments, and much more emphasis on style and appearance than previous versions. There is wide appeal for teenagers and die hard Sims fans wishing to live and work on the other side of the tracks, and enough of a differentiation from previous games to justify the excursion, particularly at its budget price.

Upon completion of your mission to wheedle into the role of top banana in every alternative lifestyle, you’re given the keys to the penthouse of the coolest guy in town (which is a little bit ironic given his penchant for nylon tracksuits and thick gold jewellery). Then told to go ahead and decorate it to your heart’s content. By that time, though, the need to show any interest in your character has waned and you’re left sitting in your ivory tower with nothing to occupy you except where to place your sofa. A little bit like life, I suppose.

Les URBZ est un titre trop limité et faible techniquement pour s'imposer sur un créneau où les Sims restent la vraie référence. Malgré quelques rares bons moments, le jeu se montrera vite répétitif et seule la possibilité de relooker à volonté son personnage pourra à la limite séduire un certain public, l'espace d'un moment. Les joueurs confirmés et prudents se tiendront pour leur part bien à l'écart, surtout en cette période de fêtes de fin d'année où les véritables hits affluent.