MySims Agents Hands-On

The 2009 Tokyo Game Show is just about to start, and because Electronic Arts won't be attending, it decided to hold a press event in Roppongi, Japan, to show off its upcoming games. We've had a chance to see MySims Agents on the Wii, but we haven't been able to spend much time with the DS version, which is an entirely different game. Luckily, the Japanese version of MySims Agents had an English-language option, so we were able to mess around with it and see what this kid-friendly game has to offer.

Who's Making This Game: MySims Agents is being developed by Electronic Arts' Japan studio, whereas the Wii version is being developed by Electronic Arts in California. Both games will be published by EA.

What The Game Looks Like: The game looks very much like MySims Kingdom, which was released last year. It's colorful and cute, with a lot of soft pastel colors and plenty of customization so that you can decorate your town with the items you purchase or unlock. What's charming about MySims is that the sims have so much personality, which is reflected in their animations whenever they interact with objects. As with all sim-related games, there's customization involved, and you can update the wardrobe of your main character, as well as your sidekick, at any time.

What There Is To Do: MySims Agents on the DS has a completely different storyline from the Wii version. Instead of trying to bring down Morcubus, you're trying to track down a thief as you help out the locals by taking on quests.

Your secret headquarters can be accessed from behind the bookshelf in your home. Here you can watch television, use the computer, and even order some pizza. There seems to be a lot of random things to do, like answer trivia questions when they come up on TV or play minigames in other people's homes.

How The Game Is Played: Like in MySims Kingdom, there are 10 minigames you can play to earn money. The minigame we played involved memorizing the outfit that the sim was wearing as he or she dashed across the top screen. We had to remember what kind of hairstyle the sim had, as well as the shirt and pants that the sim was wearing. The game ends when you mess up three times, but as time goes on, the sim will run faster.

The extractor--which looks like a hair dryer--is back, and you can suck up essences from around town. You can then throw them all into this gumball-like machine and it will spit out new items for you to decorate your home with.

These are just some of the things you can do while you take on quests from various characters from the MySims world. There are six locations to visit, and you can always hitch a ride from a bus stop to get to where you want to go.

What They Say: MySims Agents is a lot like MySims Kingdom, with minigames and plenty of things to do.

What We Say: It's hard not to like the blocky-headed characters who get excited over the smallest things. There seems to be a lot to do in the game to hopefully capture the attention of younger players and keep them occupied for hours.