Playboy: The Mansion E3 2004 Preshow Impressions

Arush Entertainment will have Playboy: The Mansion on display at this year's E3. The Playboy game is a strategy and life simulation hybrid, similar to the venerable Sims series. The big difference is that Playboy: The Mansion will put you in the role of legendary publisher Hugh Hefner. You'll have an opportunity to build the Playboy brand and empire from the ground up, including the famous mansion, and you have the luxury to do it your way. As you build up the house, you'll be able to furnish it as you like, using components from the real-life Playboy Mansion, such as Hefner's zoo, aviary, tennis court, game house, and even the infamous "grotto" area.

Since the game is a life simulation, you'll be able to interact with celebrities, such as athletes, actors, musicians, politicians, and more as you attempt to gain power and cultural influence. Helping you in this endeavor will be your beautiful Playboy bunnies, with whom you'll also be able to engage in photo shoots around the mansion. As you throw parties, you can expect to see plenty of romantic encounters happening. Aside from throwing lavish parties and snapping pictures of beautiful women, you'll need to get interviews with big-time celebrities to be published in Playboy magazine. Remember, your readers really are interested in the articles as well as the eye candy!

The game will ship with a couple of modes. Empire mode is free-form, and it will allow you to set your own goals for fame and/or circulation; you will work over a specific time period to try to achieve those goals. Campaign mode will include 12 different missions that chronicle the history of the Playboy brand and it will allow you to relive the way Hugh Hefner built it into a global empire.

Playboy: The Mansion is currently in development for the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2. The game is slated to ship this winter. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more information on the game as it becomes available.