E3 '07: MySims DS Hands-On
With a resort town in trouble, the Sims come to the Nintendo handheld for some urban renewal.
Though similar in concept to its counterpart on the Nintendo Wii, MySims for the Nintendo DS has a feel all its own thanks to the console's dual-screen presentation, stylus and touch-screen interface, and an urban-renewal focus that has more to do with redecoration than from-the-ground-up creation. We had a chance to see and play the DS version of MySims at EA's hotel space at E3 2007.
As in the Wii version of the game, you're still tasked with reinvigorating a run-down town full of NPC Sims who you will interact with and get tasks from. In MySims for the DS, however, you'll be living in a resort town, and the goal is to bring both new shop owners and plenty of money-spending tourists into town in order to progress in the game. Each area of town has at least one citizen that can perform special abilities, such as a tailor you can visit in order to customize your Sim's clothing.
MySims will feature 10 minigames you can compete in to earn cash for new items for your homebase. We saw a couple of these on hand during the demo, including paragliding (which we wrote about in our last look at the game), as well as racquetball, which challenged you to hit a ball against a wall painted with a target. In order to pass the challenge, you had to hit the middle of the target. Still another minigame--scuba diving--tasked us with swimming along the ocean floor and snapping pictures of fish as we swam by. The better the picture, the more cash we earned for them. Though each of the minigames will require a small entry fee, if you manage to beat the goal, you'll earn more cash than you paid to get in. You can even head to a casino to trade your cash for chips, wager to increase your payout, and then trade in those chips for more items.
You can then take the money you earn from the minigames and purchase items for your home. Unlike in the Wii game, you will not be creating your house from scratch, but you will have many items that you can buy for the interior. In one example home, we saw furniture and accessories such as radios, televisions, dressers, and chairs, with many more to earn as you go. In addition, the various houses you collect will grow as you progress through the game, from a little shack early on, to a huge mansion near the end of the game.
As Sims move into town, they'll give you tasks to complete; once you do so, you'll earn new rewards to keep building on your success. One mission might require you to bring wildlife back into the resort, and you'll be charged with the care of the various animals that make their way into the town. The more tourists that move in, the more stars your budding resort town will earn, and then more items will be available to buy.
By the look of it, MySims for the DS definitely wears its Animal Crossing DS influences on its sleeve. Still, for those looking for a kid-friendly alternative to the sometimes complex world of the PC Sims games, MySims DS seems like it's heading in the right direction. The game is due for release this fall.
34 comments
It Does Seem Like Animal Crossing Which I Did Like At First But Its So Repetitive! It Gets Boring, I Might Get It On DS (Lack Of Wii) Ohh! LOL!
unless this game has cool multi-player features, it doesn't seem like it will be much different from the average non-pc sim game with missions and such.(besides the graphics of course, although i never saw these graphics as a sim-thing, but who knows)
Im Just really looking forward to it! Looks like a great game that you can just pick up now and again
kiddie lookin games mostly turn fun....just look at animal crossing, or viva piniata, heck im turning 20 and i shamely love these games lol
I think its ruining the good name of sims. the storys pretty cool but whats up with the kiddie look. the sims is cooler than this.
Hm, looking alright to me so far. Animal Crossing was a great game so I might get this or the Wii version.
in my opinion this game looks BETTER than animal crossing, now thats saying a lot coming from me
This sounds like its going to be a good game. What would make it a little better is if you can play games against other people on WiFi.
Hopefully they'll improve on the shortcomings of Animal Crossing AND other portable Sims games.
this sounds pretty fun... frantic, you're right, it reminds me a lot of Urbz and Bustin Out for the handhelds. that's a good thing, though, those were both great games.
Mhm...This sounds like a Great Sims game from the genera but the Wii version might include alot more then MySims DS, Yet MySims DS is more closer to the Classic Sims, Where you have to buy furniture and just like the GBA Urbz and the Sims2 play mini games. You never know, until you try it though :D
I loved ACWW, but this seems a little too kid-friendly so far. Sure, there's a casino, but...
Though both versions of the game sound good I'll probably be getting the Wii version because you build items in game.
Im partially more interested in the Wii version than the DS iteration of My Sims. But hey, they seem different enough to the point were buying both of them is not a bad idea after all.
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Review Scores
| Platform | GameSpot | Metacritic / User Score |
|---|---|---|
Game Info
- Release Date: Oct 28, 2008 (US)
- ESRB: ETitles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older.
- Release Date: Sep 18, 2007 (US)
- ESRB: ETitles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older.
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