E3 06: Desperate Housewives: The Game: Impressions
Don a dress and become a housewife in Buena Vista Games' adaptation of the popular TV show.
LOS ANGELES--If you're a fan of the Desperate Housewives TV show, you might be interested in Buena Vista Games' new PC game of the same name. Broadly speaking, it combines the lifestyle characteristics of the The Sims with the gameplay of a point-and-click adventure. The result is a trip through 12 "episodes" in which you solve various tasks whilst trying to maintain relationships with the various characters in the Lane.
You play as an entirely new character, a new housewife just moved onto the street, and the story--written by one of the TV program's script writers--is set completely outside of the events of any of the series' so far. In fact, you start out as if it's the beginning of season one, so if you've not seen the show, it won't be a disadvantage.
The main method of progression through the game is by talking to the other housewives and completing little tasks that may arise out of those conversations. For instance, early on you'll need to break into Bree's house to discover a secret that she's apparently hiding. You can choose not to do this, if you want to maintain your moral values, but your path through the rest of the episode may be more complex as a result.
The developer has gone to some trouble to make sure that, although there's apparently only one ending to the game, there are many different ways to get there, depending on who you're friendly with and who you're not. If you do fall foul with one of the housewives, you'll be able to repair your relationship, and your various skills will come into play here. One such skill is composure, which basically governs how well you can lie. In the demonstration we saw, the aforementioned house break-in went a little wrong, and Bree came home to find us still there. We were able to lie our way out of the situation by claiming we'd smelt gas, so we got away with it. A high composure rating helped.
Aside from the main plot tasks are a series of minigames based around the main features of the show. You'll need to eat, so there's a cooking minigame, and keeping up appearances is also important, as there's a gardening minigame, too. However, if you can't really be bothered, and you've enough cash, you could simply order a pizza or hire a gardener.
Money is important in other areas, as well. Your husband's job brings a certain amount of cash into the household, but you can supplement that in a number of ways. The weekly poker game might be one, but if your card game's no so hot, you could simply sneak into the other houses, steal something, and go sell it at the pawn shop. Then you can use the proceeds to fund a new hairstyle, or even a new wardrobe, and this might help in an even more dastardly venture--seducing another of the wives' husbands.
Although the game is played in a fairly small area (just Wisteria Lane and a shopping center), there looks to be plenty to do. Sadly, only the narrator of the TV show, Mary Alice, lends her voice to the game, so the rest of the voice acting is provided by sound-a-likes. We'll have more details on how the game plays out as soon as they become available.
Desperate Housewives: The Game Quick Links
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- GameSpot Score6.5fair
Check Prices: $7.82 – 9.99
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- Buena Vista Games
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- Release: Oct 6, 2006
- ESRB: Teen
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