The Urbz: Sims in the City Preview

The Urbz is the latest console offshoot of Maxis' insanely popular Sims franchise that puts you in charge of guiding a virtual person through life. While the series first came to the PC with a unique and rich gameplay system that leaned heavily on multitasking and managing your Sims' needs, the console games have wound up being very different animals altogether. Rather than simply dumping the PC game onto the current batch of consoles, Maxis has served up some original titles that offer a very unique spin on the franchise and its gameplay. The first two entries in the series have quickly branched off into a more structured direction from the PC games since the series came to consoles in 2003.

While the first console game, simply called The Sims, offered some modest advances in a new direction, the second installment, The Sims Bustin' Out, was a more colorful and playful entry that was markedly different from its PC cousins. The latest entry for consoles, called The Urbz: Sims in the City, is an even broader departure from what Maxis has tried on home systems. We had a chance to get a look at a work-in-progress version of the game to get a feel for this ambitious new entry in the franchise.

The Urbz marks the most dramatic departure yet from many of the tried and true aspects of a Sims game. This time out your goal is to guide your Sim through life in the big city. The scope of your adventure is considerably grander than the previous console entries. At its most basic, the game is still about you guiding your virtual minion to a successful life that fulfills his or her many needs. However, the needs in the game have been reprioritized to help give the game a distinct feel. While you'll still have the same basic needs as before, such as hygiene and required sleep, they're not as prominent anymore. Your main focus in the game is to build yourself a good reputation among the locals. However, you'll still find some old-school touches added in, like the massive networked machine. When you first start, your hands will be tied as you go through a brief tutorial and meet with Darrin, the local man about town, who has some stuff for you to do.

The urban environment of the city has helped provide an impressive array of colorful folk for you to interact with. The game will contain nine different "districts" that feature their own style and residents. You'll be able to gain access to new cities as you succeed at the tasks before you. You'll get region-specific tasks, delegated by the NPCs you'll encounter on your journey, which will help to tie the game's narrative together. In some cases, your tasks will be that you simply have to compete in a "micro game," a Warioware-style minigame that has you working your magic on those around you. You'll track the tasks on your to-do list by referring to your mobile phone/PDA, which contains a wealth of information in the game. As if all that weren't enough, you'll be able to use the PlayStation 2 EyeToy accessory to import your own likeness in the game.

The visuals in the game are looking sharp, thanks to a powerful new graphics engine that cranks out a generous amount of polygons while maintaining an equally strong sense of style. This is most evident when you start building your rep and begin customizing your Sim. The game features clothing stores unique to each district, offering you the chance to blend in with the locals or simply create your own unique style.

The audio will feature a unique collection of voice and music that will be geared toward creating a distinctly different world for you to explore. You'll hear unique forms of Simlish, your virtual avatar's mother tongue, from the various characters you'll encounter on your travels. While the version of the game we saw was still a work in progress, we were able to get a good sense of the audio on hand.

From what we've seen so far, The Urbz is shaping up to be a fresh new twist on the familiar Sims formula and it looks to be quite promising. The game is scheduled to ship this fall for home consoles and the GBA, so look for more in the coming months.