Building on the groundwork of the other MySims games, Agents offers an entertaining storyline and much better minigames
What MySims Agents lacks is the ability to create custom furniture and buildings, but it makes up for this lack of customization by interjecting a real storyline, and quality minigames.
You start as a detective in an area of town known as Main Street, and you (and your "sketch artist" sidekick, the always loveable Buddy) have to solve some local crimes to become a Secret Agent. A lot of your favorite characters are back from previous Sims games. By solving cases and investigating your surroundings, you earn new outfits and new furniture for your Secret Agent Headquarters (once you get it!), which is the only area of the game that is customizable.
The cases themselves are interesting and entertaining. And as the story unfolds, you discover that Morcubus is up to something much more devious than being the McDuck Industries of the Sim world (hey, that was the best reference I could think of). You travel to the city, the beach, an old mansion, the mountains, and the jungle. You meet Yetis and Zombies and disco-dancing robots and make friends with all of them. (the Yeti was so my favorite)
But where this game shines over previous installments is in the mini-games. I hated fishing and prospecting after the first few times - but these games are actually interesting, thought provoking, and at times almost educational. Fixing things that are broken requires putting piping or gears together, much like in MySims Kingdom. Hacking into computers or robots is a fun minigame that involves quick reactions and a steady hand with the Wii remote. But my favorite was analyzing - you're given a collection of "molecules" to put together, and each molecule can only touch a certain number of molecules. Sometimes you are given a few to start that can't be moved, and you have to figure out how to put all the molecules together so that each is touching the correct number. It's challenging at times - and that is great, because for a game designed for younger kids, it makes them think in a logical and mathematical way. In a game that's very basic for the most part, this little minigame is a nice step into more challenging arenas.
Like most other MySims game, the big downside is that it is over too quickly - the main storyline of the game doesn't take that long to finish. And it leaves you with a GIANT cliffhanger for the inevitable sequel. But there is still more to do, because your headquarters is now peopled with agents, and there are missions to send them on. You organize your agents by talents, and then decorate their "floors" to help boost their weaknesses and make them the best possible teams.
Overall, in my opinion MySims Agents is the strongest game of the MySims series, though in different ways than MySims Kingdom. I look forward to seeing what EA comes up with next for this franchise!