The Urbz: Sims in the City – Review

The Urbz is one of those games that I eagerly anticipated long before it’s release. As a huge Sims fan, learning that EA and Maxis were going to release a game which is basically ‘The Sims In The City’ with a bit of urban styling was pure joy. I actually own this game on nearly all formats now… initially on Xbox which had some problems with screen freeze so it was returned for a Gamecube version. I also have the PS2 and GBA versions as well as this one on the Nintendo DS. Is the Urbz really that good that you need it on all formats? Well, no it’s not, however it is a good title in itself should you want to go buy a copy for your console of choice.

On the Nintendo DS, The Urbz is very similar to The Sims Bustin Out. It has a familiar feel to it and the mechanics of the game seem fairly comparable to its predecessor. The graphics are of course slightly better on the DS and the look of the game with the dual screen just seems more snappy and funky. Don’t expect anything overly different and original though as it’s the same routine of completing tasks and achieving goals whilst trying to ensure your urban sim makes it through the day without starving, wetting themselves, falling asleep on the street and so on.

This game starts with you creating your own little sim to play with. The good points here are that you can choose a male or female character and there are sufficient alternative clothing etc to suit your own sense of fashion. After your character is fired from their terrible blue collar job it’s time to go all out to earn it back, taking a stopover at the local police station in the process. When you finally manage to make it out of there (it’s not all bad in there, you can shower, eat, exercise and sleep all within one building), you can go exploring the big city and work your way up the ladder of success. You’ll need to interact with lots of other characters who will either help or hinder you on your quests and this can be both fun and frustrating at times. Pay attention to what they say to you or you may find yourself in the middle of a quest with no clue what to do or where to go. The game is pretty expansive and there’s plenty for you to explore although it doesn’t have the depth of the Xbox, Gamecube and PS2 versions of course. It does have enough going on however to keep you interested but at times I found myself tiring of the constant cycle of showering, eating, peeing, sleeping. It seemed that it was happening far too often at times for my liking and it actually stopped the flow of the game a little for me.

Because the game is so huge, it means you could easily be playing this for well over 20 hours or more. The DS incarnation has a ton of extras on it also such as the numerous mini games that help you to level up and to gain extra cash for your character. Some of the mini games are great fun and I loved playing basketball and motocross racing as well as trying my hand at stand up comedy… yes I kid you not. The idea of leveling up is one of the most important aspects of the game. It helps you open up new areas and purchase cool new items for your hip urban pad. Coupling this leveling up with the fact you find ‘xizzles’ beads around means you can become the consumer you want to be and eventually get away from that dull apartment you live in to start with.

One of the best parts of the Urbz is the sound. It really adds to the game because it has a cool urban vibe and artists such as The Black Eyed Peas have contributed to the console versions. It would have been nice if the sound had been made a little more adventurous for the DS release but it’s very similar to the GBA. Still, overall the sound is good and clear and does represent the feel of the game well.

Females will enjoy this game as much as males, perhaps even more so since The Urbz and The Sims are apparently preferred by the female gaming market. One slightly annoying aspect was that certain men in the game always seem to sleaze over you and it’s almost as though you have to flirt with them and so on to actually get anywhere. Not really a great message for young girls out there.

For the deaf gamer this game is really good as it has most of it’s instructions etc written on the screen and there are usually ways of checking what goals you have to achieve via the subtitles and information on the main menu. I don’t think that missing out on the sound would be a problem for this game as it’s pretty easy to follow even with the sound switched off.

Overall I think this game has plenty to offer but it could have been a little better had some of the monotony of the required tasks been removed. It does become slightly irritating when you’re in the middle of a quest and you have to rush around looking for a shower. Not fun and fairly frustrating. Other than that, this is what we’ve come to expect from The Sims. It can become addictive and you do find yourself completely absorbed in your characters progress. With a few tweaks this could have been a lot better and had it been a little more true to the console release, it might have scored higher.

Review by Tracy