The Urbz for the Nintendo DS
Congratulations. You have escaped life in boring Suburbia and have moved to the city of Miniopolis. Don’t expect it to be easy because life in the city is full of danger and adventure. Working odd jobs to make money, building your rep and foiling the plans of the evil mastermind Daddy Bigbucks will take some time and initiative. In The Urbz: Sims in the City the simple life has been left behind to pursue dreams in the big city.
The Urbz is a lot of fun. This game has many Sim elements incorporated so fans should really enjoy this one. For those who don’t enjoy The Sims, The Urbz may be a tough sell, but this title is a lot less tedious than its predecessor and worth giving a shot.
Some trademark Sims elements are in the Urbz. Mundane tasks like eating and sleeping still need to be monitored, but it is easier managed. The in-game clock automatically fast forwards while doing some tasks, and some motives are quickly fulfilled like when entertainment is low, an Urb can watch less than 10 minutes of television and fill the meter.
I enjoy playing The Sims but never a console version. I tried it, and found it cumbersome and awkward to play. At first I was skeptical about how much enjoyment The Urbz for the Nintendo DS would bring me. Much to my delight, I found The Urbz mechanics flow nicely with the DS hardware. The top screen shows your Urb in Miniopolis as well as displayin your money, time of day and your Urb’s motives like hunger and hygiene. The bottom screen menu with its PDA-style interface is really easy to use with the stylus. If you don’t want to use the stylus just use your finger. Menus include options, goals, Urb info, and map screens. There are 7 missions in the Urbz, with each mission having 6 goals with at least three tasks each that must be completed. Because of the great interface the learning curve for The Urbz should be around 10-15 minutes. The layout flows naturally and is easily mastered.
One problem with The Urbz is your lack of choices while creating your Urb. If you choose a female Urb there is no pant option even though some female Urbz are wearing pants around town. No wild hair colors are available which other Urbz have in the game. This is a minor complaint though; there’s not a lot that’s negative I can say about this game. While it won’t be for everyone, Sims in the City is pure enjoyment for those who love this game type.
Once you’ve created your Urb it’s time to get acquainted in the big city. Players start out in one building and must complete several goals to open up more of the city. Apparently Daddy Big Bucks has you locked inside a building so you must find a way out, along with other goals. Reaching all of the goals of a certain level opens up more of Miniopolis to explore and new missions. Missions aren’t just laid out; your Urb will have to talk to people around town with an exclamation point over their head to learn what they need to do.
The Urbz is definitely more goal driven than The Sims. Your Urb can take their time achieving goals since most are not on a time constraint. Instead a player may opt to work on building their rep and fattening the bank account. Only a few goals must be completed within a certain amount of time. The reason for all these goals is to foil the plans of Daddy Bigbucks. Your Urb will definitely be a thorn in his side, but watch your back because Daddy Bigbucks doesn’t take defeat well.
There are several odd jobs your Urb will be able to do around town to earn money. Advancement on these career tracks, which range from window washer to comedian, earns more Simoleons. Through the jobs menu players can learn more about what needs to be done in each job to reach the next level. There are other ways of getting money. Recycling aluminum cans and other items found around the city, running errands for people, or sometimes through a phone call will earn varying amounts of Simoleons.
Improving skills is similar to how you earn skill points in The Sims; for example, find an object like a weight set and use it to increase your body. A little meter will show your progress and when it’s full you’ve earn a skill point. Some skills can be learned in the University, which saves time but does cost money.
In the later stages of the game, reputation plays a big role in accomplishing tasks. Reputation is gained through relationships with your fellow Urbz. An Urb will give you Xizzle beads when your relationship rating reaches 70. Xizzle beads can be used at Club Xizzle to buy in-game perks such as earning 20% more in mini-games or $10,000 Simoleons.
During mission 5, pets will be available once certain minigames are completed. Unlike Unleashed, some pet choices in Urbz are not animals you’ll find at your local PetsMart. When is the last time you saw a gorilla or I bet you have never seen a jackalope available for adoption. Players can take their pets to a pet show and complete with other folks for Best in Show bragging rights.
The sound in Sims in The City is decent, although it would have been nice if every Urbz had their own “voice” as some are shared with numerous characters. Song selections have an urban feel to them which sets the mood nicely. Sound on the Nintendo DS is surprisingly wonderful. It is very crisp and clear.
The Urbz is full of little surprises which I will dare not ruin by going into too much detail. However, I will say that very high relationship ratings with certain Urbz hold some pretty cool rewards. Places you couldn’t go before will now be available for exploration. Urbz can place objects in these new places, a nice way to make a personal clubhouse around town.
Sims in the City boasts fun gameplay, simple schematics, and overall can be very addicting. It is seldom I get totally engrossed in a video game, and this one had me captivated. From the mission to building rep, Urbz is quite an entertaining experience. Now simulation games may not appeal to everyone, but gamers who enjoy this genre will find a real gem with The Urbz.
The Urbz is a lot of fun. This game has many Sim elements incorporated so fans should really enjoy this one. For those who don’t enjoy The Sims, The Urbz may be a tough sell, but this title is a lot less tedious than its predecessor and worth giving a shot.
Some trademark Sims elements are in the Urbz. Mundane tasks like eating and sleeping still need to be monitored, but it is easier managed. The in-game clock automatically fast forwards while doing some tasks, and some motives are quickly fulfilled like when entertainment is low, an Urb can watch less than 10 minutes of television and fill the meter.
I enjoy playing The Sims but never a console version. I tried it, and found it cumbersome and awkward to play. At first I was skeptical about how much enjoyment The Urbz for the Nintendo DS would bring me. Much to my delight, I found The Urbz mechanics flow nicely with the DS hardware. The top screen shows your Urb in Miniopolis as well as displayin your money, time of day and your Urb’s motives like hunger and hygiene. The bottom screen menu with its PDA-style interface is really easy to use with the stylus. If you don’t want to use the stylus just use your finger. Menus include options, goals, Urb info, and map screens. There are 7 missions in the Urbz, with each mission having 6 goals with at least three tasks each that must be completed. Because of the great interface the learning curve for The Urbz should be around 10-15 minutes. The layout flows naturally and is easily mastered.
One problem with The Urbz is your lack of choices while creating your Urb. If you choose a female Urb there is no pant option even though some female Urbz are wearing pants around town. No wild hair colors are available which other Urbz have in the game. This is a minor complaint though; there’s not a lot that’s negative I can say about this game. While it won’t be for everyone, Sims in the City is pure enjoyment for those who love this game type.
Once you’ve created your Urb it’s time to get acquainted in the big city. Players start out in one building and must complete several goals to open up more of the city. Apparently Daddy Big Bucks has you locked inside a building so you must find a way out, along with other goals. Reaching all of the goals of a certain level opens up more of Miniopolis to explore and new missions. Missions aren’t just laid out; your Urb will have to talk to people around town with an exclamation point over their head to learn what they need to do.
The Urbz is definitely more goal driven than The Sims. Your Urb can take their time achieving goals since most are not on a time constraint. Instead a player may opt to work on building their rep and fattening the bank account. Only a few goals must be completed within a certain amount of time. The reason for all these goals is to foil the plans of Daddy Bigbucks. Your Urb will definitely be a thorn in his side, but watch your back because Daddy Bigbucks doesn’t take defeat well.
There are several odd jobs your Urb will be able to do around town to earn money. Advancement on these career tracks, which range from window washer to comedian, earns more Simoleons. Through the jobs menu players can learn more about what needs to be done in each job to reach the next level. There are other ways of getting money. Recycling aluminum cans and other items found around the city, running errands for people, or sometimes through a phone call will earn varying amounts of Simoleons.
Improving skills is similar to how you earn skill points in The Sims; for example, find an object like a weight set and use it to increase your body. A little meter will show your progress and when it’s full you’ve earn a skill point. Some skills can be learned in the University, which saves time but does cost money.
In the later stages of the game, reputation plays a big role in accomplishing tasks. Reputation is gained through relationships with your fellow Urbz. An Urb will give you Xizzle beads when your relationship rating reaches 70. Xizzle beads can be used at Club Xizzle to buy in-game perks such as earning 20% more in mini-games or $10,000 Simoleons.
During mission 5, pets will be available once certain minigames are completed. Unlike Unleashed, some pet choices in Urbz are not animals you’ll find at your local PetsMart. When is the last time you saw a gorilla or I bet you have never seen a jackalope available for adoption. Players can take their pets to a pet show and complete with other folks for Best in Show bragging rights.
The sound in Sims in The City is decent, although it would have been nice if every Urbz had their own “voice” as some are shared with numerous characters. Song selections have an urban feel to them which sets the mood nicely. Sound on the Nintendo DS is surprisingly wonderful. It is very crisp and clear.
The Urbz is full of little surprises which I will dare not ruin by going into too much detail. However, I will say that very high relationship ratings with certain Urbz hold some pretty cool rewards. Places you couldn’t go before will now be available for exploration. Urbz can place objects in these new places, a nice way to make a personal clubhouse around town.
Sims in the City boasts fun gameplay, simple schematics, and overall can be very addicting. It is seldom I get totally engrossed in a video game, and this one had me captivated. From the mission to building rep, Urbz is quite an entertaining experience. Now simulation games may not appeal to everyone, but gamers who enjoy this genre will find a real gem with The Urbz.
