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 Post subject: The Urbz: Sims in the City (+!)
PostPosted: January 14th, 2005, 11:46 am 
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Joined: November 8th, 2004, 10:36 pm
Posts: 128
Location: State of Confusion
The plus is because there's bonus material :) I'll be talking about all three SIMS games for PS2 - The Sims, Bustin' Out, and The Urbz.

First, what they share:

Pros:
Awesome graphics, depth/detail to graphics.

Sound effects - great, but not hard to pull off. The Urbz do it best with 'Simlish' remixes of Black Eyed Peas tunes, but there are Cons here as well.

Gameplay is fairly straightforward - you play as a SIM going through that person's 'life' trying to build relationships, have a job, etc. The first two beat out the Urbz here, marginally, due to the ability to start a family and play as more than one SIM at a time. (The Urbz allows you to play more than one at specific times, but those are rare, and involve completing certain tasks first.)

Controls: Basically the same for all three, slightly modified for The Urbz by making it easier to see your 'motives' - you don't have to hit any buttons, they're constantly on screen. Plenty of menus still able to be accessed though.

Cons:
LOAD TIMES. This is the biggie. PS2 takes forever to load ANYTHING to do with these games - forever being upwards of 30 seconds per load. ;)
You need to load when switching areas, etc., so this tends to be a major drag on the game.

Wonky movement - the graphics are great, sure, but due to the fact that the game needs to access the disc to move you, movements aren't always timed as well as they should/could be, especially when interacting with other SIMs.

The Urbz - specifics:
Basically, I got all three for Christmas, so I've only really played the Urbz so far to any decent point (took me 4 days to 'beat', fyi - 'beat' = cleared all goals). Rather easy, but the point isn't really to be challenging, it's to watch this other 'person' live out their life for a bit.

Well, in this installment of the SIMs, you're in the big city. The major goal is to become the most widely known, 'reputable', person in the entire city. You build 'Rep' by interacting with other Sims in various ways, using social skills you unlock gradually by completing other tasks. And advancing in 'Rep' to unlock new areas, with MORE new stuff...like I said, not exactly a MAJOR challenge, but time consuming and fun to watch.

Graphics: Amazing. Above and beyond the other two by far. A big plus here is the fact that you can zoom in to get up close looks at your character, as well as others. There's even a camera AI for certain sequences, such as when you're street dancing. Great attention to detail as well.

Sound: Like I said earlier, the BEP's really made this game a LOT better by adding to the soundtrack. Helps that the music covers the load times too. :roll:

Gameplay: Easy easy easy. The major challenge comes from the fact that to unlock the next to last item, you need 340 Rep points...and you get TWO each time you interact with someone correctly, 1 if you use a social move they like, and the OPPOSITE if they don't like it. It's just about as easy to LOSE Rep to gain it, so you have to plug at it for a bit. Other than the wonky movement issues and horrendous load times, it's a lot of fun.

My biggest issue was keeping track of my 'simoleans' to cover rent and still be able to move from zone to zone 'in style' (you're practically required to change clothes to match the style in the zone you're in or you have a hard time earning 'rep' there. Luckily you can take jobs without the proper attire to earn cash to earn the proper attire...all while keeping your rent paid and your motives up.

Motives: Bladder, Hygiene, Hunger/Thirst, Fun, Energy
The motives are little easier to 'fill' for this installment, so you don't need to stare at your SIM dancing in front of the radio for hours on end just to raise your fun while the others drop to nil sticking you in a hopeless cycle...which I seem to be running into in the first two games...

Controls: As I said, no more hitting the d-pad to check your motives and other things. They're all out in the open on the screen. You also have an XDA Phone (Basically a PDA with a phone) to organize your inventory, keep track of your goals, call your friends, start parties, etc.

Eye Toy: If I had one, I'd tell you how it works, but I don't. The option is there to take a picture of yourself and add it to your SIM.

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All I want is less to do, more time to do it, and higher pay for not getting it done.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: June 7th, 2005, 4:59 am 
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Joined: April 28th, 2005, 8:38 pm
Posts: 37
Location: MI
I would reply to what you said but, I'm too lazy to read all that.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: June 7th, 2005, 10:43 pm 
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Joined: January 27th, 2005, 12:37 am
Posts: 45
Location: Oregon
I don't like The Sims, because it was distributed by EA. Also, I find it pointless, especially The Urbz. So gothic and punk rock.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: October 12th, 2006, 1:52 pm 
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Joined: October 8th, 2006, 4:18 pm
Posts: 17
I rented the game beat the main story line in 5 hours brought it back and got a new game, for free. Chea Urbs sucked that bad.

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