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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Puzzle Developer: EA Games Publisher: Electronic Arts |
The Sims franchise hit the stage in a powerful way, and since the release of the Nintendo Wii, the series has branched out and has
become extremely popular on the console as well as the PC. “MySims Agents,” the fifth game in the MySims series proves to be the
best of the Wii games. This time around players are given a more refined and linear experience that revolves around a small time
detective’s rise to super agent and an evil plot centered on a dark and powerful crown. Players will be able to investigate, interrogate
and put together clues to solve the cases.
In “MySims Agents” players take on several tasks. Their primary goal is to take their agent to the top of the spy business, and it doesn’t
take long before players own buildings and have to run it. Players will need to recruit more agents and dispatch them as teams to solve
various crimes while the player investigates larger missions. There is a little bit of strategy to this because of the fact that all the
characters have unique attributes and some work better together than others. While the player’s team is off solving crimes, the player
must discover why MorcuCorp is ransacking homes and stealing property. Through this search, players will uncover an evil plot while
collecting items, from clothing for their character to gear for their headquarters. Clothing is purely aesthetic, but the items for the
headquarters enhance the player’s team abilities.
The majority of the game will be spent exploring environments and interacting with characters to find clues. The controls are very
responsive and allow for more precise game play. At the start of the game players have a magnifying glass that allows them to track the
footsteps of a variety of suspects to see where they have been in the past. Players also have a wrench and a crowbar at their disposal.
The wrench can be used to disassemble parts that can be used to build new items, while the crowbar can be used to open crates and
break things apart. As players progress through the game each of these tools can be upgraded, though it does take a little bit of playing
time before the first upgrade is available.
Working to find the truth is each case is a lot of fun because of the fact that the investigation process is very well designed. Players get
to interrogate the characters that are involved with the crime in order to find clues and then have to do some real investigation to
determine who is telling the truth and who is trying to cover their tracks. Also, with the wide variety of cases for players to investigate,
players are sure to get a laugh every once in a while by the alibis that characters try to use to get out of getting in trouble. There are a
total of four different types of puzzle challenges for players to attempt which revolve around forensics, lock picking, computer hacking
and repair work. They are all a lot of fun to play and can be quite challenging at times. Though the games cover may make this look a
lot like a kid’s game, some of the challenges will have players stumped for some time trying to solve the puzzle.
The presentation of the game looks a lot like other games in the series that have been released on the Nintendo Wii. The characters
are blocky and the locations which players travel to are overrun by bright, primary colors. It looks very similar to the other MySims
games, leaving players to know what to expect from the new title in terms of graphics. With that being said, players will be excited to
see the new “Agents” theme and the accompanying characters and environments that are a lot more interesting than the generic
characters and environments found in other games from the series. Players start from the bottom in a city environment and work their
way toward snow covered mountaintops, industrial regions, ancient ruins and much more. Each area players visit hides passageways
and structures that can only be found by completing different missions. This is what will keep many players motivated to continue
searching for clues or items so that they are able to open up the hidden passageways to new zones.
Each of the locations players visit have very crisp textures and strong lighting effects. When players are exploring the mountains, they
will notice the snow falling from the sky all around them. This is all done extremely well, even if the style in which it is done is very
simple. The animations of the game is also very fluid and there are all sorts of real time actions that serve no particular purpose in the
game other than to prove that players are in fact playing a game that is a part of the MySims series. Of course the fixed camera was a
bad idea for the game, especially when players may hit areas that the viewpoint won’t allow players to see something vital in the game,
but it actually works to the benefit of the game’s experience. The camera angle helps give the game a little bit of a cinematic feel to
them, showing top down viewpoints and panning behind objects to give the impression of scope. The only real drawback to the game’
s presentation is that, like all the previous games, the frame rate dips in wide open environments.
For anyone that has enjoyed other games in the series is sure to enjoy this game. It takes a lot of the elements of the past games that
worked well and fixed a lot of issues that were seen in past games. For anyone that enjoyed the past games in the MySims series,
“MySims Agents” is a welcome addition to the series.
become extremely popular on the console as well as the PC. “MySims Agents,” the fifth game in the MySims series proves to be the
best of the Wii games. This time around players are given a more refined and linear experience that revolves around a small time
detective’s rise to super agent and an evil plot centered on a dark and powerful crown. Players will be able to investigate, interrogate
and put together clues to solve the cases.
In “MySims Agents” players take on several tasks. Their primary goal is to take their agent to the top of the spy business, and it doesn’t
take long before players own buildings and have to run it. Players will need to recruit more agents and dispatch them as teams to solve
various crimes while the player investigates larger missions. There is a little bit of strategy to this because of the fact that all the
characters have unique attributes and some work better together than others. While the player’s team is off solving crimes, the player
must discover why MorcuCorp is ransacking homes and stealing property. Through this search, players will uncover an evil plot while
collecting items, from clothing for their character to gear for their headquarters. Clothing is purely aesthetic, but the items for the
headquarters enhance the player’s team abilities.
The majority of the game will be spent exploring environments and interacting with characters to find clues. The controls are very
responsive and allow for more precise game play. At the start of the game players have a magnifying glass that allows them to track the
footsteps of a variety of suspects to see where they have been in the past. Players also have a wrench and a crowbar at their disposal.
The wrench can be used to disassemble parts that can be used to build new items, while the crowbar can be used to open crates and
break things apart. As players progress through the game each of these tools can be upgraded, though it does take a little bit of playing
time before the first upgrade is available.
Working to find the truth is each case is a lot of fun because of the fact that the investigation process is very well designed. Players get
to interrogate the characters that are involved with the crime in order to find clues and then have to do some real investigation to
determine who is telling the truth and who is trying to cover their tracks. Also, with the wide variety of cases for players to investigate,
players are sure to get a laugh every once in a while by the alibis that characters try to use to get out of getting in trouble. There are a
total of four different types of puzzle challenges for players to attempt which revolve around forensics, lock picking, computer hacking
and repair work. They are all a lot of fun to play and can be quite challenging at times. Though the games cover may make this look a
lot like a kid’s game, some of the challenges will have players stumped for some time trying to solve the puzzle.
The presentation of the game looks a lot like other games in the series that have been released on the Nintendo Wii. The characters
are blocky and the locations which players travel to are overrun by bright, primary colors. It looks very similar to the other MySims
games, leaving players to know what to expect from the new title in terms of graphics. With that being said, players will be excited to
see the new “Agents” theme and the accompanying characters and environments that are a lot more interesting than the generic
characters and environments found in other games from the series. Players start from the bottom in a city environment and work their
way toward snow covered mountaintops, industrial regions, ancient ruins and much more. Each area players visit hides passageways
and structures that can only be found by completing different missions. This is what will keep many players motivated to continue
searching for clues or items so that they are able to open up the hidden passageways to new zones.
Each of the locations players visit have very crisp textures and strong lighting effects. When players are exploring the mountains, they
will notice the snow falling from the sky all around them. This is all done extremely well, even if the style in which it is done is very
simple. The animations of the game is also very fluid and there are all sorts of real time actions that serve no particular purpose in the
game other than to prove that players are in fact playing a game that is a part of the MySims series. Of course the fixed camera was a
bad idea for the game, especially when players may hit areas that the viewpoint won’t allow players to see something vital in the game,
but it actually works to the benefit of the game’s experience. The camera angle helps give the game a little bit of a cinematic feel to
them, showing top down viewpoints and panning behind objects to give the impression of scope. The only real drawback to the game’
s presentation is that, like all the previous games, the frame rate dips in wide open environments.
For anyone that has enjoyed other games in the series is sure to enjoy this game. It takes a lot of the elements of the past games that
worked well and fixed a lot of issues that were seen in past games. For anyone that enjoyed the past games in the MySims series,
“MySims Agents” is a welcome addition to the series.
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