Product Description

What better way could there be for youngsters to discover the world of the Sims than via an RPG-style adventure game? My Sims Agents on the DS offers the ideal introduction to the Sims universe – a place loved and frequented by millions of gamers. While primarily a game involving secret agent-style solving of mysteries, it also involves gamers in environmental, architectural and interior design, three of the elements which made The Sims games such a success.

One of the first things that strikes you about My Sims Agents is how customisable it is. It starts off with you being cast as an agent in the SPA (Sims Protection Agency), assigned to a town: although it’s called Autumn Bay, you can rename it, and you decide what your name is. Assigned an assistant, Joshua, you find the Mayor at the Town Hall, who gives you your first case – the mysterious Thief V is on the trail of a map leading to secret treasure, and it’s up to you to get to it first.

 As you seek Thief V and hone your investigate skills, you discover all manner of helpful objects. You are allocated a headquarters, which you can fill with furniture placed wherever you want, and which has a secret lift to your basement office hidden behind a bookcase. And you can also reshape Autumn Bay, thanks to a gadget called the Extractor, given to you by local inhabitant Ashley, which is able to extract the essence of outdoor objects. Those essences can then be put into another object given to you by Ashley, called F-Synthesis, which combines them to create completely new flowerbeds, benches and so on, which you can begin to place throughout Autumn Bay. And you can even add new buildings, by finding blueprints and taking them to Ashley, as well as your clothing. Thus, while you’re playing a game which feels like an action-RPG, you’re also learning the principles of The Sims.

 The bulk of the gameplay concerns exploring Autumn Bay and its surrounding areas (accessible by taxi) and conversing with the folk who live there, many of whom have shops at which you can buy various goods (there’s even a disco). Naturally, there’s much investigative work to be done: which involves talking to people, gathering clues, deciphering them, finding things and solving (often mechanical) puzzles. You can hone your investigative skills by playing a large number of fun mini-games, and SPA head office sends you handy secret agent-gadgets as you progress.

 It’s all great fun, and just the job for keeping young DS-owners occupied – indeed enthralled – for long periods, as they indulge their nascent secret-agent fantasies. But on top of that, there’s a great feeling of being immersed in an enchanting (and appropriately innocent) world. Add to that the ability to shape that world and your character – whetting the appetite for more of the same on a bigger scale with a game like The Sims – and the result is a game which defines what Nintendo’s DS is all about.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2009-09-25
• Platform: Nintendo DS
• Format: Unknown format
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

A good change of direction for the mysims series
If you have read my previous reviews, you can see i'm a HUGE fan of the mysims series on the ds. After the last outing of mysims, i wasn't sure if i'd buy this game. Mysims racing was one of the most disappointing games i have ever played, so i was hoping this would restore my faith- and it has.
If you've played a mysims game before, you'll know what it's about- you're called on by a town to help them out. However, this time, you have to solve mysteries rather than just build and do requests and has a story running through it. Think along the lines of mysims kingdom and you get the idea. Here, you are asked to protect the legendary town treasure from mysterious thief V and stop them from stealing it- are you up to the task?
The game starts like normal, but has a few nice touches. A pre-set name is in place for your town and you can change this if you wish. Once again you choose if you want to be a boy or a girl, what they'll wear and their name. You also get an assistant, however, you can only choose their name and what they'll wear but it's still nice to have someone share the adventure with you. Only a few minutes into the game, you'll be thrown into the first minigame- a little shock but good you're getting stuck in virtually straight away, and a great way to earn some money. From there, you go to the town and follow the story.
I really like this game for many reasons- firstly, you automatically run! No more holding the B button down to run, you do it from the off. The B button is used to walk but isn't used that much aside from some missions. This was one of the biggest gripes and the makers have finally listened- horray! Another improvement is the extractor and synthesizer. I still play mysims kingdom now and then and still haven't got all the items because the synthesizer moves at the last minute and i have got the same tree for the 65th millionth time- it's very annoying. Here, you collect essences but when extractor runs out, just grab a cupcake, eat it and you're back to full. You choose what item to make and a few seconds later, it's made- much better all round! There are tons of items to collect, you can change the look of your town (from normal to themes such as horror, candy and sci-fi), the petting zoo is good fun and so are the townspeople, plus another big thumbs up is the fishing- they've finally nailed it! Rather than tap the screen when catching a fish (and usually missing), you lure the fish and reel them in using the touch screen- a much more reliable method which works nearly every time. Some of the mini games are great- capture duel is one of the best mysims minigames i have ever played and really makes you think, gem sorting (forgotten the proper name) is also pretty good fun too, as well as the maze race- a great way to get items. The story is also good fun, the music is like a 60/70's detective series and very catchy and the graphics are cute and easy on the eye. Even when the story's finished, there's lots to do and will keep you busy for a while.
With the good comes the bad. When waiting for an event to happen, you are asked to help the local's out, and you can't continue UNTIL you've done what they want you to do. I was stuck for a few days because i didn't know where to get a certain item, and after consulting a FAQ, i was on my way. I feel this is a little silly as it's only a side quest and not a major part of the story. Your assistant, although helpful, doesn't help out when moving objects, which can be annoying. He's usually in the house, which is a waste to be honest. Most of the furniture/clothes/items have been seen before which is a shame, and the minigames are hit and miss. While some are good, other like kite surfing feel slow and while playing club candy, the small scratches don't register making the hard level impossible to complete (all hence the four star review).
After the last mysims game, this is a HUGE improvement. The makers have seemed to have realised some mistakes and have mended them which is good. Even though i've finished the main story, i'm still finding things to do a week later, and so far i have clocked up 26 hours, although the main story will take about 7-10 hours to complete. I would not give this to a 3 year old as it would be too difficult for them but maybe a 7 year old. This will definatly keep you entertained and i'd recommend as a good buy.

Too Short!!!!
I got this game for my girlfriend becasue she likes MySims game and i was hoping this game will keep her busy on her DS.
She completed the game in no time, it took her 2 days at least and also there isn't any thing to do after when the game completed there is nothing to keep you playing the game.
Mini games are nothing to write home about.
I don't regret getting this game though becasue my nephew plays it at times just messing about on it.

D.A.Y.
I bought this for my 8 year old son who was desperate for it. He has found it good fun, but has lost interest in it quite quickly. I thought that there was too much to read to find out what to do before he started to play which was quite off-putting.