The Urbz: Sims in the City (for portable devices)

According to the plot, the main character, who recently arrived to live in a metropolis, was fired after the “royal tower” with a place of work went to bidding and was acquired by Daddy Bigbacks. After an unsuccessful attempt to steal the key of Bigbacks assistant, Lily Gates, the protagonist is arrested and sent to prison. Soon the hero is released, but given a probationary period and a ban on leaving the urban area of ​​the city. Later, Grandma Hattie recruits the hero to organize a strike so that the city opens bridges to the Sim quarter. However, the hero is grabbed by Daddy Bigbacks and sent to the Bayo area. Local residents help the hero return home and he (a) tells Grandma Hattie that Bigbacks is trying to establish power in the city, and he hurries to arrest anyone that runs away ^[1] . Hattie was soon arrested for the beta, however, the sheriff who hates Bigbacks frees her. The protagonist goes to Glasstown to find the former host of the "royal tower" - Mr. King. Later. the protagonist, with the help of Evan Watami and Sue Pirnova, is repairing a time machine to find Bigbacks in the past and expel him to an island outside the city. After that, the controlled character is declared a hero and a statue is built in his honor in the city center.

The game begins with the creation of a character, where the player selects the sim name, gender and customizes the appearance ^[2] . The game is an adventure where the player must complete the mission ^[1] . The main task in the game for Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance is to complete five missions. As in other games of The Sims franchise, The Urbz needs to satisfy the basic needs of a controlled character, in a dream, hunger, toilet, entertainment, etc. ^[2] .

The player ends up in a city in which the mercenary billionaire Daddy Bigbacks is trying to seize power in order to force its residents to pay for the most basic needs, such as the ability to breathe air ^[1] . There are three areas that the player gains access to after completing story missions. After completing all the tasks, the player will be able to move freely throughout the city and buy apartments anywhere with sufficient cash ^[1] . The most expensive apartment is the penthouse in the Royal Tower.

In addition, the player has the opportunity to enter one of the four urban subcultures - to bohemia, artists, street punks or nerds . Receiving reputation points, the group leader will give the player tasks, completing which, the player gains a greater reputation and has the right to become a full member of the group ^[1] .

The game exists in two versions - for Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DC. Both versions are identical to each other with the main difference being that in the DC version there is a second touch screen where the player can observe the character’s needs scales and dialogs, also in the DS version there are several new characters, locations, and the ability to play in the mode multiplayer with another player without the need for cable connection ^[1] .

The game was developed by Griptonite Games , who had also previously worked on The Sims Bustin 'Out for Game Boy Advance. As in the game Bustin 'Out , the developers decided to place a special emphasis on mini-games ^[3] . The development also used the Bustin 'Out game engine for GBA, although the main scene was transferred from the suburbs to the metropolis, the developers also decided to add much more features to change the look of the ward ^[4] . As in Bustin 'Out, the player must directly control his character, since this function works better on a portable device than Point-a-Click ^[5] .

For the first time, the upcoming release of Urbz became known on April 21, 2004 ^[6] . The game was demonstrated at the E3 exhibition in 2004 ^[7] . The game was scheduled for release in November 2004 ^[8] . September 1, it became known that the game was published ^[9] . The game was released on November 10, 2004 ^[10] .

July 15, 2004 Electronic Arts announced the upcoming release of The Urbz for the new Nintendo DS game console, which is identical to Urbz for the GBA ^[11] , but with new items, characters, mini-games, the ability to play wirelessly in multiplayer mode and create pets ^{[ 12]} . Sinjin Beyn, vice president and executive producer, expressed admiration for the fact that The Urbz was one of the first games released on the Nintendo DS. ^[13] The game was released for DS November 17, 2004 ^[14] . In Japan, the game was released on January 13, 2005 ^[15] .

In August 2004, Electronic Arts and Atomic Toy announced a collaboration and joint release of thematic toys in the form of collectible figures - “Miniopolis Urbz” based on The Urbz for GBA and DS ^{[16] [17]} .

The game received mixed ratings from gaming critics.

An IGN critic noted that the version for the Game Boy Advance in terms of graphics and control panel is generally identical to the Sims Bustin 'Out for Game Boy Advance, with the difference that the new game has become much larger and better ^[21] . The critic noted that the player will need several days to complete the entire game, while most of the time the player will spend on basic needs and constantly repeating routine tasks ^[21] . A GameSpot spokesperson noted that Urbz is a full-fledged adventure role-playing game with a long quest, a wide variety of characters, and pretty fun mini-games. If at the beginning of the game the game lotsakiya seems large, then as you progress, the player will discover interesting places again and again ^[2] . The critic Worthplaying called routine tasks very annoying, spoiling the overall impression of the game ^[22] .

Reviewers praised the game for its diversity in gameplay ^{[22] [21] [2]} . Thus, the IGN critic called the gameplay almost endless and suitable for Game Boy Advance, the player can continue to play Urbz even after the completion of the storyline ^[21] . Despite the fact that Urbz is not as universal as the original game The Sims , it still offers many options for the game by the standards of Game Boy Advance, for example, allowing the player to equip the home ^[21] . The representative of GameSpot also noted that the gameplay is rich in many mini-games, diverse and by the standards of a small portable console, offers an incredible amount of opportunities to play Urbz ^[2] .

The quality of the graphics has received mixed reviews, while graphics by the standards of the GBA are considered quite normal ^{[21] [22]} , then the graphics in Nintendo have been criticized. In particular, reviewers noted that the version of the game for Nintendo DS, with the exception of the second screen, large graphic details and several new locations, is generally identical to the game for GBA, an IGN critic noted that it was strange that the developers did not want to use more advanced technical specifications DS to offer something better, such as a three-dimensional world ^[1] . The critic also noted that it is extremely inconvenient to use the touch screen for a game that was obviously designed to control buttons ^[1] . A GameSpot critic pointed out that the graphics quality on the Nintendo DS may disappoint some players, and also that the touch screen in the game is poorly implemented. In particular, it’s easy for a player to hit an unnecessary button and spend a huge amount of money. In conclusion, the reviewer noted that he hoped that this cross-platform port was the first and last in the history of The Sims ^[2] . Some critics even expressed their disappointment with the port for the Nintendo DS, accusing the developers of laziness and attempts to make easy money ^[18] .

Also, the dialogs in the game received an ambiguous assessment, so the IGN critic noted that the dialogs in the game are monotonous and the player will have to try hard to set up any character against himself ^[21] . A GameSpot reviewer noted a similar problem, calling the dialogue in the game superficial, in particular, the critic noted that “to make the dialogue successful, it’s enough to talk about money and shopping with hipsters, while bespectacled students will admire conversations about science and aliens. They will respond equally to the same dialogue option over and over again each time ” ^[2] .

The IGN reviewer noted that the musical accompaniment in the game over time can bother the player ^[1] . A Worthplaying spokesman called the music not bad and not good, but by the standards of the Nintendo DS it is poor quality ^[22] .