The Urbz: Sims in the City (Nintendo GameCube, 2004)

Reviewed for Big Boss Games by: CRR

The first two titles in the series by EA Games are The Sims and The Sims Bustin' Out, but make way for number three, The Urbz: Sims in the city.

In The Urbz, you guide your Sim through life in nine very diverse culturally different districts, where you have to walk the walk and talk the talk. As in its two predecesors, in The Urbz, you have goals to achieve, bills to pay and promotions to obtain. The differences you'll find in this game are in the jobs you work and clothes you buy, which are district specific, and the other Sims you meet and interact with.

Another difference is that you have to build up your reputation. This is achieved by meeting and befriending as many different Sims as you can and learning their specific social interactions. At the start of the game, you must choose what district to start out in. By completing your goals and building your rep, you unlock other districts to visit and work in.

The main goal is to build yourself up to have the highest rep in the city, so that everyone wants to be your friend. This game is fun and simplistic without being too easy. Plus, after you beat it the first time, you can always go back and play as someone different, giving this game replay potential.

On a scale on 1-10, I give this game an 8.5. Sim-fans should not miss out on The Urbz!

Fast forwarding, moving the 360 view quickly, & sometimes nothing obvious seems to freeze the game & you have to constantly shut the system down & turn it back on making you loose unsaved data & it hard to play the game. I've had other Sims games do this occasionally but this is excessive. This game is geared toward visiting areas with different music styles like rock, rap, pop, ...etc with emphasis on dress & socialization. The good thing is you go everywhere with your Sim - no down time waiting for them to come home from work & there are a lot of set characters to interact with. That annoying fire safety rule is back limiting your building & buying. There are limited set goals for each area & only 3 skills to achieve which I like.

I've been a Sims fan for years. We just bought the Wii system and the games are still pretty expensive so I decided to buy some older game cube games. Graphics are decent and game doesn't take as long to load between scenes as Wii Games or the pc version. Glad I bought this as it's one of those games that doesn't have a lot of action but it's entertaining enough for those nights when there's nothing worth watching on tv.

My favorite sims game so far. It appeals to my urban taste. The theme including the Blackeyed Peas and the cool beats make it that much more fun. It is a true to life simulation of the urbz, from street parties, to bling, and skate tricks with graphitti.So get tatted up and party your sim to sleep in this fun game.

I have the Sims for the Gamecube and just got Urbz: sims in the city. And I have to say it's about time that there's an addictive Sims game for the consoles. Played livin large for the PC, and I think that it's almost as good as that. Plus the fact that there's mainstream music on there makes for an interesting bonus. For all the Sims fans out there, get this one.