MySims Agents Updated Hands-On

There's more to MySims than just waving wands and building furniture. In Electronic Arts' upcoming adventure, MySims Agents, you get to play as a superspy with sleek hair, a snazzy suit, and access to your very own chopper. We had a chance to play with a near-final preview build and were easily caught up in all the mysteries surrounding the evil Morcubus of MorcuCorp. From what we've played, MySims Agents has improved upon the formula that made the previous games so successful by bringing back familiar faces and including a variety of clever puzzles that are fun to solve but not a chore to play.

We've already gone in-depth with the game a couple of times at prior EA events, so for more details on the story and gameplay see here and here. This time, we were able to play from the beginning to see how the game starts off. The graphic novel-like opening is narrated by Buddy, who is not only your bumbling sidekick, but also an up-and-coming comic book artist. As you rise within the special agent ranks, Buddy is always by your side to help or, at the very least, provide comic relief. As always, you create your character and have the ability to customize your hair, face paint, clothes, and voice. Throughout the game, you'll unlock various costumes and other cool gear so that you can always stay in style or wear the appropriate outfits, depending on your location.

When you initially start out, you'll be solving smaller cases, such as finding out who left flowers on Shirley's doorstep or who stole Gino's precious maps. The larger story begins to unravel as you go through each case, and you'll quickly be recruited to become a real special agent so that you can explore exotic locales to find out more about Morcubus. The game does a great job of guiding you through the initial steps, and you always have access to your notebook, which will help you keep track of your cases. Armed with a magnifying glass, wrench, and crowbar, you'll scour the city streets and dumpsters to find clues and evidence that lead you to the truth. Once you've collected enough evidence, your case is solved and you can move onto your next objective.

The MySims series is already known to be cute and kid-friendly, but the small details and funny animations throughout the game add to the overall charm. As you examine all the bizarre items in your environment, you can always stop to grab a snow cone, jump in the hot tub, or juggle fruit from a nearby stand. None of these actions are pertinent to the story, but they allow you to mess around for a while and enjoy the world of MySims. The humorous and cheerful dialogue maintains the game's lighthearted and fun atmosphere. We really liked wandering around and talking to people, if only to see what kind of quirky lines would come out of their mouths.

MySims Agents isn't connected to the previous games, other than the fact that you'll bump into some familiar characters. If you've been having a blast in the world of MySims, then Agents is worth looking into because it seems to have a lot more content and more things for you to do. There's less of a focus on the building portion of the game, which is fine because you can always mess around with your headquarters. The camera has been fixed so that you don't need to worry about controlling it anymore. It will always be fixed on the best viewpoint, so the world has been built with this in mind.

We're having fun with our build of the game and like how incredibly easy it is to get into the game. It's a laid-back adventure where you can explore the areas carefully, talk to the locals, and pick up a clue or two in the process. MySims Agents is catered to a younger audience, but that doesn't mean grown-ups won't enjoy solving a good mystery or two. Look for MySims Agents when it is released on September 29.