MySims Kingdom for the Wii and MySims for the PC - Updated Impressions

Electronic Arts had their studio showcase today where we got to see what they had lined up for the upcoming year. We recenty did a hands-on preview for MySims Kingdom for the Wii, but we had a chance to check out some new islands. MySims for the PC seems to be coming along nicely, the original preview can be viewed here.

MySims Kingdom (Wii):

We got a tour of some of the new islands that have opened up in MySims Kingdom, including Rocket Reef, Unchartered Isle and Forest of the Elves. Rocket Reef is the home of Dr. F which you may recognize in the last MySims, he seems to have gotten himself into a bit of trouble, so as the kingdom's wandolier, it's up to you to put together his rocket and other robots that he accidentally dismantled. Rocket Reef has a very different feel when you compare them to the other locations. The other islands are generally bright, colorful and lush, but Rocket Reef looks like you've wandered into another planet. Unchartered Isle was amusing because we met the adorable caveman Gonk, who needs help saving his lady friend, Bobaboo. Vincent, a sinister looking man who wanted to trap a bizarre little green creature ended up trapping both the creature and Bobaboo by accident. Riiight. Through socializing we were able to get Vincent out of the way and work toward saving Gonk's feisty friend. Forest of the elves is a beautiful animal sanctuary that used to be filled with animals until a man named Leaf decided to take down the unicorn temple so that he could put in a hot tub. By doing this, the whole island is thrown off balance so you'll find demon toads that need to be lured back to their pond. There are a variety of tasks to bring all these little critters back, but apparently the unicorns will only come back if they have a rock concert. You help Leaf put together an elaborate rock concert and you'll finally be able to bring those unicorns home. All is now right in the world.

These were just a few of the islands in MySims Kingdom. There are many more to explore and uncover. We were told that there is over 20 hours of gameplay depending on how much time you take building or doing tasks. MySims Kingdom seems to be coming along nicely, with plenty of cutesy goodness that will lure in players of all ages.

MySims PC:

The MySims franchise has now sold over 3.5 million units and will head to the PC in an updated version. Not much has changed from the main game but they have added an online component where you can chat and play with your friends. Up to eight players can get together in a garden to build, trade items and play a rousing game of tag. There are two versions of tag, one is classic tag and the other is zombie tag. In zombie tag the person who is "it" has a storm cloud over his or her head and he or she has to tag as many people as possible until there is only one person left. There is a 90 second time limit and you have a small map at the bottom right corner or your screen to track the other players. It's a fun break between building furniture and it allows people to socialize and mess around with emotes.

There are six new NPCs to meet on the PC version and you can also send files of your creations to other friends via e-mail. This is to encourage people to go online and share their creations, which is the foundation of the Sims community. Visually the game looks fantastic and it doesn't require a heavy duty PC to run either.

Both games are expected to release this fall.