The Sims is one of the largest franchises in PC gaming today and over the past couple of years has been gaining popularity on consoles and handhelds. Basically the goal in The Sims games has been to live the life of a virtual character, attending to all their needs and desires. The Urbz: Sims in the City is basically more of the same concept except that the setting is in the big city. Not only does the franchise move into the city, but Maxis has tailored the game to fit the Nintendo DS features.

Facts and Features:

• 26 locations to visit, including an island exclusive to the DS version
  
• 8 minigames and creatable pets that make full use of the touch screen
  
• PDA-like interface for menus
  
• Gain reputation with different cliques
  
• Build skill points and improve your Urb's skill set
  

Presentation
The Urbz: Sims in the City is presented in a pretty straight forward fashion. The action of the game takes place on the top screen and the menus are managed on the touch screen in a PDA-esque fashion. Learning to navigate the PDA takes a few moments to master, but once you have the screens figured out it makes this version of The Sims the most easily navigable ever made. Not having to stop play to go through menus is a nice feature, and calling up a map to chart your location is as easy as two or three simple touches on the touch screen. The setting of the game is the city of Miniopolis, a large city with a small community feel. While many will see the new setting as a welcome change for the series, others may find the setting unfitting for the franchise. Personally, I really like the landscape chosen by Maxis.

Gameplay
The Urbz: Sims in the City plays much like The Sims: Bustin' Out that released last year with an urban twist. After customizing your sim you are thrust into the game rather quickly. You find yourself as a janitor that loses his/her job and must find a way to fend for himself/herself. You'll make friends along the way and choose which cliques you end up identifying with based on your actions and interactions with the people you come across. If you favor the hip hop lifestyle, you most likely aren't going to be received well by the lawyers or office manager types found in Miniopolis (and visa versa). You will tend to your Urb's needs such as hunger, hygiene, energy, social, comfort, bladder, fun, and room (cleanliness) as you complete the various missions given to you by the people you come across. Some of these needs can become tedious and interfere with your current goals at seemingly the worst time. For example, you often can't carry out an important conversation with somebody because your Urb is bored and wants to watch TV. This can require you to begin a backtrack to your pad to watch TV only to return and find that the person you were looking for has left. There is a way to make your needs occur at longer intervals, but early on in the game it can be somewhat frustrating.