DS Review: MySims Party

While Maxis/EA Games have created quite a franchise empire with the Sims series, one of their newest endeavors has been the MySims line of games. Maybe the Wii versions of these are better, I don't know, but as of yet, I haven't been too impressed by a single MySims title yet.

As you may have surmised by the title alone, MySims Party is basically yet another Mario Party rip-off. Everybody's gotta jump that bandwagon while it's still rolling, right? In this (and any MySims) game, you'll notice that the characters look absolutely nothing like their regular Sim game relatives. They're much shorter - chibi form, really - and cuter than normal Sims. There's a heavy Japanese anime interest here. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is your own call. I personally think they're awfully cute, but at the same time, think they're trying to appeal to a much younger age demographic here.

So, here you are, placed in this new Sim Town (oh, am I allowed to call it that? I remember the actual Sim Town game...) and you create your own character. You'll find yourself doing this quite a bit - you'll need at least 3 characters to build teams with later on in the game, but I don't think there's any limit to how many you can make. So knock yourselves out - make a bunch of MySims with varying skill levels! (I personally made 4 different MySims, and true to form, I based them off real people. "Team Liza Minnelli" had a nice ring to it. ;) I made Liza, Judy Garland, Goldie Hawn, and Gene Kelly for use in my teams.) Your level of customization is both limited by what clothing and hair style items you've purchased for usage as well as the game itself not having a huge variety in styles either. That was one downside to me.

Now, you can cruise around town, chat with other villagers, and generally explore things. This is mostly unnecessary, but it's a good time-waster. What you really need to do is go to the center of your town, inside the huge castle. Guess what? Now you're REALLY in the game. You'll find each time you go in, a new festival has opened up for you to play.

What's this? Festivals you say? Yes, festivals. Each one has a certain number of mini-games which you must play and beat to win the festival. This, more or less, is what the entire game is all about. To continue in my review, the rest of my focus is going to be on each of the mini-games, as this is where 99% of your gameplay is going to take place.

• Pass and Check - You're more or less playing teacher's aide here. You compare the top and bottom screens and place a check mark when the documents match. If they do not, you slide the document to the left. Very easy game, it should give you a quick win!
• Hush Hush Library Rush - You clean the floor of the library, but if the librarian catches you making too much noise or running, she'll come yell at you, costing you precious time. It's a pretty simple game once you get the hang of it.
• My Mix Masters - It's more or less a record scratch beat game. If it worked correctly, I'd probably really like it. It doesn't always pick up when you hit the correct buttons though.
• Haunted Hunted - This sort of makes me think of what I thought "Ghost Hunters" was going to be all about. You go inside a haunted mansion, equipped with a gun. Don't hit or run into the ghost, or he'll attack. Try to hit the other players for points.
• Sushi Scramble - Memorize customers' orders and make sushi! Customers get upset if you're slow, or you get their order wrong. Ever played Diner Dash or Burger Island? This mini-game is a lot like those.
• Chemistry Calamity - You must mix the chemicals in the same exact order as those on the top screen, and then mix the test tube in the same direction as the directions indicate. As long as you can remember the colors, the only part that might give you any trouble is the actual mixing.
• Spaghetti Spin-Off - Maybe it's because I'm of heavy Italian descent that I viewed this mini-game as painfully stereotypical, but...it is. Not all Italians exist solely on spaghetti. Regardless, in this game you must twirl the spagetti up onto your fork without dropping it, and attempt to eat more spaghetti than any of the other players. It's harder than it sounds...
• Soft Service - Another Diner Dash-esque mini-game. Check the customer's order and place ice cream on the cone. Hurry and bring it back to your customer, and don't get the order wrong! You'll do more running and pushing the other players out of the way in this game than anything.
• Vroom Service - Bring the guest's orders to their hotel rooms! Be sure to check the map on the top screen. This mini-game more or less has a very maze-y feel to it.
• Skull Finder - You get to play archeologist here! Use your pick-axe to chip away all the surrounding dirt from the bones, but be careful not to hit the fossils themselves! You'll also be employing the microphone for blowing away the excess dirt you've already knocked off.
• Clap Happy - Famed MySims fashion designer Nikki is putting on a fashion show! Every time she poses, you must clap (using your L and R shoulder buttons) as quickly and accurately as possible, trying to out-clap the other players.
• Air Guitar Star - I'm pretty sure everyone's familiar with Guitar Hero at this point, so I'll just sum this one up as being Guitar Hero without the guitar.
• Okay Bouquet - Customers come in and request very specific bouquets. Fill their orders, tie the bouquet up with a bow, and ship it off! Easy peasey.
• Petal Platform Peril - I don't like this one much. Jump from platform to platform, collecting as many flowers as possible. But watch out! The other players may jump on your head and knock you down, as may falling boulders.
• Keys to Success - I think they were running out of mini-game ideas by the time they got to this one. Pick up various keys and look at the tip: if it matches the lock on the treasure chest, try it out and see if it opens it or not! Personally, I really can't stand the sound that plays when you rotate the keys. It sounds like a ratchet.
• Mallet Melee - Let's rip off a little bit more from Mario, shall we? This is pretty much a poor man's Super Smash Bros.
  
• Signal Search - Cell phones have become such an integrated fixture in our lives that I'm sure all of us have had to run around, trying to find a signal at some point or another. Why not make a game out of it? Well... EA Games did!
• Spotlight Please! - Maybe it's because I'm a theatre geek, but I loved this one. You have to follow the little Shakespearean actor around the stage and try to keep the spotlight on him at all times. But! He immensely enjoys messing with you, so be prepared for him to randomly bolt across the stage at any given moment, just to make you sweat.
• Sim-Fu Showdown - Try out your kung-fu --er, Sim-fu -- moves on a bunch of wooden robots! ....Yes. I did say wooden robots. (I don't know how exactly that works out, either.)
• Fashion Mogul - Trace the designs on each shirt as closely as possible. If you mess up, you'll be forced to repeat it. This mini-game feels more like work than a game. Is EA Games training kids to work in sweat shops? Hmm...
• Crystal Clear - Oh, I like this one! (Probably because I always win it. ;)) Each player is sat down in front of a dirty crystal ball. Your mission? Clean that sucker up as quickly as possible before anyone else does! You have to rotate the ball to get the whole thing. Be careful not to miss any spots!
• Sudsy Salon - This mini-game, I have yet to successfully win. It sounds simple enough... You're in a hair salon, lathering up a customer's head with shampoo, and then rinsing it. But you have to completely cover 100% of the hair AND finish first. The latter is what keeps messing me up.
• Skater Scamper - Bleh, I hate this one, but then, I suck at most skater games. You're on a skateboard and must perform tricks as well as not run into anything, while at the same time trying to cross the finish line first. Did I mention that you'll have to use the button controls AND the stylus to do this? I think it's that coordination that's rendered this game impossible for me to win.
• Soccer Bounce - Pretty easy stuff - you hit the correct buttons while the soccer ball is still up in the air to hit it again. Don't let it fall to the ground!
• Bus! Stop! - Ummm....you chase after a bus as quickly as you can, trying to make it stop. (What'd you think this game would be with a title like that?) It's a total button masher; you just hit any and every button in sight to run.
• Catch the Crook - This one's pretty fun, albeit a little challenging! Just like it sounds, you must chase after a crook that's on the loose. You can collect power-ups that he drops, but watch out! He also drops obstacles in your way when you least expect it. If you fall too far behind, you're out!
• Clothing Cut-Out - Very similar to Fashion Mogul, you have to trace the patterns on the fabric to cut the pieces out in order to make clothes. A steady hand is absolutely crucial for this game (as is a properly calibrated DS screen).
  
• Pretty Pottery - When I read the title of this game, it conjured up images of spinning clay into fine works of art. Not the case here. All you're doing is taking potted plants and planting them in a garden according to a map of where each plant needs to go. Yawn.
• Gone Fishing - Well, there's not much to say here, is it? It's exactly what it sounds like.
• Hidden Treasures - This one's pretty fun. You're unleashed in a darkened warehouse full of boxes, and it's your job to run around and open them all, searching for treasure! First player to 5 hidden treasures wins.
• Sleeping Sophie - This is another L and R shoulder button game. Use L and R to jump a balloon full of air quickly as possible until it pops and wakes Sophie.
• Pastry Puzzle - I like this one a lot too. You're working in a bakery, and with each order that comes in, you have to figure out which way to place the pastries in the box to make them all fit. (No, you cannot stack them.) Try it! It's more fun than it sounds, I promise.
• Hang Gliding Hurricane - OMG, I hate this mini-game with a burning passion. As an asthmatic, I do not have the greatest lung capacity in the world. In this mini-game, you have to steadily blow into the microphone (for I think 30 seconds or a minute straight) while trying not to crash. The harder you blow, the faster your hang glider moves. I always end up out of breath and dizzy as hell every time I try to play this one. :( I don't like it at ALL.
  
• Fortune Finders - This mini-game takes a little bit of luck to win it. You and the other players are unleashed in some woman's yard to dig and try to find buried treasure. Each piece has a different value. Whichever player collectively finds the most treasure wins!
• Shuffle Cup - Remember that old 'ball under the cup' trick? This is that game...except that it's played in a seedy casino where the power goes out and you're unable to see what's going on for a moment. Hardly fair play by any means.
• Plane Pop - You fly a plane in this mini-game and try to pop as many balloons as you can. Each balloon you pop helps fill a meter at the bottom of the screen. When it's filled, you can use this built up energy to zoom through other planes and birds, which would normally knock your plane out of the way.
• Bumper Boat Battle - I wouldn't have used the term "bumper boats" here - that would insinuate something akin to bumper cars. This is nothing like that. You simply sail your boat around the islands, look out for whirlpools, and try to reach the goal first.
• Fashion Reaction - Grab the clothing from the bottom of the screen that matches the pieces listed on the left, and model them in the dressing room! This should be another easy win for you.
• Perfect Slot Jackpot - This slot machine doesn't so much rely on chance (as real ones do) as it does on good timing on your part. You decide when each wheel stops turning.
• Spotting Safari - The whole point of this mini-game is to spot as many animals as possible. If you find one, quickly hit the A button before it goes back into hiding! If you move around the jungle quickly and have a fast reaction time, winning this game should be a cinch!

And that's all of them! Overall, I wouldn't say that I particularly loved or hated this game, I'm fairly neutral on it. I guess it's alright if you really need something to pass the time, but otherwise, I think I'd leave this one to the younger kids to play with. I'm giving it a 5 out of 10 Mysims rating.