Game Review: MySims Agent

Mclatchy -Tribune News Service

MySims Agents

Reviewed for: Nintendo Wii

Other version available for: Nintendo DS

From: EA

ESRB Rating: Everyone (comic mischief)

Whatever happened to the great educational computer games of yesteryear - "The Oregon Trail," "Odell Lake," but especially the sparkling likes of the Carmen Sandiego series? When did kids' gaming become nothing more than fetch quest-a-thons licensed by animated movies of similarly uninspired ambition?

"MySims Agents," the latest surprisingly good entrant in what has become a startling case of brand milking done completely right, doesn't necessarily have the answer. But whether EA intended it as such or not, it is an overdue nod in that genre's direction - a game that very explicitly encourages younger players and their siblings or parents to put their heads together and have some actual fun doing so.

Though "Agents" looks, controls and generally operates like most of the previous "MySims" games - you still design a Sims avatar and move him or her directly in a 3D game environment - the real crux of the game lies in solving cases as a local detective (and, eventually, a debonair special agent).

The system for doing so is, depending on your perspective, either elegant or simplistic.

A good (and, somewhat surprisingly, sharply funny) story glues the whole thing together, but the general gist is elementary: Your boss or clients give you a case and a few starting clues, and you need to interview people around town and use your detective tools (at first a rudimentary magnifying glass and crowbar, but eventually some gadgetry that would make 007 proud). There's some light platforming action, and some of the gadgets give way to brief (and generally fun) mini-games, but the bulk of the game's demands are cerebral in nature.

Perhaps knowing this and perhaps acting preemptively to keep players from getting stuck or excessively frustrated, EA compensated a little too much in the hint-giving department, and it's possible to have your detective's virtual notepad do too much of the thinking for you if you choose to lean on it. "Agents" tries to find a balance between posing a challenge and keeping players moving along, and there are times when it swings both ways - practically handing out the answers in some places, occasionally (but rarely) making it difficult to figure out where to even go in others when you're between cases.

With all that said, though, the total package still emerges as a pleasantly surprising one-of-a-kind console game. "Agents" is a family game that really feels designed to be played by a family (younger players in the driver's seat, parents/siblings at the ready to assist) instead of any old group of people. The base ingredients are implemented with polish, and the story keeps them interesting by mixing in new locales, gadgets and even the ability to recruit and mangage additional A.I.-controlled agents.

Per usual, "Agents" also offers more in the way of visual customization - in this case, decorative control over a five-story detective agency - than a game not brandished with the "MySims" tag would provide. The process is mostly ornamental in nature, but a game never hurt itself by giving players the freedom to personalize it.

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