MySims Party

Released in 2007, the original MySims boasted Mii-like characters designed to appeal to the DS and Wii’s fanbase. It received positive reviews from the likes of GameSpy (4.5/5), Eurogamer (8/10) and Game Informer (80 per cent) and performed extremely well commercially. It was ported to PC in 2008, along with a version for mobile phone platforms.

Following the original’s success, EA released its medieval-inspired sequel MySims Kingdom in 2008, which also performed well both in terms of sales and reviews. And the franchise is even set to cross media to TV with an animated series currently in development at Film Roman.

EA’s dedication to its MySims series continues in 2009, with two new video games set for DS and Wii.

This summer sees the release of the Mario Kart-esque MySims Racing, while this week MySims Party will arrive on retail shelves.

“MySims Party is the first multiplayer MySims title and therefore the first opportunity that fans of the franchise will have to share the MySims world with their friends and family,” claims The Sims product manager Kerri West.

“It’s packed with 50 mini-games on the Nintendo Wii and 40 on the DS, each hosted by a different MySim. There’s a wide variety of different challenges, which ensures there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

“Players can also employ a bit of strategy in how they select and manage their team of MySims as each has different strengths and weaknesses that will change according to how you play and how successful you are. Up to four players can dive straight into the Quickplay mode or work through a story mode in which new areas, characters and achievements are unlocked by exploring the town and winning mini-games.”

MySims Party’s 50 mini-games on Wii include ‘Liar Liar’, a game where players must pick the lie from a selection of statements; ‘Cookies-To-Go’ where gamers must serve homemade cookies; dancing game ‘Go Go Dancing’; and the Guitar Hero-inspired ‘Guitar Rockstar’. Meanwhile, on DS players can get stuck into a fossil hunt with ‘Excavate-a-Saurus’; a first person shooter with ‘Haunted Hunted’ and 38 other dual screen-based games.

The MySims franchise has become a flagship series for Electronics Arts on Nintendo platforms. The cutesy character design is well suited to the Wii.