While the console versions of The Urbz marked an interesting stride in a new direction for the somewhat aging Sims franchise, the Game Boy Advance has seen these developments before. Past editions of The Sims for the GBA included many features later utilized in The Urbz on the big consoles, so it’s no wonder that the portable Urbz feels like more of the same. Don’t get me wrong; the game is still very addicting and well crafted, but the feeling of “Oh wow, this is new!” never happens. This means little to those who don’t own a Game Boy Advance version of The Sims already - they should definitely slap The Urbz on the holiday wish list - but discriminating gamers looking for a revolutionary step upwards won’t find it here.

Players start the game by answering a lifestyle quiz in order to separate everyone into “rep groups”, the big new feature of The Urbz. Do you prefer muscles or brains? Do you spend the weekend playing on the computer, shopping at the mall, writing erotic novellas or partying hard? Depending on your answers, the game tries to assign you a group, but worry not, if you suck at taking quizzes you can always contest the results and manually choose a place for yourself. I was labeled an Artsie, so I think the system works pretty decently. After doing the usual customization (only with a much smaller selection of outfits and body/facial options due to system limitations), you’re thrown into the chaotic world of Miniopolis. Daddy Bigbucks has bought out most of the city in a hostile takeover, and only you can stop him… by looking cool and making a lot of friends. Yeah, don’t question it.

The feature I love the most in The Urbz is the return of the controllable character. No obnoxious point-and-click interface to direct the action; players have direct control of their Urb at all times. Had this been different, I shudder to think of the results. You start off squatting in a law building, getting the hang of completing minigames for Simoleons, building up skill points in critical areas and making a few important friends. Once eased into the idea of how the game works, a shocking twist of events puts the character out on the street in need of a place to stay and some new work. There are several increasingly large rental options, and the minigames you can complete for money grow larger as your skillsets and game progress continue. These games are never too difficult; usually they involve some simple timing and the ability to do repetitive actions repeatedly for around 30 seconds. This money is then of course used to buy new furniture for your pad from the stores, as well as all the in-game mission objectives that take Simoleons to complete.

Speaking of in-game objectives, this is the meat of the gameplay. The Urbz can theoretically be played forever, since the game engine is still based on The Sims. So long as you take care to feed, bathe and entertain your Urbz characters, the objectives can wait permanently in the balance. But you won’t unlock any new areas or minigames, which open a larger selection of money and shopping options, so completing the story objectives is worthwhile. They basically involve walking around the city looking for people, talking to them and receiving a list of things to do. Some of these tasks are time-based, some are money-based, and some are just sneaky ways to introduce players to new areas or features. I usually had around three or four sets of objectives running at once, so there’s no real sequential order.

The game encourages you to befriend citizens of Miniopolis, and this involves a silly interface where you choose conversation topics or friendly/rude actions as a way to make an impact. The problem is that the answers the characters give are always the same and usually dull, and they give the same positive or negative reaction every time. Thus, making friends largely revolves around talking about the same safe, pre-approved topics you know will net positive responses for a long time until you’re officially friends. If this supposedly reflects the social rituals of the real world, just how jaded are Maxis’ employees?

The Urbz on the Game Boy Advance has the same weak point as its more technologically advanced brothers: eventually repetition becomes a bit too obvious and the formerly joyful addiction decays into a simplistic series of steps that tediously must be completed to continue on with the game. Suddenly talking to people and delivering items between them just doesn’t seem to carry the same fun factor. For some people this will happen quickly, for others, not at all. It really does seem to be a personal preference.

Until that breaking point, The Urbz is a whole lot of fun. I disliked The Sims 2 largely because the game got too complicated and asked too much in the multitasking department. I got buried quickly under the whole family management thing, which The Urbz clears up with its attention to just one character and streamlined interface. Unfortunately, the linear nature of the GBA game acts as both its greatest strength and problem. Ultimately, I think the gameplay shifts more in the positive direction, especially considering that the quick save feature allows you to pick up The Urbz in the car or the bathroom, live a few virtual days getting tasks done and then quickly stop at any point. A quick bout of escapism as the hipster alter ego and you’re ready to continue on with your dull, suburban life.

Since I don’t own the new Nintendo DS, I can’t compare the graphics between the two Urbz versions, but the visual quality of the Game Boy Advance edition certainly doesn’t slack. Characters move around with smooth and varied animation, pulling off the fake 3D nicely while still using sprites. The environments are very active, with pigeons flying all over the place when disturbed, an all-too-familiar sight in my dirty streets of New York. The other characters in the game wander around from location to location, sometimes standing in the streets, sometimes at the job. They don’t feature as much animation, but they aren’t still life drawings, either. Unfortunately, all this goodness comes at the expense of the framerate, which sometimes drops to stuttering levels. This isn’t frequent enough to get really annoying, and it’s certainly something I’m willing to live with in return for the beauty of The Urbz.

When I think “Urbz”, I think urban. Hip. Indie. Probably intended. So therefore, the soundtrack had better be full of crunk classics and black-haired sensitive poets, right? The console version tried, by featuring a lot of licensed music from the Black Eyed Peas—not exactly thugging—and I actually prefer the Game Boy Advance’s synthesized beats. They’re unobtrusive and not annoying (except for some twangy rock that feels totally out of place), providing a decent background for the action.

Like any game built around The Sims, you could theoretically play The Urbz forever. Keep working, keep the whole commercial whore thing going with newer, ‘better’ refrigerators and beds. While it’s possible, most will find a balance, not racing through the objectives as fast as possible but not stalling for time, either. In this scenario, the single player game lasts a long time, but you won’t want to take another trip through... unless you’re me and just love controlling people. The game also offers connectivity with the GameCube version of The Urbz, where you can load your character and continue building them up, transferring back and forth. This is cool, but I don’t know many people who will own both.

If you own the previous Game Boy Advance edition of The Sims, then this update doesn’t offer much beyond rep groups and new areas in the gameplay department, so upgrading isn’t desperately necessary. This is a solid title overall, and definitely work a look if it ever drops in price—or even if it doesn’t. While the good times last, The Urbz is an addictive simulation of the dream I get to live every day. Or wish I lived every day. Either way, it’s the complexity of The Sims slimmed down and wrapped into a convenient, easily digestible package. This is a good thing.