Developer/Publisher: EA Redwood Shores/Electronic Arts
Platform: Nintendo DS [reviewed], Nintendo Wii
Genre(s): Mystery Adventure Game
Mode(s): Single player
Rating: E
Time clocked: The main storyline took less than 6 hours to complete, but game continues afterwards
Ultimately, this is a shame. Now, that’s not the best way to start a review, but it’s the truth. This game will let you down no matter what your expectations are, and considering I could only find one or two DS-only reviews online…well, I had zero expectations. The only thing I knew going into MySims Agents was that the Wii version was pretty good, that it involved solving mysteries and questioning townspeople and so on, as well as incorporating the standard Sims-like customization gameplay. Sounded like a great mix of things.
That is not the case here. Pun intended.
In MySims Agents, you play an agent visiting a town, there to unravel the mystery of its secret treasure. I named my town Megaton, but alas, the secret treasure was not an A bomb that I got to detonate and rid the world of these gibberish-speaking buffoons. Plot-wise, this is not a direct port of the Wii game. In the Wii version, you must stop Morcubus and his corrupt company MorcuCorp from stealing the Crown of Nightmares. In the DS version, you must stop Thief V from stealing the secret treasure. Seriously, it is written as secret treasure until the very end of the game when you discover what it actually is. SPOILER ALERT: it’s lame and insensible and…a giant bell. I’m not even kidding. Just goes to show the different level of care and love between the two iterations.
Gameplay involves receiving a mission from HQ, talking to townspeople, playing a minigame, waiting, waiting, waiting, solving a riddle, and then doing it all over again. In between all of this is the collecting of house blueprints, essences from in-game items, furniture, and fish, as well as redecorating your room and town. Repetitive, but the fun is left up to you, as I challenged myself to collect all things Japanese, which made it a little more exciting when dealing with the synthesizer and such.
The mini-games…they are uninspired. Granted, I still need to unlock three or four, but the ones I’ve played so far are either frustratingly challenging or just a rip-off of something else (hi, Diner Dash!). Kite surfing is extremely unforgiving (two hits and you basically have to restart), identifying the suspect is pretty fun but grows stale, and the one where you unearth mines in the ground has some wonky control issues. None of them stand out, really, but I am interested in seeing how the gem-themed one featured on the back of the box turns out.
Graphically, MySims Agents is pretty good, full of colors, all of them bright and playful. I particularly liked seeing my town during sunset with a wash of reds and oranges. That said, some of the furniture/clothing is just the same item with a different skin.
The biggest problem MySims Agents has going for it is that it’s a lie. You do no real detective work or anything close to what I imagine a secret agent might do, and truth be told after I changed my character into more casual clothes (instead of a suit) I completely forgot who he was supposed to be all along. It’s the bare bones of a good game, and could have been so much more. I understand that it is targeted at a younger demographic, but when the credits started to roll after 6 hours I thought someone from EA was going to jump out of my closet and yell, “Gotcha!”
The little coverage found for MySims Agents DS should have been my first clue that this game was a bit of a failure. It is tedious through and through, and I only hope this here review will help others steer clear.
Grinding Down 
how do you help ginny find her friend in the beginnning of the game?
Not exactly sure. I don’t remember this quest in the DS game…unless it is a kitty cat you are looking for. Check the zoo near some boxes/crates.
i just finished my sims agents about an hour ago and when i found this it answered all my questions. I thought there was more to the game than catching a naive, immature villan who wasn’t even all that hard to defeat. I got ripped off!!! i just want to know if the game is officially over or there is more for me to be informed about. are there any specific mysims games that i can enjoy and be fascinated by on my DS???
Doesn’t seem like the game truly ends after the main storyline is complete because you can continue to gather and play unfun mini-games. I wish I knew more; I haven’t actually gone back to play since this review went up. Oh wells…
I just finished the game but didn’t receive a bell. Does that mean I didn’t unlock everything.
You won’t receive a bell, just reveal it to be the town’s secret treasure. Letdown City!
on my sims agents for the ds how do i start katie’s mission tried loads but cant seem 2 start it thanx 4 ur help
Sorry, I can’t recall how exactly. You might have to edit the scene and remove all obstacles in her way. Try deleting trees and benches.
Yeah, but being of young age, I have to admit, I like this game a lot. But I beat it with in three days after I got it, and I’m waiting for something more exciting to happen. For instants, this isn’t as fun as it was playing the actual game, but I’ve been focusing on PC missions. Only problem: I don’t know how to make a picnic table. And so I’m suck, caught in a ravel of time!! And I can’t seem to catch the King Salmon little Ashley wants.That is one of the dumber points in the game. Ashley is “starving” and can’t even buy herself one lousy pizza or catch herself a King Salmon!!
Ha, poor Ashley! Too lazy to even feed herself. Glad to here you’re making the most of the game though!
how do you beat the first mission for ginny when you have to remove all the obstcals?
you do get a bell. i got it. its a small model of it and you get it once you have solved and stoped thief v from getting the bell. if i remember well, the mayor gives it to you.
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Hi i’ve never done this before but i want to know what you do once you’ve finished the storyline, the townspeoples mission, and the hp missions.
hi, i cant get to thief v’s hideout; i know where it is SPOILER ALERT its at the top of crystal falls, but i’m having trouble trailing him
yah umm does anyone know what u do when u got checks for all the townspoeple and u beat main storyline like how u move to next big mission.
So, I know this question is really late but….I can not finish the last HQ mission by turning the town Japanese! I have all the plans and decorations. I tried to change just the East Village and then the whole town. I also put on a kimono and ninja suit on my assistant. UGGGGHHH! I have searched all other message boards for clues and have come up empty handed.
I have experienced the same kind of trouble when trying to unlock the PC code you buy from DJ Candy. It asks you for a code when you open it. Questions are posted about it but no one has the answer.
I was not concerned when I could not find the code for the PC. I just assumed it was for the extreme gamer or hacker. No biggie…that’s not me my kids are not concerned about it. It won’t effect the game.
This last mission not working really makes me upset! I’ve got my 10 year old asking how he completes the mission. I don’t know what to tell him except that there is a glitch in the game. LAME!!!!!!!
PLEASE HELP ME with any of those questions. And I just wanted to give a heads up to those that have not played it yet.
Don’t waste your time on it unless you are a 5 year old girl who likes to change clothes and rearrange the look of your room.
It’s sooo frustrating because I’ve catched Theif V and solved like the first mystery, got him to change and yada yada. Now he’s around the city just cleaning up (so I’m done with that mystery) and now my mission is “Challenge accomplished!!!!! What should be next mission for agent Ruby? Meanwhile, continue to help your friends in Heatherfield.”
The thing is, NO ONE NEEDS HELP. My assistant says “What a nice town. I wonder what Lindsay are up to.”
So I went to Lindsay but she only says something interesting on the night and that is “I love to dig up old things. But I can’t see anything on the night. It’s too dark.”
(Sorry for my spelling, that’s not the correct sentence but something like that)
Is the game over now or what? Because in the trailer they said you were going to move to a bigger city later, but it just doesn’t happen.. Help?
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