MySims Sky Heroes Demo Impressions

Announced in May 2010 and revealed at E3 earlier this summer, MySims SkyHeroes is the 6th installment of EA's popular Sims spin-off series.  Best known for its puzzles and mini-game collections, the MySims series takes to the air in SkyHeroes, featuring a story mode to go along with local and online multiplayer modes.  The title releases tomorrow (September 28th) on Nintendo Wii and DS, XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3, with the latter two providing full online multiplayer support.  With a demo version currently available for download, I decided I would give it a spin and leave some thoughts for those wanting to find out more about the title.  Once into the game, my expectations changed from a kid-friendly niche title to a fun flier that actually provides some impressive depth and customization.

The first thing to jump out about MySims SkyHeroes is how easy the game is to pick up.  I began with a very short tutorial to teach me how to fly, and I was able to master the basics of the game rather quickly.  The controls are basic, the background graphics seem childishly simple, and I found it impossible to crash my plane.  After adjusting the Y-axis controls to make the Up/Down work in reverse (as is standard in most flying games), I was able to quickly pick up the turn, speed boost, and weapon controls.  As a whole the controls are decent.  I wasn't thrilled with them as I played through a bit of the game, but they seem to cater to a wider audience of gamers, allowing those who don't play games everyday to easily pick up and play the title with relative ease.

Graphically, the game wasn't particularly impressive (I played the demo on my XBOX 360), but it looked decent especially considering that all previous MySims games had been exclusively for the Nintendo DS or Wii, and this game was likely developed with both of those consoles in mind since the title caters more to the DS and Wii users.  There can be a lot going on visually, particularly during race modes, but the game had no problem handling the on-screen clutter.  The music and sound are the light and cute tones you would expect from a MySims-type game.

The race mode and dogfight mode both stuck me as relatively basic, as one would expect from a demo, but I am also not the main demographic target for the game.  The difficulty is easily adjusted, with harder difficulties providing an actual challenge while putting it on easy mode allows nearly anyone to pick up the game be pretty good at it.  Playing the two modes by myself got stale quickly, and my attempts at playing online were met with no other users found.  However, my guess would be that the fun factor would be raised quite a bit if I had been playing against friends or online opponents.  It is also worth mentioning that only two planes and one map were unlocked - there will seemingly be quite a bit more replay value with the added planes and maps of the  retail version.

While the modes described above may seem too niche, the locked area of the game seems to contain quite a bit of depth.  There is a story mode in the game with missions that focus on meeting certain criteria, working towards an overall goal that becomes more clear the further you progress.  Additionally, it looks like there will be a great deal of customization when it comes to the different parts of planes.  Minor changes allow for combat benefits, and completionists should have a great time attempting to unlock all of the options and features of the game.

I would have thought of this as more of a niche or children's game before actually playing it, but I was quite surprised by the amount of depth and replay value the title seems to contain.  If you're a big fan of previous MySims games or flying games, this very well might be an easy purchase for you.  At a suggested retail price of $50 (Wii, 360, PS3) though, I would recommend exercising caution and either trying the demo or renting the title to ensure you'll get enough out of the game to pay full price for it.