MySims SkyHeroes

Posted 2 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

After releasing games set in the MySims universe on the Wii and DS over the past few years, Electronic Arts thought it was time to bring the kiddie franchise to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. After Agents, Racing, Party, Kingdom and others that I may have forgotten, MySims are now entering the Danger Zone with SkyHeroes; a flight combat game that reminisces of titles like Snoopy Flying Ace and Crimson Skies. Let me begin by saying that whoever reads this review should know that SkyHeroes can be easily enjoyed by adults, but the whole point is to please the younglings first and invite their parents to join the fun. If you suffer from ADHD and already skipped to the bottom of this review, the chances of our final score surprising you are high.

A nameless pilot finds himself stranded on a beach after his plane crashed. Afflicted with memory loss, he gets recruited by a rebel group known as the SkyHeroes, who seek to clean the skies from the Chaos Pirate organization led by the evil Morcubus. From there, players are tasked with defeating Morcubus and his acolytes and earn victory in the different aerial combat set-ups and racing challenges.

I won’t spend much time making you believe that the storyline presented in SkyHeroes is groundbreaking and amazing because it isn’t. It’s highly forgettable, so much so that even the cleverest kid will end up losing any interest in the characters or the main plot. However, SkyHeroes scores positively on everything else…given that you understand that this game is strictly aimed at a young audience. The story mode is made of several plane races and dogfights that award the player with unlockables which allows for creating, modifying and improving the planes as well as customizing the main character at will. The rewards are based on how high players rank on each given mission and how fast they’re completed. Finish a mission, return to base, talk to the obnoxious characters, find out that you’re being sent to another dogfight or race…rinse and repeat. Even though the mission structure becomes repetitive quickly, the simple and straightforward combat is what makes this game somewhat fun. Controls are responsive and intuitive. The respawn system is almost instantaneous. Planes don’t explode when hitting structures. Defensive and offensive power-ups (which act as a secondary weapon) are scattered across the maps and can be picked up at any time.

To increase the game’s appeal, a Quickplay mode as well as a two-player local and 10-player online multiplayer mode is also available. Unless there are people on your friends list playing, finding random pilots online might be a difficult task since no one is playing the game (at least during my review time). I don’t know if the $50 price tag has something to do with it, but if a game like Snoopy Flying Ace (a $10 game mind you) has trouble filling its matchmaking lobbies nowadays, EA shouldn’t be surprised to see this game get snubbed. I’ve said it countless times, if a developer is going with a simplistic experience while aiming at kids and families, the price should reflect that. Games like these don’t get the same budgets other AAA games do. So why not go the budget-title route? By the way, MySims SkyHeroes isn’t better than the aforementioned Snoopy Flying Ace. Knowing there’s a $40 gap between the titles (one being retail and the other downloadable), the purchasing choice between the two is painfully obvious.

Of course, when evaluated from an experienced gamer point of view, MySims SkyHeroes is a disappointing title. Enemy AI is cheap and has overpowered aerial manoeuvres. You are able to pull off evasive movesl with the right thumbstick but compared to what the AI can do, your moves aren’t that efficient against the enemy. The targeting system isn’t very precise either. Matter of fact, power-ups makes it easier to get rid of enemies so make sure they’re used as often as possible.The gameplay has a hard time following the story too. It seems to be a bit confusing when not finishing first is considered winning. As long as you finish in the top three - in spite of the enemy ranking above you - you’re a winner. The game does suffer from its giving nature and it could have certainly been handled differently. SkyHeroes doesn’t take advantage of the Xbox 360/Playstation 3 hardware capabilities either. Despite the large and diverse environments, the visuals are extremely simplistic and won’t ‘wow’ anyone. Keep in mind that this is looking at it from an experienced gamer’s point of view. Kids - which is the target audience here - won’t be concerned about most of these issues. Oh, if you haven’t played a MySims game prior to this one, be ready to get annoyed by the Sinmlish dialogue. Just saying...

Conclusion

Despite its negatives, MySims SkyHeroes does a good job at keeping the young and/or inexperienced player interested. Its solid level of customization and intuitive flight combat mechanics make it a worth checking out, but not at the current price point. Pricing a game at the same level as other, more adult oriented and full featured AAA titles, even though the game in question is clearly target for kids and stripped back a bit in certain areas, is a fail in my book. If it’s geared toward the younger set, then it should be priced accordingly. As for the hardcore gamer, don’t go in expecting a story-driven Crimsons Skies-like experience. You’d be better served keeping your $50 for something else.