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08th Nov 2010

The Sims get Medieval on our ass – Sims Medieval preview

They've fallen in love, adopted pets and explored ancient Egyptian tombs - now the Sims have gone back in time and are ready to get Medieval on your ass.

JOE

They’ve fallen in love, adopted pets and explored ancient Egyptian tombs – now the Sims have gone back in time and are ready to get Medieval on your ass.

By Emmet Purcell

Ever since the dawn of Will Wright’s phenomenal The Sims life simulator series in 2000, players have been able to bring their beloved Sims on dates, to the pet shop, to university and even exploring famous landmarks across the globe in numerous expansion packs. The Sims Medieval, however, is no expansion pack – it’s arguably the biggest evolutionary step for EA’s premier PC franchise in years.

Showcased at a special EA event in London last week, The Sims Medieval’s Aaron Cohen took to the stage, affecting a grandiose accent to espouse the central ideology behind creating such a fantastical setting for a series that has been perennially seen as a ‘virtual dollhouse’. According to Cohen, the team transported the Sims to Medieval times by virtue of the universal notion, “What if?” To this end, EA found that its players were demanding a trip to the Middle Ages more than any other setting (more than ancient Rome/Egypt?), and we at JOE were lucky enough to a get a close-up look at how it’s shaping up.

The most noticeable aspect of Sims Medieval’s gameplay is that in a decision not too dissimilar to the recent Fable 3, Medieval wants players to control a kingdom through quest-driven gameplay amd extensive character classes and Sim creation. The four most important aspects of Sim life Cohen told us, were “well-being, security, culture and knowledge”. In practice, this means you should expect to see a Kingball court (a fictional sport), training yards, taverns and even two rival churches.

Yes, you heard correctly – religion is coming to The Sims. From what we could gather, non-secular Sim folk belong to either the Church of the Jacobans or the Peteran Monastery, though let’s not forget, the player itself is the true god and decider of all things Sim.

As for quests, we got a glimpse of a Wizard quest, though there are numerous quests for each class (Blacksmiths, Bards, Merchants and Priests amongst others). While investigating the disappearance of the child, the Wizard (controlled by EA’s Cohen) consulted his magic ball for guidance and managed to influence townfolks, including the king, for whatever knowledge he could attain. For fun, Cohen next began shocking the King with devious spells until near death – bit harsh but enjoyable all the same.

Speaking of fighting, The Sims Medieval is the first Sims title to feature a full combat system, replete with special moves and fighting stances. We only got a short glimpse of a King vs Knight battle (poor King didn’t have a chance), but it certainly appears to be a well implemented and long overdue addition. Let’s hope for future housemate vs housemate catfights in The Sims 4!

The last portion of The Sims Medieval shown is perhaps the most intriguing – the ability to develop relationship with nearby towns and villages for the purpose of trade. With a port at the end of your kingdom, you can travel to discover new territories and developer a diplomatic system with each.

For many players disappointed with the recent Fable 3 kingdom-ruling, The Sims Medieval looks to be everything they were hoping for in the first place. Removing world creation and introducing new concepts such as full combat, individual quests and hopefully religious warfare, who knows, perhaps Medieval may even inspire its expansion packs in the future. If so, let’s hope for jousting and Life of Brian-inspired killer rabbits.

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Gaming