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Hands on with The Sims DJ on mobile

Spinning right 'round, baby, right 'round

Hands on with The Sims DJ on mobile
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| The Sims DJ

Two turntables and a microphone. That's what EA Mobile wants to put in your pocket with the upcoming release of The Sims DJ. We went hands-on with the mobile-exclusive title during last week's CTIA event and spun ourselves round with its unique gameplay.

The game starts you in the city of Pleasantville as an upstart DJ trying to make some noise on the circuit. It's your job to give Sims what they want: solid beats. Travelling to the various parties strewn about the city, your pay depends on how good you are at heating up the house.

Obviously, two things make or break any good DJ: what songs they pick and how they're mixed. The same criteria apply to becoming a successful music-mixer in The Sims DJ. Getting people on the dance floor requires selecting songs suited to the crowd and mixing them with skill. Songs come from the game's original collection, although ideally we'd love to see the ability to incorporate the use of MP3 files saved on your phone.

Gauging what Sims at a particular club want to hear – pop, rock, hip hop, etc – makes the difference between clearing the floor or packing it. Naturally, each locale features a different crowd with various tastes (the Dungeon nightclub obviously deviates in style from the Beach Luau and Jungle Room) and tailoring your mixes to the different audiences helps you get Sims dancing.

Queuing up songs for a mix is done by cycling through tracks with the directional pad and then selecting them with the center key. Switching songs involves cross-fading the two. Two horizontal meters pop up – one moves left and the other moves right.

A good cross-fade has you hitting the center key at the moment both meters reach the middle. Botch the cross-fade and you create confusion on the dance floor, your beat lost. Nail it, however, and you'll convince additional Sims to shake their booties, along with earning a few extra Simoleons.

Cash money is the main motivator in The Sims DJ since it enables you to purchase new songs and equipment. Each party has a certain dance quota that rewards you with Simoleons upon achievement. Additionally, good cross-fading grants bonuses and chaining together multiple spot-on cross-fades increases your extra payout.

Simoleons are spent at the DJ shop, which is accessible from the Pleasantville city map. Upgraded speaker sets and turntables are a must, although you can also outfit your Sims with headphones and sunglasses for added style.

Perhaps the title's most intriguing feature is the ability to create unique ring tones. Using the game's collection of original songs, you can mix and record special tracks. These are saved to your phone and can be swapped with friends without the need for an additional copy of the game.

Of course, EA Mobile hopes this will encourage your friends to pick up copies of the game for themselves, which it likely could. The chance to craft unique ring tones aims at the heart of personalization – something that's a perfect fit for mobile.

Exactly how well of a fit The Sims DJ is, though, we'll have to let you know when the party starts in December.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.