Africa or bust: SimAnimals heads to retail

SimAnimals Africa for the Wii allows players to interact with wild African animals while they venture across jungles, deserts, savannas, river deltas and more. Each brand new animal has their own unique skill and it’s up to the player to find their secret abilities. Kicking zebras, rock-breaking rhinos and crocodiles that excel at hunting are all part of the cast of characters that will assist players in unlocking new areas, animals, and special items. The Wii game also promises the usual assortment of mini-games as a way to interact with the animals.

SimAnimals Africa on the Nintendo DS features all of the animals included in the Wii adventure, as well as cheetahs, meerkats, aardvarks, a parrot and even a surprise secret animal as a reward for finishing the game. Players will use the stylus, touch screen and microphone to build relationships with these wild animals, discover their secret abilities and use them to help solve puzzles.

Developed by The Sims Studio in the EA Play Label, SimAnimals Africa is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, 3+ by PEGI, and has an MSRP of $39.99 and $29.99 for the Wii and Nintendo DS, respectively.

SimAnimals Africa announced

The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts today announced SimAnimals Africa for the Wii and Nintendo DS, the sequel to its casual SimAnimals game. In SimAnimals Africa, gamers play with and tame all new exotic animals including lions, elephants and gorillas as they explore landscapes from savannas to jungles.

The game will utilize a new art style new themed areas to explore (jungles, deserts, savannas, river deltas and more) brand new animals with their own unique skills and secret abilities, new mini-games that give players more ways to interact with animals and a whole lot more. The game is set for release on both platforms sometime this fall. For more information about SimAnimals Africa, visit www.simanimalsafrica.com.

EA’s Games Convention Line-Up

Like many other publishers, Electronic Arts is show its goods at the Leipzig Games Convention this week in Leipzig, Germany this week.

At its press conference scheduled tomorrow, EA plans to give presentations on FIFA 09, The Sims 3, SimAnimals, Boogie SuperStar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Littlest Pet Shop, Monopoly, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Dragon Age: Origins, Need For Speed Undercover, and a sneak peak at RAGE from EA Partner, id Software.

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SimAnimals: A Park Ranger’s Worst Nightmare

EA apparently cannot have enough Sim games in its roster. The company announced The Sims 3 yesterday and SimAnimals, a game where you do things to animals - no not “those kinds of things.” The game tasks players with exploring a forest environment and basically harassing all of its inhabitants. Normally if you went through the jungle touching wild animals, you would be savagely mauled, but that is probably why this is a video game and not real life.

In this game you are challenged to engage, touch, move and try to control a wide range of animals as you journey deeper and deeper into the forest. You control an on-screen animated hand that allows you to reach out and touch, pick up and move things like foxes, bears, trees and flowers. Players cohabitate with these animals in their natural surroundings, and based on how you treat them, the animals will come to know you. The idea is to build relationships with these wild animals and their families, and surviving in the wilderness.

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