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My Street

Score: 6.8 / 10

Since the network adapter appeared last August, many gamers have been playing the life out of games like SOCOM, Madden 2003 and Tribes. My Street is Sony’s new entry into the world of online console gaming.

My Street’s simple set up and classic games are aimed to bring newbies and gaming veterans to a common place in online world. The game does seem to be targeted at a younger audience, but the developers were probably hoping that an online community for younger gamers could be created.

 

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The first impression most people will have is how similar My Street is to Mario Party. The game’s setup is similar as My Street features several mini-games such as RC Racing, Volleyball, and Marbles. The game has a small group of young characters to choose from and comes loaded with a story mode, offline multiplayer games and online play. Up to four people can play on a single console or a maximum amount of four people can play online.

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Interestingly enough it won’t be the online play that will have gamers playing this game, it’ll be offline multiplayer modes. Playing the mini-games with three or four friends is a blast. My Street does an excellent job of creating a few fun and compelling games that will have you and your friends coming back for more.

The game contains a bit of adventure, as you cannot simply select a game from the menu screen. You and your friends run around the neighborhood and it’s your duty to talk to different kids and get games organized. Once the games are organized, the child explains the controls to the game.

There are some games that My Street could have done without. Games such as Tetris, Chicken Herding and Lawnmowers badly needed to go. These games simply don’t feel fresh each time the games are played thoroughly. Some of the concepts for the mini-games also seem to be a little weird and pointless. Most of the time you’ll find yourself sticking only to a few games and not bothering to keep the others in rotation.

The story mode is nothing spectacular and is similar to the multiplayer mode. You play a child who has moved to a new neighborhood with approximately thirty days left until school starts.  Your job is to make friends with your neighbors, and then play games with them. You’ll frequently be called on to carry out tasks in order to get a game going with other kids. For example: You may be called on to retrieve a volleyball from a creek or pond in order to get a volleyball game going. You also earn money, which can be used to buy equipment. The story mode also shows environmental changes such as night and day. You are responsible in the single player mode for making sure your character gets home and sleeps and changes his or her clothes in the morning. The game seems to have a small resemblance to the Sims in this regard.

A majority of online Playstation 2 games have supported both dial up and broadband connection. My Street is no different. On top of online play the game also includes LAN play as well. The online play is startling for one reason: nobody plays this game online. I was shocked to see all the servers deserted. I attempted to log on to the servers dozens of times, each time resulting with the same outcome. Those interested in My Street because of the online play should think twice, as you’ll be sadly disappointed (unless you have friends online). It would have been interesting to see how a game like My Street would have been transformed into an online game.

The graphics aren’t what you would expect from a Playstation 2 game, but they aren’t terrible either. The character models are not very detailed and the environments could have used more work. It seems the town or neighborhood you’re situated in isn’t even one kilometer wide but you can kind of see where Sony was going in the graphics area of the game. They wanted to create a simple layout, with simple mini-games to appeal to a younger audience.

Since My Street is aimed at a younger audience, much of the audio is created to appeal to a younger crowd. The in-games music is very simple and the character voices are pretty good. The only drawback with the audio is sometimes how tedious the voices sound when you talk to the same character over and over again.

The concept for My Street was great, but it’s unfortunate that the game hasn’t received the attention many wished it had. If you have young kids then My Street is a solid purchase, but if you’re looking for some good old multiplayer action, a rental is a good idea. Its disappointing too see no online community, considering that the online wars have just begun.

- Siddharth Masand

(April 26, 2003)

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