Three New Sims Games Are Soon To Come Out

The Sims' neverending saga is bound to get even longer, now that Electronic Arts is lifting the veil off a new line of games, lovingly called The Sims Stories. These are intended to be "laptop-friendly games" (whatever that means), and, unlike the previously open-ended gameplay of the first two series, they will feature easy-to-play storylines with engaging characters, that are sure to entertain both the novice and experienced player, they reckon.

Another key difference when compared to The Sims and The Sims 2 is that The Sims Stories games are being developed by EA's Redwood Shores studio - not Maxis, as you might have though. So expect them to play quite differently from what you've been used to up to this point.

We can confidently talk about multiple games in this series already, because Electronic Arts has three titles planned ahead by now. The first one (The Sims Life Stories) is set for release early next month - February 2 in Europe / February 6 in the US - and two more titles will also follow in Summer 2007 (The Sims Pet Stories), and in Winter 2008 (The Sims Castaway Stories). Probably worth mentioning is that all of them will be standalone products, so they will not require any expansion packs or stuff packs from previous The Sims or The Sims 2 collections.

If we got your attention, then here are some screenshots from next month's The Sims Life Stories, and below you can see what the game will be all about:

"The first of these games, The Sims Life Stories, introduces an all-new Story Mode with two stories that follow the lives of Riley Harlow and Vincent Moore, two very different characters who have reached similar crossroads in their love lives. A comic romantic plot centered around engaging characters guides players through twelve chapters of this one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. Players can take their Sims through unique and entertaining storylines filled with romance, intrigue and dramatic twists. Will female lead character Riley ditch beau number one to marry and have kids with beau number two? Will successful entrepreneur Vince ever find love, or the culprit who's been foiling his heart-earned efforts to find it? Players can discover these answers and more, or enjoy classic open-ended Sims gameplay."

Man in Germany stops Brazil robbery via Internet

A Brazilian businessman traveling in Germany watched by live video as a burglar robbed his house on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil.

He alerted the police, who rushed to the house and arrested the robber as he was trying on his clothes.

The businessman, Joao Pedro Wettlauser, was in Cologne this weekend when he received an alert on his cell phone from the security system in his beach house in Guaruja in Sao Paulo state, police said on Tuesday.

He logged on to his laptop and via the Internet saw live images of the burglar at work. He then phoned his wife, who was not at the house but called the local police.

"She told us the details about the thief and where in the house he was as we surrounded the house," police officer Americo Rodrigues told Reuters.

The burglar used a ladder to break into the house. When the police entered, he had a pile of goods such as the stereo system in the kitchen ready to be taken away, Rodrigues said.

"He was surprised when realized he was being seen by cameras connected to the Internet," Rodrigues said.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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