There are some things most of us have to accept we may never experience.  The most prominent is that very few of us will ever live the lifestyle of a movie star or rock musician.  Another is that we may not journey through life with a continual stream of outstandingly beautiful lady companions by our side.  Fortunately, however, Miami Nights: Singles In The City gives us all a chance to fulfil our desires.  This life simulator allows you to create yourself in-game and live the high life in the sun-soaked surroundings of downtown Miami, building your career as an A-list celebrity and filling your ‘little black book’ along the way.

The game begins with the player creator where you are free to either create an actual likeness of yourself, an ego-boosting ‘upgrade’ a little more appropriate to celebrity life, or simply a completely unique character.  The game also caters for the female audience, allowing you to play through as either a guy or a girl, which offers some replayability value for those willing to play through the game as both sexes.  Indeed, this game is well suited to more liberal players, allowing you to engage and flirt with every other character in the game regardless of your own character’s gender.  Therefore, anyone playing this game is free to truly reflect themselves in the interactive Miami world, free from the shackles of public prejudice they may experience in their everyday lives.

As soon as you’ve inserted the game card and powered up your DS one of the things most instantly noticeable is the quality of the game’s soundtrack.  Immediately the game immerses you in the Miami lifestyle with tremendously upbeat disco music to a backdrop of strobe lights and packed dancefloors.  Within seconds the scenes of the game’s introduction have you hooked with the burning desire to get yourself involved in the Miami life.  From this point on there is no going back as you choose your character’s face, hairstyle and clothes and wake up in your plush Miami pad for the first time.

At first your surroundings may seem daunting, given the scale of the world and options in this game, but thankfully you have your seductive neighbour from next door to introduce you to Miami and explain how things work.  She begins the game by giving you the tour of your new house. From the bedroom to the wardrobe to the shower, she’s there with you to show you the ropes.  Throughout the game she’ll help you as you wander around Miami, calling you on your cellphone to give you the lowdown on the hottest nightspots and introducing you to all the guys and girls you could ever wish to meet.  Whether it’s the quiet bookworm who’s looking for love or the street-smart pickpocket who’s looking for fun, there’s someone here to cater for everyone’s taste.  Your neighbour will also put you in touch with important Miami figures who can help get you places, such as nightclub owner Terry Carter, who’ll take you to illustrious black tie events, or film and modelling agent Lucifer.

As a life simulator, this game does not revolve around action or puzzles, but human interaction.  It is possible to interact with every character you see in the game, whether you bump into them on the streets, at work or in a bar.  When you approach a person in the game, you can simply have a chat with them, flirt with them, or even hit them if they’ve done something to deserve it!  When chatting, the game doesn’t follow a linear structure of predetermined conversations like many RPGs do, but instead allows you to choose the topic yourself from a vast range of subject matter ranging from fashion to constitutional law.  It would be no exaggeration to suggest that this game features some of the most extensive interaction with NPCs ever seen, which is an impressive feat in a handheld game.  Indeed, the ability to approach and interact with anyone in any situation, learning the best ways to talk to people and build friendships with them is actually a powerful tool to help develop your communicative skills in real life as well as in the game.

To accompany the extensive character interaction, Miami Nights also offers a highly impressive game world.  You live in a fully-featured house with all the rooms and facilities you’d expect including the ability to relax in your rotating chair and use a computer to browse the internet for the latest news, or to buy clothes and other items online.  If you’re not one for online shopping you can head down to the high street to browse the wide variety of shops, salons, bars and nightclubs or to visit the large Miami Mall.  When you’ve bought a nice pair of shorts (available for as little as £50) and some shades, you can head down to the beach to chill out in the sun with some ice cream and chat to the other inhabitants or holidaygoers in Miami, but don’t forget your sunscreen!  Every environment in the game is fully realised and filled with other characters for you to talk to and build relationships with, whether you’re looking for friendship or more.  The graphics are just about as impressive as they come on the DS, with fully 3D characters and smart textures running at a perfectly smooth framerate.

Of course, any review of a game called Miami Nights: Singles In The City would not be complete without discussing what it means to be single in Miami, and what you can do about it.  The game world is filled with bars such as Fat Tony’s, clubs such as Dren and other places for you to meet members of the opposite (or same!) sex.  When you meet someone you like you can employ any kind of strategy to get into their good books, depending on your personality.  You can be direct and obvious with some immediate flirting, or you can gradually befriend your love interest and take things slowly.  As you talk to them a 5-star rating system displays how much they like you, increasing when you’re interesting or funny and decreasing when you bore them.  If your personality or looks aren’t doing the job, you can take some shortcuts by playing their favourite song on the jukebox or by plying them with a few drinks.  When they look like they’re interested, it’s time to go in for the kiss.  Once you’ve got the hang of the Miami nightlife, it won’t be long until you’re inviting love interests back to your place to ‘get freaky.’ 

While the dating process isn’t quite as daunting as it is in the real world, it’s also not unrealistically straightforward.  Women won’t be impressed if you wear the same clothes every day, or if you don’t keep yourself well-groomed and clean with regular showers and shaving.  Likewise, when playing as a female you can make yourself look pretty by applying a wide range of makeup, available in a multitude of colours including blue.  But you can’t apply too much or you’ll soon find yourself in the Miami Clinic with health problems like skin rashes or even kidney failure!  This is why Miami Nights is more than merely a dating simulator, and in fact a fully-fledged life simulator.  You must do more than simply spend every waking hour in bars.  You have to earn money, make friends, make business acquaintances, buy clothes from shops such as Spectre, get haircuts and so much more.  This game has the depth and immersiveness of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, but it is tied to a vastly more relatable subject matter.  There is so much more to say about Miami Nights, such as the fantastic multiplayer mode whereby you can introduce other players into your Miami, but it is best experienced through playing rather than being spoiled by extensive discussion in a review.  Highly recommended to gamers of all ages and genders!

8/10.