Playboy: The Mansion Preview
Gamespy
Live the dream as a virtual Hugh Hefner in this genre-blending tycoon game.
By Sal "Sluggo" Accardo | 5/13/2003
E3 always sets the stage for some interesting events, and a trip to the Playboy Mansion certainly qualifies. We weren't really sure what to expect of the newly-announced Playboy: The Mansion (being published by ARUSH and Groove Games) when we visited the mansion's hallowed grounds, but we walked away pleasantly surprised. Hardly a quick franchise cash-in, Playboy: The Mansion appears to be an ambitious long-term project that could breathe a bit of new life into the tycoon genre.
It's hard to describe Playboy: The Mansion in a sentence, as the game borrows elements from a variety of genres. You play Hugh Hefner himself, with an overall goal of building up both the Playboy mansion and empire. Set in full 3D, you can build up your own version of the Playboy mansion, arranging furniture, plants, rugs, what have you. Like many games of its type, the ceiling cuts away so you can get a full view of the scenery, with a rotating camera that can zoom in and out, and the ability to raise and lower walls. As you progress through the game, you'll have the opportunities to add new sections to the mansion, such as the famed grotto or theater rooms.
Of course, the Playboy Mansion isn't much without lots of guests, and there will be tons of celebrities and Playmates roaming the grounds. As Hef, you're in control of the party, and it's your job to make sure everyone is having a good time. Even at this early stage, the engine looked pretty solid, with lots of little animations like Hef cranking up the music and doing a little dance (according to our Playmate tour guide, it wasn't too far off from the real thing.)
Interacting with guests at the mansion is important, as it has a direct affect on your approval ratings and building your empire. One important component of that empire is the famed Playboy Magazine, and the game will offer players the chance to create their own version of the mag on a monthly basis. As you curry favor with guests at the mansion, you might persuade celebrities to write for you, or get models to agree to a photo shoot. In fact, there's an entirely separate component of the game where you can take photos of models for the magazine in various locations around the mansion, choosing your favorites to include in next month's issue.
Once you've got all your articles and pictorials ready to go, you can play virtual editor-in-chief and choose all the content you'd like to run for that month's issue. You can even design your own layout for the cover using the photos you took, and on certain platforms (PC for sure), you'll be able to post your magazine covers online and trade them with friends.
Perhaps the thing that intrigued us most about Playboy: The Mansion is the fact that the game is being created by veteran developer Cyberlore, responsible for games like Majesty, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, and the WarCraft II: Beyond The Dark Portal expansion pack. When asked about the game's racier elements, Cyberlore CEO Joe Minton told us that the game "will approach sexual content in a classy way," and will carry an M rating (instead of an Adults Only tag). He's also confident that the game will stand on its own, saying, "it's an awesome game whether or not it has nudity."
One thing's for sure: this isn't going to be a quick cash-in on the Playboy franchise: the game is currently slated for a late 2004 release, being developed for the PC, Xbox and PS2, with careful attention being paid to ensure a smooth control scheme on all three platforms. The game is still early on in development (six weeks, to be exact), but looks pretty ambitious even compared to the RollerCoaster Tycoon and The Sims games, and we'll be sure to keep an eye on it as the game progresses.
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How could you have a playboy game w/o them? I sure this game is already on the wal-mat ban list 
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