Will Wright is most likely known now for his work on "The Sims", the worlds best selling computer game of all time, the people simulator. But before you were playing with little computer people and learning simlish, there was another game that Will Wright was proud to call his own. And that was Sim City. This is the 4th iteration of that classic series, a game where you are put into the shoes of the Mayor and were given the prospect of designing and running a profitable city. Success was and is measured in population growth, and while still an important factor, Sim City 4 goes much deeper. In fact, this is the deepest game of the series. Much like the previous games, you start with building a Power plant, and nearby industrial, residential and commercial zones. As in Sim City 3000, this is further multiplied by the density of each zone, from light, medium and high density. However, a new feature to the series which is unwelcome is the auto roads feature. Previously you would create a zone, and then run streets and roads through it at your disposal. This has now changed. As you "click and drag" your zone, streets will surface, and sometimes they are not as helpful as you would initially think. Certainly this makes it easier for casual gamers, but the game is fine without this option and unfortunately, you cant take this option off. However, this isnt too big an adjustment, and you will get used to it. Another new feature is the "God mode" allowing you to terraform the environment to your liking. This is a major feature, but naturally, to make it easier on yourself, you will just make all the land flat and remove all or most trees. A desert wasteland if you will. This makes starting up easy, but then you get to the real meat of the game, and you will find yourself constantly having to worry about meeting your cities needs. You can pause the game at any time, and make adjustments then, or even speed up time if the economy is slow, however the default is at normal time. Having to contend with many of your cities needs is actually taxing on you, however there are advisors who will give hints on what you should be doing. However, the game is made harder by it's interface. It will take some time to understand and recognise what each button is for, as none of them are labeled. The interface is similar to that of "The Sims", but sticking with what worked there does Sim City 4 no favours. Micro-management is more prevalent here then in previous games, making it quite hard to get into. The tutorial modes are rather light and dont factor a lot into the game. It will be some time until you realise you can do business with other cities, and that you can tax each threshold differently. You could heavily tax the rich yuppies while giving the strugglers a break and vice versa. This isn't explained to you, and makes the game clearly harder than it should be. Of course, as with previous games, you can take out your deepest desires on the unwilling citizens. If you wish to build a giant volcano downtown then do so. There are random disasters as well, and there isn't an option to turn these off so from time to time, you may have to contend with things like fire and flooding. But the best part is destroying the city yourself. Yes, you can create your own disasters, and there are some funny ones like the Robot Attack and the aforementioned Volcano. But this is just a fun diversion from a hard game. Naturally, your role as Mayor requires you to create and manage a sucessful city, so destroying it by disaster will only make things harder. The graphics are a step up from previous versions, and the ability to zoom right in is a good option, but unfortunately the transition between zooms is not smooth, and you will see the game take on a grainy effect before it is smoothed. Likewise, the game begins to slow down when you really start to build up. Another problem is the fact that there are no scenarios in this game. Previously, you could choose to play one of the scenarios that came packaged with the game, and try and help a fledgling city become all it can be, however, in Sim City 4 this isn't the case. The game feels rushed, as without the scenarios, you're left with the rather steep free form mode which doesn't explain itself very well. The sound is similar to that of previous games and while it isn't bad, could have used more variety. Sound effects are for the most part good, although there aren't many and again, this feels like it's not pushing the boundaries. Overall, this is a mediocre entry into the great Sim City franchise. The game feels rushed and not all features are explained as well as you would like, making the game initially hard. While not a bad game, a few more weeks tweaking would have made this one, one to shine. As it is, it is a good game that had the potential to be amazing.
Simcity 4...just plain amazing. If there's one thing that Maxis and EA Games can do right, its produce games like this that have us drooling control freaks entertained for hours on end. Where do i begin? There are loa... Read Full Review
Sim City 4 introduces big changes to the Sim City series originally created by Will Wright. I personally prefer sim city 3000 to this game. The good: - 3d graphics - Terra-forming landscapes have been made easier -... Read Full Review
