SimCity 2000: Special Edition - Review

Author: Nanaki_Xii Date: May 28 2005 - 17:11 Score: 60 points

Ever wanted to be the mayor of a sprawling city? Wait, ever wanted to be a god-like figure in a sprawling city? Even though that sentence sounds bizarre SimCity 2000 places you in the game as the "mayor" but in fact the game provides much more variety when it comes to what you can do. This game is rooted in cement as the best game in the serious, a sleek game that was beautiful for it's release date, and an engine that allowed you to keep track of all the problems and various different situations that the game could present.

SimCity 2000 is a charm to look at. Despite the fact that cars look like little matchboxes zooming around on square wheels, which could theoretically cause some horrendous accidents, everything is pretty and sharp. Pixelage and graininess is minimal, and the colors are fresh and vibrant. Although you never see people waltzing along on the streets of your City, buildings are presented with clearness, allowing you to tell what everything is. Some effects are static and bizarre, like the animation of a giant robotic eye; its level of articulation is akin to that of a dead spider. Never-the-less SimCity is a beautiful game, although zooming in as close as possible might cause some loss of retinal activity.

Sound is minimal but satisfactory; you'll hear everything you need to hear. The music is altogether another problem, something like the sound of a man wailing while a dog rolls around on a keyboard with a harmonica strapped to his back. The first instinct is to turn the music off as quickly as possible, and it's a wise thing to do.

Now back to the pros, you'll hear your city move, trains go woo (or some such), cars beep, factories let loose some well created sound, and most importantly, the sound of destruction is satisfying and pleasing, everything from a common fire to a giant tornado, even a stray alien invasion.

This game is fun. That was a short statement that sums up most of what you'll be doing in SimCity. The only problem is that it does grow old, lack of variety in the gameplay wears out the longetivity of the game, but you'll enjoy what you get for a long time. The interface is easy to navigate, not a confusing maze of buttons that threaten to ruin your city with a single click. Building is controlled by tabs and clicking. Advisors allow the newbies a little room to learn as they play the game the first time around, as the game does require some practice to master. Disasters all have solutions in some form or another, building sufficient fire stations will douse any fires in example. Keeping your citizens happy will be a high priority, this can be done with safety and recreational activities, like building parks, which brings up another feature of the game; It's easy to tell what will do what, factories will provide income, parks will provide "happiness" and so on. Overall SimCity 2000 is an easy and fun game to play, although you do need to take a few games to familiarize yourself with it.

SimCity is highly recommended for those who enjoy building Sims; otherwise it isn't much of a choice for others who prefer action-oriented games (which a large percentage of gamers indeed do). But take a try anyway as it will be certain to please you to some extent.

	Title / Type	Submitter	Date
	Review	Nanaki_Xii	May 28 2005

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