Game Review: SimCity

Game: SimCity
Console: SNES
Developer: Maxis
Release Date: 13th August 1991

The first game in the "Sim" series, SimCity saw a release for many different consoles in several different forms. The SNES release of the game came over 2 years after the first release on the Commodore Amiga. The idea of the game is to build a functioning city from residential, industrial and commercial zones as well as other more specific buildings, using a combination of good planning and strategy.

Using the SNES controller to make almost computer like control movements, players can check on several informational graphs and sets of figures as well as specifically position buildings, zones, roads and any othe placeable items. Moving around the map to a different area can be a little cumbersome, despite a fast travel option being included, and sometimes switching quickly between menus, graphs and the main screen can take longer than you'd expect.

Players aquire money by setting a taxation rate, which may encourage or discourage citizens from moving to the city, depending on where it's set. The upkeep of transport systems, and the police/fire services is also deducted before the player gets their spending money. Once a zone is built, players must wait until it is populated by the inhabitants of their city, according to the demand for that particular type of area. All districts and buildings must have roads or railroads leading to them so that they can be accessed by the population. All buildings except power stations must also be served by some sort of electricity, although it automatically flows through rows of buildings.

The inhabitants of your city will produce a report every year on their biggest concerns which usually include a combination of taxes, pollution, housing costs, and crime. If there are any natural disasters then they may cause some concern amongst citizens also. Sometimes prize buildings such as casinos, zoos, amusement parks and libraries are given to the player to put on the map; these all give their own benefits to the city. With the freedoms given to unleash any disasters from the six available, some players may take more of a relaxed attitude towards their cities, but personally I quite like to fill out all the available space with buildings, get as many citizens as possible, lower the tax rate to next to nothing, and then attempt to get my approval rating as high as possible. Playing in this fashion means that games can last a good hour or two.

Graphically the game features fairly simple representations of a city, especially compared to later installments of the series, however t's not bad for the SNES and it's easy enough to view and recognise all buildings and landmarks that impact on the game. There's also a good variety of choice with buildings and the amount of graphs that are available to view. As the player's city progresses, different music will play behind the game to reflect the mood. These generally accompany gameplay nicely and give the game some charm from the era it was released in.

Overall SimCity provides a pretty basic city building simulator which appears to have more depth than it actually does due to the care and attention taken by the game's creators to provide the player with lots of analysis options and a range of factors which govern the overall happiness of the population. Although there are more in-depth city building simulators which look more realistic and have many more options in terms of building and maintaining the city, SimCity's charm is in its simplicity and it's a great game to play with a friend or two, taking it in turns to be mayor for a year.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: B