SimCity 3000
Published By: Maxis
Reviewed by Atari
6/11/99
Article
Discussion Forum
First
Impressions:
SimCity
and the sim-series has always been a pretty big hit. I loved the
original SimCity, but hadn't played a sim-series game since then.
I went through a bit of a phase where I became bored of sims so
I stopped playing them as much. When SimCity 3000 came out, I heard
nothing but good things so I figured it's about time to try it out
again.
SimCity 3000 didn't disappoint me. In fact it makes me want to check
out the other sim-series games (such as SimAnt and SimLife). Although,
all in all, SimCity 3000 is pretty much a souped up version of the
original SimCity with better control and advice.
Graphics:
The
graphics are 2D, and they look pretty good. I love the ability
to zoom in and people watch. I think their next big step would
be to make a SimCity where you can actually walk around in your
city. I craved even more detail, like actually seeing people in
the establishments.
Sound/Music:
The
sounds weren't bad, but they weren't notable either.
What would be cool for future SimCity games would be 3D sound...
so if you were zoomed in near a fire truck, you would hear the
wailing get louder.
Gameplay:
The
movement was a bit goofy. You have to left click on the screen
and drag the mouse in the direction you want the camera to move
in. This was abnoxious because I don't always remember to do that
when my mouse is in the center of the screen. Therefore, I may
click the mouse when my cursor is all the way to the left of the
screen, and try to move left, but find it won't move.
Another slight pitfall, was that you were to zone off areas for
airports, seaports, residential, and industrial building areas,
but it wasn't always apparent how big some of these zones had
to be. You decided the size of the zone, which I think is really
nice, however I never really knew how big an airport zone had
to be to create an airport.
One really nice feature in the game is your advisory board. These
characters keep you informed about the problems you have with
the environment, transportation, public safety, health, education,
utilities, and more. You have one advisor for each issue, and
they give you advise that you can either take or ignore. On top
of that, petitioners will come in asking for services and ordinances.
I really think they do a wonderful job of slipping you into the
role of mayor. This was a real bonus for me.
Enjoyment:
SimCity
3000 is a fun, intuitive game. I enjoyed it, although I think
it could do more to be even more enjoyable. It's not too complicated
yet it has a lot of nice features.
Multiplayer:
Not
Applicable. This is a single player game.
Overall
Impression:
Overall
I think this is a pretty solid and well-made game. I would recommend
it to people who enjoy strategy/simulation style games. It's a
game that can appeal to all ages and genders.
Marketing
Efforts Towards Women:
Four
out of seven of the advisors on your board are women of different
ages and race. Although the advisory board characters are not
developed too deeply, they appear to be professional looking and
adequate for the role of advisor. Other than that, the game was
marketed genderlessly.
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