Developer: Maxis Publisher: EA Games
Reviewed by Kelly-Marie Dudley on 4/4/2003

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First Impressions:

Long before The Sims sold their way into the game player's hearts, little known software developer Will Wright conceived a simple but addictive city building game. Sim City became an instant classic and 14 years later has spawned almost a dozen games in its image, improving the graphics and interface but never deviating from the archetypal initial concept. After a lukewarm reception for Sim City 3000 and the world's obsession with The Sims, could Maxis resurrect their flagship title's series? Cue Sim City 4.

Maxis have teased out the finest points of all their releases and bundled them together into this highly addictive game. You're no longer just the Mayor, you're now God as well. Those pesky Sims have also weaseled their way in - you can move them into your city and see how they cope in your virtual metropolis. But what do all these new features mean for the player? Ultimate control…

Graphics:

When you load the game, you could be forgiven for believing that you've stumbled across another copy of The Sims. This game has adopted the same round and now familiar interface - but with a lot more flair. Few simulation games can be accused of being graphically stunning. They usually forgo any bells and whistles in favor of smoother game play. But Maxis have put a lot of effort into every perfectly polished 3D rendered pixel of the Sim Nation. You can see the children walking to school in the morning, 5 o'clock rush hour traffic and even fireworks over your city as your citizens celebrate your successes (or riots in the streets as they illustrate your failures).

To help you appreciate the effort that's gone into this game, the Camera Mode has been added. You can zoom in and take snapshots of your beautiful creations from street level at both night and day. This may seem a little extreme, but combined with the landscaping tools of the God Mode, you'll be surprised how keen you are to capture images of your creations.

All this graphical whimsy comes at a price - game play is slowed down considerably. Despite running the game on a computer way beyond the minimum requirements, as my city began to develop I was forced to reduce the graphics settings to prevent my computer from freezing.

Sound/Music:

Sadly, the developers have missed the boat with the soundtrack to the game. There's a constant background drone of elevator music whilst you play the game (which is fortunately easy to switch off). Whilst playing in God Mode, you are greeted with new age pan pipes music to accompany your creation. Sound effects are considerably more enjoyable. The essence of a real city is captured - you hear traffic, disturbances, fires, people, animals and everything else. They're a nice touch. Though you'll probably be much too involved in the game play to notice these little touches.

Gameplay:

Most gamers are quite familiar with the Sim City game's styling - zoning areas for your Sims to develop into homes, stores and businesses. You have to provide them with adequate police, fire, education and medical services, as well as making sure they can get between their zones with ease. Simple, eh? Not any more. The citizens of Sim City 4 are truly demanding. This game gives you more control over them than ever before. You enjoy a lot of control over how everyone goes about their business - for example, not only do you control the school's budget and how many teachers it has, you can also control the school bus and how far it travels each day. Every decision as mayor has a dozen or more consequences, making the game play incredibly absorbing. Prepare to lose hours of your life.

You no longer have to worry just about your city, but your neighbors as well. Each city is part of a Sim Nation - linked by road, wire and pipe to its neighbors (or not if you decide). This allows players to strike up trade deals between towns to earn a little extra cash and create co-dependent regions of suburbs, commercial centers and vast industrial estates. The Sim Nation also includes tutorials to teach you how to use the God and Mayor tools.

The 3-mode model is a big improvement. All cities begin in God Mode, a chance for the most fastidious landscaper to build a graphical masterpiece. Previous editions allowed you to raise and lower terrain and add the odd tree but there's now advanced tools for adding lush forests, sweeping gorges and mountain peaks (a perfect site for the new volcano disaster). There is also the option to add wildlife to your terrain although the herds of giraffes and lions are yet to appear on my highways during rush hour. This part of the game is not compulsory - it's possible to begin laying city foundations straight away. Most of the action occurs in Mayor Mode, when you begin building the foundations of your city. The idea is to add zones according to the demands of the citizens, with the gentle coaxing of your panel of computer generated advisors. If you need something, your citizens won't hesitate to inform you.

The building tools on previous editions of Sim City could often be shaky and unreliable - spending a lot of money on a completely useless structure was not uncommon. They run a lot smoother this time, allowing you to curve roads around cliffs, build bridges and lay pipes with minimal effort. My Sim Mode is little more than a nice product tie in on behalf of the creators. It allows you to move in Sims from your copy of the game to your city. They live in one of your neighborhoods, drive on your roads and get jobs at one of your businesses. It's nice to have a face for your issues (they will rarely make themselves known unless something is wrong) but don't bring much else to the game.

Enjoyment:

I was smitten by this game. Sucked in by the stunning graphics and the detail of control, I was up to the wee hours building my perfect metropolis. It is incredibly rewarding to see your bank balance going up and your mayor rating soaring. However, less experienced sim players could some become frustrated with the complexity of building and the instruction guide doesn't give much idea of successful strategy. Eventually, constant bankrupt cities may persuade some players to give up.

Multiplayer:

At the time of review, there was no multiplayer option available for this game. However, the Sim City 4 website (www.simcity4.com) does mention that there will soon be the possibility of uploading your city to a virtual Sim Nation online. With fast servers and broadband connections, this could make for very interesting gaming indeed…

Overall Impression:

Not a shelf emptier like The Sims, but another success from Will Wright and Co. It is a complex and rewarding sim game which will hold up well with veteran gamers. It's nice to see beautifully rendered graphics in a game like this but I believe that the minimum system requirements did not bear this in mind. As far as innovation goes, it is the most realistic city builder that I have played to date. You feel as though you have a city of people rather than zones.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

With a faceless and ageless mayor persona being assumed throughout the game, we get very little hint of sexual orientation, though 'he' is often accused of sneaking off early for golf. Your panel of advisors includes a female city planner and environmental advisor, both who appear professional and opinionated. The only hint of sexism appears in the campaigners of your city - women only seem to crop up as old ladies seeking stairwell lighting or flustered mothers unhappy with the school bus run, never issues like nuclear-free zones, urban planning or security issues.