Recently the ultra popular The Sims has overshadowed the SimCity game franchise. However, these two games both deal with the same style of gaming- simulation. I feel, as do many others, that SimCity has a lot more depth as compared to Sims. The idea of building a city is lot more fun as compared to living a virtual life. Building a city is more exciting and involves a lot more challenges. Deciding whether your Sim needs to take a bath or not is hardly comparable to a city building exercise.
Many of us discovered SimCity on our Super Nintendo in the early 90’s. For us youngsters, the game was good enough to keep us addicted to the game for hours. The game seemed like the best game ever. The only problem we faced was that of lack of funds. The tax money refunds received every New Year was splurged on the game and that seemed the best way to spend the money then. Of course, the money problem never really goes away.
I was lucky enough to play all versions including the new ones of this game. Each seemed to be better than the original version. Some consider the iPhone versions to be inferior to the latest SimCity 4. However, the slow pace of this version actually is a lot more enjoyable than expected. Playing the GTA missions and creating Sims can become very complicated. This game is a lot simpler than the latest versions. Playing this game is similar to playing the first version of this game, albeit with a few extra features.
Do not expect as many features as are available in the latest versions. However, this does not mean the game is devoid of all cool features. If you are new to this game, performing the duties of the mayor and converting a vacant piece of land into a world class city will require a lot of time and efforts.
Everything needs to be taken into consideration. You need a nice balance of residential structures, businesses, and factories. Too many or too few of one can lead to your entire system falling apart. You need to set the tax rates, build and fund police and fire stations, lay down the roads and power lines that will connect them all, and make sure you don’t completely destroy the natural environment in the process. A handy tutorial feature should get new players up to speed on how the game is played, but experimentation will likely be the key.
As far as graphics goes, you cannot find a better game on the iPhone as on date. Zoom in from the sky and enjoy a detailed view of your city. You can watch your city start off small and become a big metropolis. The graphics is well complemented by good music. The songs and the tunes are inspiring as well as relaxing.
Controls might have been a very problematic issue for this game. Thankfully, it poses no problems whatsoever. The left side and the bottom portion of the screen contain buttons that lead you to menus. There are different menus for different actions and each one helps you build your city further. You also have a group of advisors who shall appear when summoned to help you out. You will have to zoom out when placing structures as it will help you ensure the structures are aligned properly.
SimCity is a great game with just one flaw- it is not suitable for the iPhone/iPod. Building your own city, focusing one each and every aspect of the city, enjoying the great graphics and audio and zooming in and out as and when you please- all this puts a lot of stress on your phone. The game lags and slows down very often and even crashes when the city reaches a certain stage of development. While earlier versions were close to being classified as unplayable, the latest 1.4 version does not improve things by much. The game is fun until your city is completed and starts growing rapidly. That is when the game crashes and keeps crashing.
SimCity has all the essential requirements to keep the gamers occupied for hours. However, this fun lasts until the game begins to crash. After that, you better start all over again. However, until the crash, the game is one of the best around. If the bugs get fixed, this game will surely deserve a higher rating. However, until then, there is no other alternative to a low rating.
Total Score – 7/10
