SimCity 3000 Unlimited

"The best Sim game since... well... It's just the best Sim game!"

The only other Sim City I ever played was the original Sim City for the SNES. I played this game at my friend’s house and I thought it was a really good game. (He had the regular version.) Then, I bought the ''Unlimited'' version of Sim City 3000 at the store. It has to be at least 80 times better than Sim City.

To those new to the Sim City games, they are games that makes you the mayor. As the mayor, you must build a city from scratch. Money is scarce, so you must build wisely. You can build buildings such as schools and hospitals. You can also ''zone'' areas as Commercial, Industrial, or Residential. Things will get built only in zoned areas. Balancing the zones is very important.

Also, you have a bunch of advisors who help you along the way. (Like a financial advisor.) They tell you how good your city is and if you need to change something. When a petitioner wants something, they can give you their opinion. You also have a bunch of text at the bottom of the screen that tells you about what is good and what is bad in the city. (It also has some funny jokes now and then.)

As more people get into your city, you might get awards. (Such as a City Hall or a Stock Exchange.) As time passes you might unlock new buildings. (Who knows what will be unlocked in the year 2050.) This adds a ton of replay value to a game that would still have a ton of replay value without this.

You don't have to start with a random terrain. You can start from one of the terrains that come from a real city. (For example, you can build a city on the same terrain Moscow was built on.) There is even an option to load a city that exists in real life. (Like Moscow.) These options only make the game more fun.

What about something that makes Sim City 3000 Unlimited better than Sim City 3000? Well, there is always the Scenario thing. You can't even imagine how fun it is. You can play a Scenario such as, ''Get Frankfurt ready for a big party.'' Then, you get to go to Frankfurt and complete a bunch of goals. (Such as, ''Build enough Police Stations at the party site'' and ''Make sure transportation to the Party is good.'') They have about 15 total scenarios.

However, the fun doesn't stop there! Maxis included a very fun ''Scenario Creator.'' This allows you to create your own scenarios! Basically, you can add the News Tickers, pop-up messages, goals, and much more. Then you can program the scenario to do what you want. The programming might seem hard at first, but it gets much easier after you get used to it.

What if you don't like the way the houses look? You can easily change them in a new terrain editor! This allows you to change the way buildings and terrain look in the game. I didn't use it that much, but some people might like it.

The Graphics in Sim City 3000 Unlimited are far superior to those of the previous games. It has an isometric view, which is perfect for the game. The Music is pretty good. It doesn't get boring and it keeps you going. I have no complaints.

The controls are very nice. You have a menu on the right hand side. You can click once there to choose something, then click on the map to build it. You can also zoom in and out and rotate the camera to four different views.

It doesn't take a genius to see that Sim City 3000 Unlimited is a game they have to get. The game is perfect and if you miss out on it, I really feel sorry for you. I don't care if you hate any game except racing games. I don't care if you are moving to Jamaica and you can't take you computer. Just get Sim City 3000 Unlimited.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/02, Updated 10/18/02