"A quality game for anyone"

The SimCity series has never failed to be enjoyable. This one is no exception. This is by far, the best in the series with it's awesome graphics, intense detail, and endless gameplay.

Graphics- Very nice graphics; you can see every little sim walking along to sidewalk, and you can see that every car is nicely detailed. Certain buildings can actually be placed in different directions. At a missile test site you can actually watch missiles taking off with the chance of them hitting your town. (I've never seen that happen yet) The disasters are awesome looking as well; the lightning bolt results in a giant flash across the screen, the volcano blasts out mounds of molten lava, and the tornado looks just plain powerful.

Gameplay- I'll try to concentrate on what was added, not what's been in the series since the beginning.

From the first time you create a new city you'll notice one major thing, SimCity 4 is a heck of a lot more...involving than it's predecessors. I actually feel like I'm running the freaken thing with all the choices I have at my command. You'll notice definite differences in everything you do. If you lower health funding, you'll see Doctors protesting just outside the hospital. If you place train stations in the right place, you'll see more trains running than usual. If you lower water funding, your pipes will burst and if you don't fix them your houses will be destroyed, if you lower road funding your roads will become stained, or filled with potholes. There's just so many things that just pull you in from the very start. There's also the ''Region system''. This allows you to actually make the other city's that can come into contact with your own. It's just like ''The Sims'', a Region is like the Neighborhood from that game. The only problem with the gameplay is that you'll need a top notch computer to not get pissed off at the possible slowdown. XD

Interface- It's quite simple much like it's predecessors; except this interface is suspiciously similar to the interface of ''The Sims'', which is a good thing in certain ways. When you start off it will seem like it takes up too much of the screen but it's something you just get used to. It needs to be that big for the hordes of information at your command. It's also quite simple, you can access ALL of your information by a click of a button, it's all right there in front of you. It passes the test.

Sound- Not much to say here. The hordes of music are awesome as usual, not to mention the fact that you can import your own MP3 music into the game. The sound is pretty good, but I don't really pay any attention to it. Not like you should anyway.

Other- Right after installation I noticed how freaken slow it went on my Pentium 4 computer. It pissed me off and led me to wonder why it was never mentioned in the reviews I saw. I then restarted my computer and started the game again...it ran perfectly. Which reminded me of what happened when I got SimCity 3000, the same thing. I'm not sure if the problem is on my end, but I guess you should restart your computer right after installation to get the best results from your first play.

The Bad of SimCity4- Do I even need this section? The only real problems are the requirements. But frankly, anyone without a current computer deserves the slowdowns.

Replayability- Another unnecessary section. The game doesn't end. Even if you max out the limits of one area you can just move to another area within your region.

Closing- Just buy the game, it wont be a purchase you'll regret. I guarantee that.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/03, Updated 01/25/03