SimCity 4: Rush Hour

"You'll be RUSHing out this very HOUR to get this game!"

Greetings GameFAQs members!

I see you have ventured into my review of Simcity 4: Rush hour, the latest and first expansion pack of Simcity 4. You are obviously interested in the game, but may not know very much about it. Thankfully, I've included a small summary (spoiler free of course) of what's new! Well, let's begin with the technical aspects of the game!

GRAPHICS

Remember Simcity 4? When it came out, it's graphics were top notch style. Well, they are still shining brightly with the Rush Hour expansion back. Besides the Simcity 4 graphics, Rush Hour comes loaded with a lot of new special effects. One of my favorite is the numerous plane effects. You can write, spray chemicals, drop parachuters, or do tricks in the air! Also included is newer version of the map tool. It now allows you to see the same things as before, only far more detailed. But of course, I wouldn't leave out the best new graphical addition. CRASHES! With a new feature mentioned later, you can create your own crashes! You can have minor car accidents to highway car pile-ups! Interested in the big stuff? Get some trains going and watch the fun unfold! Perhaps you want to get sophisticated. Send out some UFOs, tanks, or maybe that nice mechanical whale to wreak havoc on your city.

One note everyone may like is the game is actually faster now! In normal Simcity 4, the game's car system was very laggy. With the addition or a new car system, you can finally bring those graphics up to high and still have a lag free game (that is, of course, if you are at the recommendations for PC type!)

Gameplay

The core element of Rush hour, simcity 4, or just about any sim game! Now, all those special effects I said had to come from some where, and they came from the new gameplay features. Most likely you're mostly interested in the crashes, so I'll delve into that first. Rush Hour introduces a new system called ''U-Drive-it'', which allows you take a car you've ''earned'' and drive it around town. You may find a mission or two, which is similar to Grand Theft Auto's mission system. The actual controls are well.. like Grand Theft Auto 2 (the OLD version, it's 2D). They are simple to master. Of course, just like GTA, you don't have to do missions, so you can just drive around on land, on water, or in the air until you're driving needs are taken care of. All vehicles can be driven. Most of them have to be ''bought'' by your sim (in My Sims) to drive, but special ones like police cars can be gotten by buying a Police Station. The police station then provides another benefit! You gain access to criminal catching missions. All special vehicles have a mission associated with it. Indeed, the u-drive-it system is amazing!

Other gameplay additions include a better path finding feature, and even a query tool to find what paths are taken. Numerous buildings have been added, and of course, new ways of transportation. You'll have to find those on your own, as I want to save some of the surprise!

SOUND

Rush Hour is packed with a bunch of new modernish to industrial sounding songs. This is a great contrast to the 1940 blues/jazz sounding songs the original game came with. Of course, you still have the option of importing your own MP3's if you so choose.

MISC

Rush Hour has tremendous replay value. Just like the other Simcity games, you will probably play this one several times through. You may even re-install this game down the road when looking for a good game to play. That being said, definatly buy the game, as you'll want to play it again. Borrowing will cut your precious play time short, and we don't want any angry gamers! The good news is, most retailers are selling it for a whopping 10 dollars on RELEASE DAY, or 50 dollars with Simcity 4 (both after mail-in-rebates). So what are you waiting for, rush out to your store this very hour and get the game!

SCORES
Graphics - 8
Gameplay - 10
Sound - 10
Misc - 8
Overall - 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/03