SimCity 4

"They're at it again... Huzzah!"

Ok, as most everyone knows, SimCity is the best/only city-building sim out there. It has attracted some what of a cult following, giving you a fulfilling sense of pride as you stare down at your sprawling metropolis like a supreme being... and then launch a couple of fiery orbs into it just for kicks, beholding the awesome power at your disposal as what was once an industrial district collapses in a fiery ruin. Such is the magic of SimCity 4. And now, it comes in a deluxe edition, packaged with its expansion Rush Hour (allowing you to fine-tune your city even more). But, enough gum-flapping, lets get to the review:

Gameplay: (7/10)
The heart and soul of a game, the gameplay is what makes the game, right? Right? Anyways, the gameplay is great, when you start off, you have little more than an empty, endless plain grassy field. Enter God mode, where you wield the ability to carve deep, gouging canyons, to raising tall, majestic mountains, shaping the terrain as you see fit. Do you want an arid, dry, flat mesa for your city or a large water-stricken island? Whatever you want, its probably possible. After shaping the terrain as you like, you enter Mayor mode, zoning for construction, setting up schools and medical clinics, building power plants and water pumps, bringing the oh-so needed lifeblood into your city. And also, you get to fiddle around with transportation, laying asphalt for roads, and rails for a freight train system. (or, as of Rush Hour, making rails for Monorails!)
However, all is not well. The gameplay does have a few flaws. Number one, it can get uproariously frustrating at times, as you find your all-important budget dwindling and you're in debt up to your eyeballs, and no one wants to move into your city because of the crushng taxes and awful pollution. Also, the ''U-Drive It'' feature, which lets you roam the fair streets of your city, either enjoying the view or doing a mission, is good. However, the missions themselves are horrifically boring after a while, as they do not change. (You get two choices, do the good missions and your mayor rating goes up, do the bad missions and you get exorbiant sums of money but your mayor rating drops) Also, the missions make the game WAY too easy, allowing you to get unique ''gift'' structures that would take ages to get normally can be gotten in a single, simple driving mission!
Also, at times, this game can get BORING, often reducing the game to ''Well, I'm kinda bored now, I think I'll rip my city apart with an earthquake''
Thus, due to the somewhat frustrating difficulty, slight boredom factor, and the imbalance of the ''U-Drive It'' missions, I had to lower the score.

Graphics: (10/10)
This is what you REALLY wanted to see wasn't it? Well, never fear because SimCity's graphics are freaking GORGEOUS! The structures, from a simble trailer home to a gigantic, sprawling mega-mall are all insanely detailed, allowing you to see the ventilation equipment and parking lots and other various neat things in your city. Even if you're throwing evil, flaming bits of molten rock at it, your city STILL looks good (despite being marred by a few gaping craters). However, with all the bells and whistles turned on, the game can reach some very frustrating slow-down if your computer isn't fast enough. But all-in-all the graphics are very vivid and detailed.

Sound/Music (10/10)
The sound in this game is well above average, from the gusts of wind to the sounds of prime real estate being constructed,to the bone-shattering crunches of a rush-hour crash to the crack of lightning as you open the gates of hell on your city, it all sounds real. The music is pretty good IF you like reggae/jazz kind of stuff (I do, and that's why this game gets a ten out of ten)

Replayability (10/10)
Well, what did you expect? This game offers infinte replayability, allowing you to vaporize a poorly made city so that you can make a better one! If you feel you are getting bored with one city, start a new one! A perfect ten here.

Well, all-in-all, SimCity 4 is a good buy and I would reccommend it highly!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/04