"Make the elephants eat the trees while a tourist watches"

SimSafari is an innovative way to build your own park and camp area. When are the people at Maxis going to run out of ideas for new 'sim' games? This is one of the weirdest yet. Only SimAnt compares.

GRAPHICS--8
The buildings, vehicles, plants, and people are all very realistic. The animals however, are just average. The sun even shines off the vehicles to create very realistic lighting. The buildings are all great, and it is very easy to tell apart the species of plants.

MUSIC--3
Repetitive and annoying is the best way to describe this game's music. Unplug the speakers. Save yourself. And your family. And your neighbors. And anyone else who is in hearing range. And people who are not. You will find out a way to make yourself go deaf if you listen. Trust me on this one.

CONTROL--8
I HATE WRITING CONTROL SECTIONS IN STRATEGY GAMES!
All you do is move around and select where to place buildings, vehicles, and living things. There is nothing for me to grade!! So I graded it the best I could and came up with the magic number 8.

FUN--7
At times this game is very, very fun. At times it is very, very un-fun. (Or not fun. However you want to put it.) It depends what you like in strategy games. I found building the camp area very fun, and placing the animals a chore. Others that have played it have said exactly the opposite of me. It is all a matter of personal preferance.

CLOSING STATEMENT
Maxis should make a new 'sim' game. SimWork. You need to find out how to deal with annoying co-workers, the funniest water cooler jokes, and how to make it look like you are actually working! You also need to get promoted within a certain day limit to raise your star level, a Maxis staple.

OVERALL--7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/00, Updated 07/18/01