SimCity 4 PC

Sim City 4 for PC is a new installment of the cult-classic city management series developed continually from 1989 by Maxis. Interestingly enough, the new entry in the series attempts to introduce a more grandiose approach to the city building, enabling us to create metropolitan areas that serve different purposes, as well as create economical and industrial links between neighboring settlements. These features mean new possibilities and an unprecedented scale – the introduced worlds are now infinitely bigger that the one encountered in previous installments of SimCity series.

Mechanics

For the first time in the history of the series, SimCity 4 offers the ability to customize the life of the individual citizens inhabiting our metropolis. We can take a look at the daily life of the given district or street, learn more about the problems or the direction the city is taking, as well as view the citizens’ rating of the governing body (i.e. the player). Finally, the players can import their The Sims characters and settle them in the city.

In comparison with the previous installments of the series, Sim City 4 offers a number of new features, including new terraforming tools, as well as active civil services which respond to the emergencies in the city. Each metropolis consists of hundreds of detailed objects and polished animations (e.g. moving pedestrians, vehicles, smoke) including new additions in form of reworked civic buildings. For the first time in the history of the series, the authors introduced a day and night cycle. Aside from the above, we’ve received access a notice system that helps us govern the city and respond or avert numerous catastrophes (including volcano eruptions, earthquakes, or riots) that may haunt our metropolis.

Technical Aspects

SimCity 4 for PC is characteristic for its detailed three-dimensional visuals and an extended ambient soundtrack. The developers also introduced a new, user-friendly interface.

Last updated on 10 December 2007