The new SimCity (sometimes called "SimCity (2013)" to distinguish it from the 1989 original) is the
latest incarnation of the long-running Sim City series.
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| A nocturnal city-scape featuring the first few floors of an "Elite Megatower" in the 2013 SimCity. |
The original SimCity was a city-building simulation game in which the
player is given an undeveloped plot of land on which to develop a city
within the constraints of a budget, including zoning industrial,
residential, and commercial zones, and providing various services like
state-provided utilities, hospitals, law enforcement, education, and
more.
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| One of many unique zones where players can choose
to build a city |
The original 1989 SimCity game was unexpectedly popular and successful, and led to
numerous upgraded sequels over the decades, including SimCity 2000,
3000, and SimCity 4, and finally the most recent version released in
2013.
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| The color-coded residential, commercial, and industrial zoning tools will be familiar to players of older SimCity game |
The new SimCity builds on many of the traditions established by the
original game and its popular sequels, but with a new engine allowing
the city to be explored in 3d, and featuring an impressive level of
new features and detail, including complicated AI for the many "Sims"
inhabiting the cities, many of whom can even be optionally observed
going about daily activity, and who share various thoughts and remarks through clickable thought-bubbles...
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| A Sim living in a highrise apartment building shares some of his thoughts... |
Players of the new Simcity receive quest or mission-like tasks (which
are usually optional) that the player can choose to undertake at the
request of various Sims. (For example, requests to build certain types
of buildings, or make certain investments.) These are often useful as a
form of hands-on tutorial, but also give the game a quasi-RPG-like feel
at times. Unlike many in-depth strategy games, however, none of the optional
missions or tasks ever involve invading or attacking other peoples'
cities.
Unlike many simulations, the SimCity games have never focus on violence as a central part of the gameplay (unless players opted to start laying waste to their own
cities by ordering the demolition of buildings, or by deliberately triggering natural disasters). In order to be an even more benevolent caretaker of one's
miniature population, modern SimCity 2013 players even have the option to
turn off disasters altogether. (These might otherwise include attacks by giant robots, in addition
to earthquakes and other more familiar catastrophes).
The new SimCity was made compatible for single-player mode in 2014,
along with the
release of add-ons like the "Cities of Tomorrow" expansion pack, which
enables players to develop a creative array of futuristic buildings that
come with their own strategy dynamics, and which also "futurize" a lot
of
the existing infrastructure.
Players looking for extremely "in-depth" strategy game that also enables them to completely avoid violence might find the new SimCity
an excellent choice.
