SimCity 4

So here it is again:: A masterpiece of a game that doesn't promote violence, and doesn't go out of its way to shock you with racy images or situations. SimCity 4 is the best kind of entertainment.

SimCity 4 is an incredible RPG when you get right down to it. It provides the flexibility in its engine to build and lead in just about any way you care to imagine. The causal nature of the game is a wonder to behold as well. Tax your citizens too heavily in one city and you'll drive them to live in another. Don't provide enough education in one place, and families will pull up stakes. Like playing chess against yourself, each city in a region vies for the same resources and growth potential, but when all is said and done, being mayor is all about politics. You have to try and keep as many people with completely different needs as happy as you can while convincing them that the money you're taking from them will be good for them in the long run.

Overall I was very impressed with SimCity 4. Unlike SimCity 3000, SimCity 4 really is a major evolutionary step in the series. To be honest, I wasn't convinced that it was that much different until I played it for a while, but like an onion, there are just more layers to unwrap -- but at least with SimCity 4 you won't be crying the entire time.

Though I’ve never been a huge fan of the SimCity games, their continued excellence is impressive and undeniable. Even given that, I was kind of put off by the arrival of the review copy of SimCity 4 in my mailbox, especially since it was the latest in a long line of deep, involved PC games that I had been assigned to review. At that point, I simply was ready to blow things up mindlessly. To its credit, SimCity 4, with its nearly endless customizability and intuitive interface broke through my reluctance by the time I had spent thirty minutes in the tutorial mode. On top of that, SimCity 4 managed to satisfy my need to maniacally blow things up better than I ever imagined possible (but more on that later).

All in all then, SimCity 4 takes an already well established and finely crafted game concept that next stage further. Whilst there's nothing ground breaking here, the improvements and additions in SimCity 4 are nonetheless very impressive, Maxis having created a game of absolutely epic proportions. You may find yourself tiring of the same formula (and the necessities of micromanagement) before you come anywhere near completing or exploring the full potential of the game, but that doesn't stop it being deeply impressive and very addictive indeed, especially as you toy with your new-found freedom, and relish your world coming to life before you.

In summary, this is without a doubt the best SimCity game so far. It is highly addictive and, as always, it has a very strong replay value. The game engrosses its player in a delightful little world of city managing. Being the mayor can be fun, but it can also be hard work. It's all about erecting houses and sky-scrapers, coping with the economy, and of course looking after your citizens - everything from their general welfare to education, health, traffic, and so on. Luckily, the interface is simpler than ever and each option and tool is on the screen right before you. I guess we have to thank The Sims for that. Also, there are several ways with which you can modify the land before you start building the city of your dreams. It was hard to juggle with a great number problems in the economy, industry, and education, but with extra effort I was able to erect Vadarsville and watch it prosper and rise to glory. Cool! Add another one to the list of EA's top-sellers.

Sim City 4 zet je ingedommelde grijze hersencellen nog eens aan het werk. Een waardige opvolger voor Sim City 3000.

Maxis has a winning formula with the SimCity series and SimCity4 takes it to the next level. If you haven't bought it yet, go to your nearest game shop, get it and be sure to get rid of any social life for the next months.

Un jeu incontournable pour les fans de Sim City et pour les autres. Voici un jeu de gestion pointu et très poussé qui vous amènera très probablement à commander des pizzas pendant de nombreuses soirées et risque certainement aussi de ruiner votre couple. Pour le reste c'est du tout bon vous pouvez vous lancer dans Sim City 4 sans aucune modération.

SimCity 4 is a great new addition to the SimCity series! The first time I saw screenshots of this game I was in awe of it, the textures looked so 3D-ish, the realistic-ness of the city and all the possibilities of the game looked so infinite! So I bought the game when it first came out played it for about 2 weeks straight and then took a break and probably played BF1942 or something and then I got bored of killing Nazis and decided to continue building my ever so expanding country of 2404 referenced city names like Punnytown, Dedfield, and DareD3ville.

Long before The Sims sold their way into the game player's hearts, little known software developer Will Wright conceived a simple but addictive city building game. Sim City became an instant classic and 14 years later has spawned almost a dozen games in its image, improving the graphics and interface but never deviating from the archetypal initial concept. After a lukewarm reception for Sim City 3000 and the world's obsession with The Sims, could Maxis resurrect their flagship title's series? Cue Sim City 4.

Okay, zugegeben. Nach den rund 15 gebauten und wieder abgerissenen Städten hat es dann bei mir auch mal funktioniert. Nein, das hat weder mit meinem Geschlecht, noch der Haarfarbe zu tun: Sim City 4 ist einfach verteufelt schwierig. Wenn Sie allerdings am Ball bleiben und endlich den richtigen Dreh raus haben, macht die WiSim richtig Laune. Allerdings nicht bei mehr als 10.000 Bewohnern - da ruckelt's wie Seuche.

SimCity 4 has one of the highest pedigrees of any PC game and does a fine job overall of living up to its name. It's too bad that some players will invariably get soured on the experience due to some of the bugs and the missing or underdeveloped features and options. But most will find in SimCity 4 a deep and enjoyable strategy game that's flexible enough to be played at any pace and entertaining enough for all audiences.

Maxis nous livre là un excellent titre, sûrement le meilleur des Sim City jamais produit. Certes, le concept n'est pas neuf, on le connaît depuis plus de dix ans, mais le fait de pouvoir jouer sur une région entière et de créer une gigantesque mosaïque de villes qui se développent en coopérant relance grandement l'intérêt. C'est le genre de jeu qui sera encore installé sur nos machines dans deux ans.

If your collection already boasts a Sim City game, you can probably live without this fourth wave of cities but, otherwise, this is pretty much as good an endless strategy game as you'll see on any platform.

SimCity 4 biedt meer detail, meer opties en meer grafisch moois. De invoering van individuele Sims is een fraai experiment in burgerdemocratie, maar had voor ons niet gehoeven.

O resultado final é uma experiência mais pura de Sim City: não parecem haver muitos objetivos claros, e é possível passar horas a fio fazendo pequenas mudanças e gerenciando o orçamento da cidade - com claras respostas plásticas (algo importante em um jogo do gênero)... mas a velocidade da evolução e falta de grandes novidades podem deixar muitos velhos fãs incomodados.

En conclusion, SimCity 4 est un must-have. Il évite tous les pièges que l'on pouvait redouter. La configuration requise n'est pas trop élevée, en tout cas par rapport au niveau des graphismes fascinants, on peut rester des heures à contempler sa ville vivre au niveau de zoom maximum, à observer les moindres détails hilarants que les développeurs ont semés dans tout le jeu. Les possibilités de gestion sont assez énormes, même si certains détails ne peuvent être réglés ou nous échappent. A conseiller à tous les fans de jeux de gestion, et de simulation d'urbanisme !

Einen Sohn zeugen, einen Apfelbaum pflanzen, ein Haus bauen - all das können Sie in Sim City nicht. Aber Sie können vielen hunderttausend Leuten die Möglichkeit geben, so etwas zu tun: indem Sie als Bürgermeister Ihren Mitmenschen Wohnung und Arbeit geben und ihnen so ein glückliches Leben ermöglichen.

Après la sortie de Sim City 3000 en 1999, les joueurs habitués de la série conservèrent un petit goût amer, léger regret de ne pas avoir eu plus d’innovations dans cet opus qui privilégiait le développement de la forme, et donc des graphismes, plutôt que celui du fond. Même si certaines nouveautés utiles voyaient le jour, telle l’apparition de conseillers municipaux ainsi que d’un télescripteur déroulant en bas d’écran, le jeu en lui-même restait bien similaire aux autres opus. Conscient de cela, l’équipe de Maxis, dirigée par Will Wright, choisie de placer Sim City 4 sous le signe du changement. Des évolutions nombreuses et parfois surprenantes.

Das Positive vorweg: Sim City 4 ist hübsch, und es macht eine ganze Weile Spaß, meinen Bürgern bei der Stadtentwicklung zuzusehen. Das neue Mikromanagement sorgt dafür, dass ich mich noch intensiver als zuvor um das Wohlergehen meiner Leutchen kümmern muss. Aber schneller, als mir lieb war, hatte ich meine Stadt im Griff. Wenn man dann mal alles gesehen hat, ist die Motivation schnell flöten. Vor allem die viel zu großzügige Kreditfunktion, über die selbst ungeübte Einsteiger binnen kurzem fast alles kaufen und bauen können, verdirbt mir den Langzeitspaß. Warum gibt es eigentlich keine Szenarien mehr? Und wieso bauen die Sims ihre Häuser immer noch in streng rechteckigen Blocks wie schon im ersten Teil? Mir hat der fordernde Vorgänger viel besser gefallen. Wer nur ohne Leistungsdruck entspannt vor sich hinbauen möchte, kann guten Gewissens nach Sim City ziehen.

Ultimately, SimCity 4 achieves great things: It's graphically stunning and it's a very deep simulation of urban planning. Unfortunately the high system requirements and tedium of building will probably turn away hordes of players who otherwise would've had a great time. If you love nitpicky, complex, down-and-dirty simulations, you'll lose yourself for hours on SimCity 4's twisted streets. You know if you're the type!

The scope and detail of SimCity 4 is definitely impressive, and it retains all of the game play features that longtime fans of the franchise have grown to love even though they may find that the new interface takes some getting used to. Anyone thinking of picking up SimCity for the first time with this release should seriously consider factoring in the cost of a strategy guide on top of the game itself to help them get started, otherwise they could find the experience daunting enough to discourage them from exploring all that SimCity 4 has to offer.

71? - After two pages of complaints and not a single pro without some reservations? How much did EA pay me for this again? That’s right, nothing. SimCity 4’s biggest flaw is that it’s not a SimCity. It’s some third-party interpretation of what SimCity should be like, with some grand new features. The new features are implemented but the designers totally missed what makes a SimCity. SimCity is not budget management and realistic expenditures on parks and power plants that produce less power as they age, for more money. Though if the designers are so concerned about realism, they should explain to me why my hospitals aren’t raking in money hand over foot. Or, in fact, why the city owns any hospitals…

Surprisingly deep, complex, and accessible, SimCity 4 is the pinnacle of simulation games. Excellent (though sometimes temperamental) graphics, a wonderful soundtrack, and loads of necessary information at your fingertips make SimCity 4 a great play experience. Those tired of guns-blazing shooters, copycat Real-Time Strategy, and the numerous pretenders to the SimCity throne (SimTower, anyone?), or those looking for a lighter shade of fun (never mind hardcore Simulation/Business game addicts, for you guys this is a must buy) should definitely check this one out.

Before we go any further, let's clear up one thing: Sim City 4 is not a game. It's a high school extra credit report. It's a college civil engineering course project. It's the closest Gray Davis should have ever come to governing the people. But, it's not a game. Of course, that doesn't mean it can't be fun.