SimCity 2000

The Good
This game is and was enormously fun to play - that is the bottom line. There are plenty of variables and factors to manipulate, and oodles of cool tweaks and things to do. The possibilities are endless - from designing your own map to buying the add-ons, like the urban renewal kit. You can also build Llama domes.

The Bad
After a little while, it does get a bit repetitive, as your city crawls across the map like a multiplying body of bacteria. You're basically building the same stuff over and over until you run out of space. However, there is an ultimate goal behind it all, when you build launch arcos and they explode (launch into space).

The Bottom Line
It is a City Simulator. You are the mayor of a brand new city, and you determine (with dictatorial control) the appearance and fate of the city. You do the actual building, and you manipulate the behind-the-scenes factors that determine how the city will grow (such as tax rates, zoning rules, and ordinances). The game is hilarious, with very strange and funny newspaper articles to announce how your city is doing and oddball disasters that come to destroy your city. It's a wee microcosm of life. Nothing lasts forever, and at any moment, a twister can come and wipe your stuff out. In truth, it is one of the most addictive, purely stimulating games I have ever played.