SimCity 3000
© 1998 Electronic Arts, Inc.
Note: This review appeared in the March 1999 issue of CSR. Please see SimCity 4 for the latest edition of SimCity. The third revision of SimCity is finally here and was well worth the wait. Its complexity won't let you just jump in and create a city from scratch, but the excellent tutorial will walk you through the steps. If following directions is too much effort, you can always load up a premade city. Starting with a bird's-eye view of a large plot of land and a tidy sum of money, older children and adults can design and manage their own city in this amazingly realistic simulation. First, you divide your land into residential, commercial and industrial areas. Using detailed menus, you can add a coal-fired electrical plant, develop a seaport and lay power and water lines and a road system. Good planning at the early stages is essential for success, which is measured in terms of a growing population and a healthy tax base. When a basic infrastructure is in place, homes, stores and industries begin to sprout. Improvements in this version include the handy tutorial, smoother controls and a larger city development area. Additionally, you'll find more realism in terms of city problems and sound effects, better control over time and money and direct feedback from the residents as issues arise. Scrolling headlines and key advisors keep you up to date on the town's events. When we forgot to build fire stations, the headline "FIRE!!! Helpless Sims Cross Fingers And Sing Camp Songs" appeared as a huge fire broke out. As the leader and planner for your town, you learn how each resident is looking out for his or her own interests. Teacher contracts, tax rates, medical care and traffic ordinances are all disputed and must be carefully resolved. Because of the need to understand all of these abstract variables, the game is best suited for kids ages 12 and up. All in all, the graphics, sound effects, music and options make this one of the best simulations we've seen.
$49.99, Win 95, 98; Mac OS (CD-ROM)
Teaches: economics, logic, social studies