SimCity

Overview

SimCity is a city-building simulation game released in 1989 and designed by eventual Sims creator Will Wright. SimCity, being Maxis' first game and originally based on the Commodore 64, has been adapted to several different personal computers and game consoles and has gone on to become one of the most successful and popular games of all time.

Until the release of The Sims in 2000, the entire SimCity franchise was the most successful gaming franchise Maxis had created. Due to the immense popularity of SimCity, Maxis went on to create a multitude of other, similar simulation games, including SimTown and SimAnt., though none of these franchises has ever met the success of SimCity.

Gameplay

Sandbox vs. Scenario

As would later to go on to define games of the SimCity franchise, the game first opens with the option of either building a city from the ground up (Sandbox) or running a city that is currently facing some issue or crisis (Scenario). In Sandbox mode, players choose a city site by choosing from a large list of premade maps and then giving a name to their city. Additionally, the Sandbox mode has no predefined goal or metric for "winning" the game, so players are free to run their cities as they see fit. Conversely, Scenarios have clearly defined metrics for winning (ex. double population in X years) and can be "lost".

Versions

SimCity was developed for a wide range of platforms and has seen multiple re-releases, each with their own changes and additions.

iPhone

An iPhone version of SimCity is available now, but it isn't this version of the game. The iPhone version is a remake of Simcity 3000, with some added features (such as better advisers).

SNES

The Super Nintendo version exhibited changes made by Nintendo, such as the addition of Bowser, and the character "Dr. Wright" who guides the player.

SimCity Enhanced

While the game play remained identical to the original PC release the CD-Rom enhanced edition featured Live Actors, Digitized Voice and Sound, and Full Motion Video.