PCR recommends: SimCity

Since the launch of the original SimCity way back in 1989, the series has grown to become a cult title for PC fans everywhere.

Fast forward to today and little has changed as the game remains one of those old school classics that has fuelled small talk amongst gamers for years.

Now, the city-building franchise is returning from a decade long hiatus with a reboot that Electronic Arts hopes will please both SimCity veterans and newbies alike.

“We’d like to thank the millions of fans who have helped make SimCity synonymous with the city-building genre,” said Lucy Bradshaw, senior vice president of EA’s Maxis label.

Gone is the top down, isometric view of old, which has been replaced with what can only be described as a colourful depiction of a bustling metropolis that players have, quite literally, built from the ground up.

Like EA’s sister franchise The Sims, much attention has been given to the game’s finer details. Whilst previously limited to a traditional eagle-eye perspective of their creation, players are now able to swoop down and acquaint themselves with their city and its hard working inhabitants first-hand.

The addition of the all-new GlassBox engine offers a much- improved town-planning system, which prompts players with real-time data and graphics as they introduce improvements to their fair city’s streets.

Introduce a school bus stop and players are told just how many citizens will benefit from its placement. Make changes to an entire neighbourhood and wannabe mayors can see just how the enhancements have taken effect.

“This is a franchise that means the world to us at Maxis and we’re happy to be bringing it back home where we are reimagining it for an entirely new generation of players.”

Lucy Bradshaw, Maxis

A notable addition to the newest SimCity entry is the presence of multiple cities. As players seek to perfect their town, it will co-exist alongside two others, both of which have the potential to have an impact on their player-managed neighbour. Cities are able to trade and gift raw materials to each other whilst purchasing one’s excess resources such as water and electricity.

Cities are now able to specialise in specific areas, which aims to differentiate cities from one another. Players can choose to build an industrious town, which will provide jobs and draw in workers, or shape their city into a tourist destination with recreational locations and picturesque features.

Online is a key component of SimCity and one that EA is keen to push with its always-online feature. In the game’s multiplayer mode, players are made to feel a part of a wider community as they trade resources with other players and their cities, whilst having the option to sell surplus resources to the global SimCity society.

“This is a franchise that means the world to us at Maxis and we’re happy to be bringing it back home where we are reimagining it for an entirely new generation of players,” continued Bradshaw.

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