SimCity

Oh c'mon, you know what SimCity is, right? Build a city. A simulated city, that is. SimCity is the game that started the Sim series - SimTower, SimEarth, SimLife, SimCopter, SimAnt, The Sims, everything started with SimCity.

Someone had the idea, somewhere along the line, to make an SNES version of SimCity: and despite what you normally expect from such ports, I personally find it more fun than the PC version.

Storyline? What storyline? You're the mayor, you design a city. The only character here is Dr. Wright, who gives you advice on how to play the game - I wish he'd shut up about pollution already. The people need jobs, industry provides jobs... but anyway. Dr. Wright is annoying sometimes, but at times can also be helpful, as a guide to your mayoring ventures.

In the gameplay department, we have the simple concept of building a city. Place Residential, Commercial, and Industrial zones; power plants (coal or nuclear); transportation (roads or railroads); set up a power grid; keep your simcitizens safe with fire and police departments; keep your simcitizens happy with things like football stadiums, and the best addition to the SNES version of this game: gifts. By meeting certain requirements, you'll be given the option to place Gift structures, from windmills to large parks, from amusement parks to casinos. These gifts will increase your population, and probably amuse you as well. Oh, and watch out for disasters - no one likes being swept up by a tornado, or stepped on by a giant monster (the monster in SimCity SNES is, in fact, Bowser of Mario fame).

The graphics are bright, crisp, and well-polished. Not too many sound effects, but those that are in here fit their bills fine, like chugging train noises and the sound of a plane taking off. The music is good, and a few tracks have the innate ability to get stuck in my head in no time at all.

I couldn't tell you how long I played this game; making and watching a city doesn't take too long really, but sometimes you gotta trash it and start over, which obviously takes longer. Building a Megalopolis of 500,000 people isn't about waiting for people to come to your city (well, you have to, but that's not the point) - it's about planning your city's placement well. Tip: don't worry too much about Commercial zones.

SimCity for the SNES is a just plain nice game to play. If you like Sim games, heck, even if you don't, you'll probably enjoy the SNES rendition.

Progress: Complete