SimCity

Introduction

I’m a big fan of SimCity 2000 on the PC (I got it when it came out for my then good 386), so you can imagine how happy I was to review it on the Psion. Finally, one my favourite games on the Psion!

So it was with anticipation I started it, and sat while the game loaded. As a veteran of the PC version, I skipped any help, and dived straight into the game.

First Impressions

Well, the toolbars are laid out to the right of the screen, so it’s easy to gain access to all the functions, such as roads and zones. On the left of the screen is another toolbar, providing access to the more in-depth stuff, such as the budgeting windows and an overall map of the city.

A typical SimCity screen showing the two different toolbars and city information

To begin with, I left these alone and went one to play the game. I started in the same way as on the PC, by placing a power station on the map, and building some zones around it. Everything seemed to work pretty much as I remembered, even down to the three graphs to the right, which indicate the demand for the various zones. So my first impressions were good…

Into the pit…

Now, a more in-depth look at the mechanics of the game, for those of you who are new to the SimCity idea. Basically the idea of the game in to design a city. The city is inhabited by Sims, which represent the people that live there. The nature of the game makes it very freeform, with no goals in the main game. There are some scenarios to try out if you need a goal to aim for, though!

Although people can survive with out power, your Sims are electronic and so need all their houses hooked up. This makes one of the first considerations a power plant. After placing this necessity, you can then start providing your Sims with places to live. You do this by placing down ‘zones’. A zone is an area of land that you designate to be for a certain type of development. You can have residential, industrial and commercial zones. When you have placed these you have to connect these upto the power station using powerlines, and then sit back as you watch them grow.

As the zones grow, they produce revenue from taxes, which then allows you to build more buildings and zones.

Of course, you also have to provide services to your Sims, such as Police and Fire Stations, because without these crime will become much worse, driving your Sims away to other towns, which results in lost revenue for you.

The Sims also demand entertainment, such as Stadiums and parks, and these need to be provided if you are to keep hold of them!

Within SimCity – Everything is under YOUR control

The Interface

The interface is made up of three main parts. On the left and right of the screen there are two toolbars, one containing all the city ‘building’ tools, such as roads and zoning tools, and on the left the city ‘data’ tool, such as the budget window and a map of the city. When you first start to play the game, the toolbars are a great aid in placing things, giving a visual representation of what they do.

In the centre of the screen is the City View, where you see your city, lay down roads and zones, and generally admire the Sims going about there business. One nice feature is that the roads fill with cars, as they get busier, so you know where the jams will be!

These toolbars are logically laid out, making it easy to find your way around them. Keeping them separate is also a nice touch, because they can be individually hidden, so you can hide your data toolbar, thus freeing up screen for the main city view, while you get to work on the mechanics of laying down the city.

There is also a full complement of Hotkeys, so you can hide both toolbars, giving you the full screen for the game.

How much fun?

When I first started playing, I wasn’t too impressed, but as I continued and got to grips with the game, I started to like it much more. When I got used to the limitations on the game imposed by the Psion, it became much more enjoyable.

After playing for just a few hours, you become addicted to the game, wanting to see whether your Sims will pay more tax if you give them that park…

The only qualm I had was that the game slowed down when the size of your cities got larger, but this may have been because I was using a Series 5 original, it would be significantly faster on the Series 5MX.

One thing that helped greatly was switching the game from Gray Scale to Black and White. This not only improved the game speed, but (somewhat surprisingly) made everything easier to see, so it’s a recommended change to make as soon as you get the game.

A simple screenshot demonstrating what a difference the Graphics settings can make

And Finally…

Finally I have to come to a decision on whether I recommend the game or not…

Well, I have to say that I’d definitely buy it, and so I give it:

5/5

• It’s SimCity!
• Highly Addictive.
• Makes full use of the Psion’s capabilities.
• Hotkeys for all functions.
• Slow when you are using large cities.

Test Machine : Psion Series 5 Original

‘SimCity’ first appeared on EpocPlace on July 2nd, 2000.

delusional