SimCity for iPhone Review

The release of The Sims has shifted focus completely from SimCity. Despite the popularity of the Sims, Simcity is in many ways the better (and certainly the more deep) game. The task of creating a city out of scratch requires a lot of skill and focus as compared to Sim. When this excitement is compared with the rather mundane activities in Sims, there seems to be no scope of comparison as SimCity wins easily. However, credit must be given to both games which have changed the way simulation games were played. Their concept has been copied a lot but has rarely succeeded.

I first played this game in the Super Nintendo version in 1991. Even that version was a big deal at that point of time. It would not be incorrect to say that it seemed like the best game ever. The only thing that made it difficult to enjoy new versions was the lack of money to buy the games. The New Year was eagerly awaited so that the tax refunds could be used to buy games.

We all have played the newer versions and found them as good as the original if not better. Some may have found it a step backward but the change of pace from the awe inspiring depth and replay value of SimCity 4 to the simpler and easier to play Simcity was very pleasant and enjoyable. This simpler model is similar to the first version of the game released. The only difference lies in the presence of new features in the more recent version.

The game may be simpler and a bit easier but it certainly is not a cakewalk. This is especially true if you are not familiar with this style of gaming. You are appointed as the mayor of a vacant piece of land and your goal is to build the city of your dreams. Of course, you are given the requisite funds for the task as well.

Everything needs to be taken into consideration. You need a nice balance of residential structures, businesses, and factories. Too many or too few of one can lead to your entire system falling apart. You need to set the tax rates, build and fund police and fire stations, lay down the roads and power lines that will connect them all, and make sure you don't completely destroy the natural environment in the process. A handy tutorial feature should get new players up to speed on how the game is played, but experimentation will likely be the key.

If you want the game with the best graphics on the iPhone, this is the game that you should choose. As you zoom into your city, you can see it in perfect detail. Even the building seems clear and distinct. Watching your city take shape on a vacant piece of land is very enjoyable. The graphic is well supported by good audio and tunes. The inspirational tunes are suitable for the colossal task on your hands.

The controls are very easy to handle overall. The left side and bottom of the screen have several buttons which bring up further menus when touched. These can display information on your city, open up your building options, and call on your advisors to make an appearance. Placing items on your map often requires you to zoom in close though, as it's difficult to properly line items up from a far away view.

Where does SimCity drag? The only negative aspect is that it is too ambitious for its own good. This game requires too much power for its graphics and zooming feature. Every time you zoom into your fully built city, you end up putting lots of pressure on the phone and it simply is not capable of taking it. The end result is that the game crashes again and again. Version 1.4 was expected to take care of this issue but it was not enough to prevent the phone from crashing when the city expands beyond a certain limit. It is no fun playing SimCity when it seems more like CrashCity.

SimCity is an outstanding game that will provide gamers with hours of fun. It's a shame that the game becomes virtually unplayable once your city gobbles up the map. If you can overlook the end game instability, you'll get a lot of mileage out of it until that point. Should these bugs be fixed in a future update, this game is certainly deserving of an even higher score.

Game Score: 7/10

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