Counting down to SimCity

Om Malik — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:02:47 +0000

The new SimCity is coming to town tomorrow. I can’t wait to play it (though it seems like we Mac people have to wait a little while longer.) I admit I am not much of a gamer – SimCity and Age of Empires are my two gaming weaknesses, so it makes sense that I have been waiting for this brand new sequel for a very long time. I used to look at the blank grid of my unbuilt dream city and then take a long walk imaging the best possible city I could create based on the landscape. I often pondered decisions for hours and hours. I loved the windmills and big boulevards – explained by my love for Paris, Lyuten’s Delhi and Scandinavian sensibilities towards the environment.

SimCity attuned me to the need for balance and refinement. I am and will always be a SimCity geek. There are many reasons to get excited about this version of the game and Josh Dzieza at the Daily Beast makes a great case for it. He writes:

The game’s most salient message, though, is that cities are extremely complex. You have to deal with power, water, housing, transportation, pollution, even sewage.

Magical words to my ears! So much so, I might have to install Windows just to play the game if the Mac version doesn’t come to market soon.

On the SimCity blog, senior producer Kip Katsarelis writes:

This is a new SimCity that offers a deeper, richer game than ever before, with the new GlassBox engine driving the most authentic simulation you will ever see. We have created a model-like world that makes you want to reach in, poke, prod, tinker and destroy. We have put the simulation right in front of you so you can see the consequences of your actions and really dig in to see how the systems work. This new SimCity has been built from the ground up to be an online experience with a new Multi-City feature, which adds an epic scale to city planning, as your decisions impact both your city and your region.

Here is a little taste of the game. Enjoy!

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SimCity: Create a Bustling Metropolis on Your iPhone

Darrell Etherington — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:00:53 +0000

EA dropped SimCity ($9.99) for the iPhone recently, and I actually almost missed it. I was still buzzing over Hero of Sparta and I Love Katamari, both of which are also recent releases.

Of course, I had to put everything on hold and take a crack at SimCity, since the PC versions of the game had occupied so many of my youthful hours. Plus, I was pleased with Spore Origins, so EA had already begun to earn my trust on the iPhone platform. I really hoped they wouldn’t throw that relationship out the door with as precious a title as SimCity.

I couldn’t way to play, so I booted it up and waited. And waited. Wow, load times! A true desktop experience on your iPhone. It may have just been an initial load times thing, because it seemed to clear itself up after the initial boot, to some degree. It wasn’t too long before I was playing a city of my own, fair Darrelton. Setup was easy, and most of the customization options from the PC games were there, including initial budget, starting year, city size, and map layout. I opted for a small city to start, since I wasn’t sure how quickly I’d be able to get back in the swing of things.

It did take me a while to get my bearings. I couldn’t figure out why my city wouldn’t grow until I realized that the game speed was still on pause. This wasn’t due to the game, but my own ignorance. Once I figured out how to adjust speed, which is easy, I was off and running.

My biggest fear was regarding controls, since I couldn’t imagine how you would be able to zone, place buildings, roads, etc. with any kind of accuracy using a touch interface. The fear proved somewhat true, since I couldn’t place things accurately at first crack, but the game anticipates this, and lets you resize and reposition before eventually confirming your purchase and/or construction.

Another control problem that isn’t resolved, and that does occasionally prove aggravating, is the inability to rotate the view. Zooming using the pinch gesture works fine, but is a little awkward and frustrating at times. You can also double-tap to select between a number of preset zoom levels, which means cycling through, but I still ended up using this method the most.

I wasn’t all that put off by the minor control complaints, since I played the game non-stop for around three hours, which is unheard of in terms of my iPhone gaming experience. So, good thing, right? It was, until I absentmindedly pressed the home button to check an email I’d just received, assuming that SimCity would auto-save my progress, as any iPhone game should. Unfortunately, when I returned to the game, Darrelton was no more. The continue button, and the load button were both grayed out. I’d later find out that there is a manual save button in the settings screen, but it should’ve auto-saved anyway.

Still, after nursing my hurt feelings, I build Darrelton again, from the ground up, and this time when I accidentally pressed the home button, restarting the game did recover my city exactly as I’d left it. I recommend manually saving, just in case.

All in all, a pleasurable iPhone gaming experience, with a few hiccups to work out. Might want to wait for version 1.1 before you make the purchase. I highly recommend doing so nonetheless, especially if you’re a fan of the original series, or want to introduce it to a new generation of gamers, since it’s sure to keep them occupied during that long car ride to visit family this holiday.

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Counting down to SimCity

SimCity: Create a Bustling Metropolis on Your iPhone