What is SimCity and should I buy it?

moo

Hi everyone, just seen that SimCity is available on Origin at the moment for £4.49 (Standard Edition) or £6.24 (Complete Edition).

I know nothing about this game except for that you obviously build up a city/cities, but what is exactly involved in the game? It sounds fun but I don't really know any details and I find it confusing to try and read up about it because there seems to be different iterations but Origin just calls it 'SimCity' not 'SimCity 4' or anything like that. Complete newbie with this haha.

If you do recommend it, should I get Standard (Base Game and Plumbob Park) or Complete (Base Game, Plumbob Park, Cities of Tomorrow, Heroes and Villains Set, City Sets- British, French and German, Airships Set and Amusement Park).

Apologies if this is in the wrong section, wasn't sure where to post, but know a lot of The Sims players seem to play this or other games too. I've only ever played The Sims (2 and 4 mainly), so don't know where to start with other games!

2011simone

Sim city is fun if you like city builders, definitely worth it at that price.

Camkat

Really what is involved is what you think. You build cities. That's it. You do have to make sure everything has access to utilities and there's a few types of buildings available but it's really just a city simulation. You watch it grow. Tax the citizens. There's not a whole lot of difference between the different versions either, they are all about the same (build cities), just graphics quality and some quality of life adjustments with some of the controls. I make it sound so boring but it's really not! haha! It's worth it at those prices and if I would you and you can afford the extra couple quid you might as well get it all.

kwanzaabot

The "SimCity" you see on Origin is the 2013 soft reboot of the series (effectively SimCity 6, after the TS2-era SimCity 4 and the pretty awful SimCity Societies). SimCity 2013 is widely considered the worst one in the series, and there's a reason they haven't made a new one since. It basically killed the brand.

Get Cities Skylines instead.

Cinebar

If you are interested in that type of game then you should get it. That's dirt cheap. Might as well go for the complete set. What Sim City 2013 started out was a multi player game. Online only. But later from backlash it has a single player mode. What it is about is you build up your city (like a city planner) you have to make decissions of how one building affects another or the area where the little people (agents) live. It's based on strategically figuring out what is best for a particular area etc. Like what types of buildings are needed for the city to thrive. Taxes, services etc. Just like if you were a mayor. In SC2013 this was all done with multiplayers what you put on the map may encroch on someone else's game so there were problems just like in RL of what that could mean to a different part of the map played by different players. It's a strategy game of how to build a thriving city and keep the little 'agents' (fake people) happy. Also, how not to disturb or hurt the economy of another's game. But that's a cheap price if you want to try your hand at city management and building.

cody6268

That version of SimCity is the reason TS4 was they way it ended up. They figured that if they could get by with SimCity (5) being online-only; they could with The Sims Olympus (code name for TS4 during development). It failed miserably, and they simply cut the online features from The Sims: Olympus instead of retooling the game completely.

I recommend SimCity 4. I had it long before I got into The Sims franchise. While I haven't figured it out yet, there is a way to create neighborhoods in SC4 and then export them to TS2.

SimmerGeorge

Yeah that SimCity was a major failure. For 5 pounds I would get it only if you haven't played any city building games before so you don't have high standards.
If you are seriously considering getting more into city building then you should get Cities Skylines instead

xstxrrysequence

SimmerGeorge wrote: »

Yeah that SimCity was a major failure. For 5 pounds I would get it only if you haven't played any city building games before so you don't have high standards.
If you are seriously considering getting more into city building then you should get Cities Skylines instead

Agreed. If you want to play a city building game and want the most bang for your buck, buy Cities Skylines. It’s worth the price.

SimAlexandria

I haven't played any of the more recent ones. I have SimCity 2000 and it's super fun!

NationalPokedex

The SimCity series was the game that introduced me to The Sims 2, so of course I went and bought SimCity (2013) when it came out. This thread made me want to try and play it after a few years of not playing, and for whatever reason, it's not installing on my laptop. I have the limited edition version, which is not in Origin, but every other edition of it in Origin says it can be played on Mac. This is an issue I also had with The Sims Medieval which I bought before realizing it can't be played on Mac.

With that being said, as other players have said, you build up cities. You oversee things like taxes, city departments like public safety, education, water/power. You maintain residential, commercial, and industrial zones, establish highways and trade with other cities. Try to keep your Sim citizens happy and healthy basically. The sets add new buildings so if you want more content, I say go for it.

DoodlyDoofus

In 2013 it was the worst game ever made. In 2020 it's most certainly worth the sale price. I bought it at full price back in like.....2016 and it was "fixed" by then.