SimCity 4 is paramount to any gamer, or person that has ever wanted to be a deity, an architect or the mayor of a major city. The game itself is dazzling, dazzling gameplay, dazzling graphics and even dazzling interaction with the inhabitants of your city. The interaction with the people of your city is what gives it its realism and this is what puts it above its predecessor, SimCity 3000.

Your interaction with the people can be in two ways; one, you can be observant and spend all your time continually looking around your city, or two, you can make your own family, like in ‘The Sims’. This family will report the various ‘going-ons’ in the city and what needs changing to suit your people’s needs. What also puts it above SimCity 3000, is its seemingly limitless capabilities, you can even manufacture and customise what scenery you will have around your metropolis. Another great thing about this game is it always keeps you busy, unlike other games which get boring after a while.

Disappointingly, that is about all that is better than Sim City 3000, and it could even be named SimCity 3000 with a facelift and a couple of new ideas added in, or maybe even an ‘extension pack’. Despite this, it is still one of the best games I have ever played and if you haven’t bought it, or one of its predecessors already, I advise you do so as soon as possible. If , by chance , you have already got SimCity 3000, it is still a good idea to buy one if you’re loaded, but if you’re not that wealthy, I can think of better things to spend £30 on.

Life in Sim City 4 - Part I

remember the first PC game I played; it was Doom. A wonderful FPS I'm sure you've all heard of. I also remember the second PC game I played; it was Sim City 2000. I didn't have a PC at that time but my nextdoor neighbour, Duncan, did.

I remember going round to his house every night for three weeks to expand my empire. Unfortunately, Duncans parents weren't best pleased with me wallowing till the early hours in Duncs room, so they gave me his Hero Quest bored (sorry, board) game. That kept me busy for a few days but I yearned to take back control of my city, even for just one day (a final farewell, if you will). That didn't happen

. When I went round the next time, I was informed my save game file had been deleted. I cried inside. And it's because of that traumatic incident, in which my Presidency was snatched away from me by other powers (George W. Bush, maybe?) that I've never gone back to the Sim City series... until now. Yes, a few weeks ago I felt the urge to relieve those lazy days of mega-lo-mania and bought a copy of Sim City 4.

I wanted to re-create the Utopia I crafted all those years ago, but I never remembered the game to be quite so demanding. Upon starting the game I was faced with an unprecidented amount of options. Though I wouldn't say tedious, it was certainly very time-consuming, slogging through the on-going list of micro-management choices.

A cup of coffee is not suggested, more required here. It was clear to me from the out-set that the series had evolved; that it had been made more 'specialist' and that those who percivered would get farthest. But then, perseveirance has always been the key in this series.