What you do need is the ability to make risk-benefit decisions, and a sense of how the real world works. You need to know, for example, that people with a few bucks in their pockets don't choose to live next to a factory, and you need to understand whether it's better to spend money to build a fire station now, or risk having to rebuild if you wait.

One thing that SimCity 4 does real well is it's simulation of how a government budget works. If, for example, you build an infrastructure that appropriately supports your city, you'll find that funding everything at 100% would require raising taxes beyond what the residents and business owners will stand for. Pretty soon you'll see abandoned residential, commercial and industrial properties. That means your tax base goes down, and you'll have to raise taxes even further.

If you take the alternative and cut the funding to your infrastructure so you can lower taxes, you'll be faced with teachers, fire fighters, police, transit and healthcare worker strikes, and satisfying them enough to bring them back to work will cost you more than appropriate funding would have.

Just when you think you've found that balance between funding your infrastructure and your tax rate, the power plant and roads you originally built start reaching the end of their lives, and you need to replace them. (You were building up a surplus you can tap into, weren't you?)

While your budgetary problems may consume you, there are other factors to consider. A big one is transportation. Sims don't like rush hour traffic any more than you do - and probably less. If you let commutes get too bad, the Sims will stop going to work. You'll either need bigger roads, more efficient mass transit, or you'll need to move the factories and residential areas closer. But wait... Didn't we already establish that people don't like to live next to factories? Again you have to struggle to find a balance - and that balance needs to fit within your budgetary constraints, too!

SimCity 4 Deluxe includes the Rush Hour Expansion Pack. In addition to more transportation options, Rush Hour (and thus Deluxe) adds a "you drive it" feature that allows you to control cars, planes, helicopters, and other transports. If you're really getting into the planning and strategy of the game, these options are a distraction. But if you're showing your city to someone less interested in city planning, a you drive it mission may be a fun way to tour the city.

Something I would love to see in real life is instead of having candidates for public office debate each other, set them down in front of computers, and have them prove their ability to successfully build a working city in SimCity 4. The only governing skill SimCity 4 doesn't simulate well is the ability to work with others. I think we should be very worried about any big city mayor who isn't able to demonstrate their abilities by being successful in SimCity 4.


Excellent   November 3, 2003
 18 out of 28 found this review helpful

The most helpful thing I've gathered from most of these reviews is that people don't read. First, gugegonji, read your installation manual for some help. I agree the installation of this game is not the best, but it can be done. I had to disable almost everything on startup and then it went smoothly. Afterwards, I could turn everything back on to run the game. So, gugegonji, please review the game and not your equipment. And if you still need help, call technical support.

As for the "gamer from Texas", I'm not really sure he's played other versions of this game or he'd know that you can turn of Auto Go To Disasters. As for the street situation, it says right in the manual how to not have the game lay down streets for you. Read. Also, the menus are about the same as SimCity 3000. Trust me, if you think about something you'd like in this game, it's probably there.

This game was worth the wait, especially with the expansion pack. If you are considering it, get it! You will not be disappointed. The depth of this game is incredible. Of course, the price of that is that you need a fairly decent system.


Great thinking game   October 19, 2003
 36 out of 39 found this review helpful

Sim City 4 is a game that challenges your management skills. You have to really keep track of everything that is going on in your city. From Urban planning, to SDOT(Sims Dept. of Transportation), to Education. You need to stay on top of it all. You do have advisors in the city that give you great advice and will help you through most everything.

This is not an easy game. If you're anything like me I had heard about sim city but I had never played it. I took the chance, bought the game, and started playing. After an hour I had a small city that I really liked. The thing that really hooks you about this game is that it can just keep going. It's not like other games that once you have beaten it, you're done an you never play it again. This is a great game that you can play for a few hours a week and really not get tired of it. I became totally addicted to it. I try to play whereever and whenever I can! Your city keeps changing and growing and evolving. Plus you can try different types of cities. Try the agracultural city, there's a real challenge. If you can figure out how to make a farming community prosper, then you're really starting to think about what it takes to run a city.

This game recently won the Parenting approval award. Here is a game that actually forces you to think in order to win. This is a great game. Just try it for an hour or two.

Also, please read the system requirements. This game is big and requires a fair bit of horse power to run. The technology is changing folks, yes the games are getting bigger and need more power to run, but, because of that you get a game that is really incredible to play.

Good luck!


Game won't work   October 18, 2003
 2 out of 42 found this review helpful

I loved earlier Sim City's, so this one looked like the end all be all. I tried installing it on 2 totally different systems, and it will not work on either system. One system is a Toshiba laptop, Satellite 2455-S305, which i bought i FEB03. The other system is a home built, Intel P4 running XP Pro. I went to Simcity's website and there are no patches available yet. This game could not have been tested AT ALL before they decided to market it... i thought only microsoft sent things out the door only half baked???