8-bit Software Disc Magazine (c) Duncan Webster 1991 Issue 14 (July 1991) SOFTWARE REVIEW - Sim City by User 722 (Andrew Black) - Reviews Editor to 8BS NOTE: If you have submitted software to 8BS in the past and would like a professional review similar in style to the one below, then please write in giving full details, and Andrew will fully review your software in the next available issue of 8BS. Review of Sim City follows..... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SIM CITY Price: 12.95 (cass), 14.95 (5.25in), 19.95 (3.5in Compact) Supplier: Superior Software Requirements: Model B, B+, Electron, Master or Compact Well it looks like a new generation of games are starting to come our way from France after SS signed a deal with Infogrames. One such game is Sim City, last year voted Best Game and Best Simulation in the 16 bit market. The basic idea of Sim City is for you, the Mayor, to create your own ideal city. You have to design, build and maintain the city from the ground or try to better existing cities like HONG KONG and NEWCASTLE. Complex is not the word! After spending several days running the simluation I still had a lot to do. You can save the simulation at any point, but I just could't drag myself away. Your city is populated by SIMS - simulated citizens. If you provide them with houses, work and police protection they will like you, so the manual says anyway. They, just like real humans, will complain about things like taxes, crime, taxes, pollution and taxes. It is your job to make sure that everything is running smoothly, and continues to run so. You are, to start with, a buget of 20,000. You can now begin with the construction of your new city. A power plant is the first thing that needs to be built, so that you can supply power to factories, commerical and housing areas. That alone will set you back 5000 for nuclear plant or 3000 for coal fired one. You can now set about designing housing and factories. You need to get the right balance of residential, industrial and commerical zones and you will be well on your way to success. If you place housing and industrial zones together land values will go down because of pollution. Housing and industrial zones are better placed near water, as it provides access for ports and you collect more taxes from the housing areas The screen display has been well thought out, with the main city screen in the upper half and the managment icons in the lower. The main screen can be scrolled around the land by using the cursor keys providing a large area to work in. The icons used are perfect in this type of game, large and chunky, they provide easy access to building a city. Time within city moves quickly, every year taking only 55 seconds - I've been playing for 700 years - work that one out. Occasionally a diaster will strike your city, this can range from an earthquake, tornados or even a monster. One special feature of the game allows you inflict disaters on your city to see how you would manage the situation. I could go on for ages with all the different features implented, but I will let you discover them for yourself. Sim City is a brillant game, and to my mind the best since EXILE. But be warned, it is very addictive, once you start playing properly it can take up a enormous amount of time. Read the manual throughly (I didn't at first) this is vital as it provides valuable information on anything that affects your city. BUY THIS GAME, YOU WON'T REGRET IT. Reviewer: Andrew Black