SimCity 4 (2003 Video Game) User Reviews

Thought provoking, intriguing and mesmerizing

[Stenian · 8/10 · 4 November 2006]

When the original SimCity busted onto the computer scene way back in 1989, it stood out as more of a computer "toy" than a game. As Mayor of a little Podunk town, you needed to build roads, provide utilities and services, set the tax rates, and design the ultimate skyscraper- filled urban utopia.

The beauty of SimCity was that you didn't have to worry about "winning." You simply built whatever you wanted and watched with delight as your city streets filled with tiny pixilated cars and your industrial zones filled with delicious smog. The original SimCity was easy, relaxing, and addictive... Oh, so very addictive...

Subsequent sequels have followed the same formula for urban enjoyment, each adding new graphical enhancements, with varying degrees of success. SimCity 4, the latest incarnation of the series, is no different: you're still planning cities, solving problems, and watching them grow under your benevolent (well, sometimes benevolent) guidance. SimCity 4 takes advantage of today's powerful PCs by allowing you to get closer to your city or farther out than ever before.

You can follow individual Sims as they go through their life, or zoom all the way out to develop an entire region into an urban sprawl. While all of these enhancements make for a richer, cooler simulation, somewhere along the way the simplicity and easygoing enjoyment that made the original such a mainstream hit has been lost.

Were are all the comments on this game?

[slooo1 · 29 September 2004]

I want to say, this is one of my favorite games. Though I admit I don't use it for the intended purpose too much. I bought it last year when I heard you could use it to create neighborhoods for The Sims 2. So I did the mayor thing a couple times, but primarily I've used it to create wilder and wilder places to download into The Sims 2.

And while I dislike the lack of scale control on some of the God Mode stuff overall it is way cool. The one thing I really wish it had was an "undo" button. I hit the erosion button once and wiped out all my trees and a goodly portion of my mountain range. Bad.

Now I have actually used it to import into The Sims 2. I'm disappointed. The roads, which are so cool in SC4 are flattened out around hilltops and all the skins are removed. Not so great, but I still like the game. One other thing I forgot to add before is that I love, and I mean LOVE the music. I even imported it into The Sims 2 so I have better music than they gave that game.

But all and all, a really fun game. Even if I never play in Mayor Mode again.

Nostalgia trip

[casinggamingminecraft · 10/10 · 1 April 2019]

The best EA game ever!! Has the best gameplay. SUUUPER addicting, and overall an underrated game

Probably the greatest city builder ever

[EmperorHirohito · 10/10 · 2 October 2023]

SimCity 4 is probably the best city builder out there. The mechanics in this game are unique and unseen in other city builders for example, you don't need to supply some buildings like agriculture and industrial with water. If you do they will be more likely to expand but they will start to pollute the water which affects your sims which lets you as the mayor make some tough decision. The game also tasks you with the very real problem of class division. You can suffer from real world issues like a weak middle class which can start to affect your city's economy. The game also has something that a game like Cities: Skylines completely lacks. Character. From the 'goof stats' to the banter from the advisers, SimCity 4 gets everything right and is everything a city builder or game in general should aspire to be.

good game.

[atomius · 10/10 · 11 May 2005]

great game. you build a city... great sense of control and power and stuff. great music, graphics etc. quite entertaining... has a different feel to 2000 and 3000 and classic... not a bad one, but could use some improvements like full 3d vision (being able to view your city from different angles like from ground level and from tops of skyscrapers and stuff'd be cool) and more choices and stuff... great game. fun for hours and all that. one problem is no region terraforming tools and the reconcile edge tool is lametarded... creating smooth flowing landscape between cities is hard... but allround great game. pity they never made simcity 5... cos from what I've heard of 'societies' it sucks.

The best city simulation yet

[awlatate · 6 December 2005]

I would not really say this is a spoiler as such. Apart from accidentally erasing one of your own cities, how can you spoil something you ultimately create yourself? This is more a tool for people to create their own urban masterpieces than something to sit and watch.

As a piece of visual art, SimCity 4 (SC4) is an excellent piece of work and a piece of interactive entertainment (this is more than a game), it is easy to learn but can be difficult to master. There is so much to keep your eye on and it is not easy pleasing all of your Sims all of the time without bankrupting your city treasury.

From the furthest zoom where you can see your city overall down to even looking down on a city street and seeing Sims going about their business, the graphics are excellent. They are also relative to what you have in that area too. Chaingangs near jails, soldiers near army bases, business people in your commercial regions, children near schools. Also, when day gradually turns to night, you see the streetlights go on and the road vehicles turn their headlights on also.

Soundwise, the different areas of your city have the appropriate noises. In an industrial area, you will hear the sound of factories hard at work. In a farming region, you may hear the sound of animals and if you have an army base, you will hear your troops training.

As I said before, there is so much to consider but it is worth working on and sticking with. Also, with a large online community fan base, there is always something new for you to add to your game to either make it easier to play or even more realistic.

The De Luxe Version even has more to it and I recommend that even more. Now I have said how much I like it, please excuse me while I get back to the work of being a Sim mayor and deal with the gridlock in my inner city.