SimCity Societies (PC)

Paving a bold new path.
1/30/2008 12:00 AM | 0 Comments | Page 3 of 3

If all this sounds strangely familiar, that's because it is. Play Societies for a while and you realize that you are actually playing real-time strategy game without a threatening enemy. You just build and build and build and the taxes come pouring in. You build until every useable piece of land has been consumed and then you only have the disasters menu you tempt you. And, why not? With coffers filled with funds fleeced from simple-minded Sims just happy that you unleashed some mimes to entertain the masses or that you built a fountain, money is never really an issue. You can tear down and rebuild to your totalitarian heart's content.

Ultimately, the success of Societies depends on the same thing every city needs: community. By exposing, documenting and supporting many of the game's content-creation tools, SimCity Societies invites players to create new buildings and Sims, to alter and invent new behaviors in the game, and to load up their own maps. Sure, it's only a matter of time until someone adds a nudist city mod. Likewise, more the devious-minded modders can explore topics such as cities with no jobs, limits on the number of children, curfews and death penalties for those mimes. Only once we've seen what players do when they crack open the sandbox and build with what they find will we learn the real possibilities of this simulated society.

This review was based on pre-release code provided by the publisher and a final boxed copy of the game with update #2 applied, purchased by Crispy Gamer.