SimCity Societies (PC)

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

If you can imagine Stalin with a copy of Dwell magazine, you might have some idea of what's going on in the SimCity universe.

Signaling a new chapter in the Sim empire and a slight change of focus for the SimCity games, SimCity Societies attempts a tightwire act of upgrading all the city-building fun that has kept the series viable for almost 20 years while freshening up the formula with more than a graphical overhaul and the usual pile of new buttons to press.

So what's the first thing you do when reimagining a classic? Throw out the thing that made it unique, of course.

In a bold, almost reckless move, Societies takes the step of discarding zoning from the game. Plotting out industrial, residential and commercial zones isn't just a part of the SimCity game series; in a significant sense, it is the game. It might seem strange to think of land-use controls through zoning as one of the most classic gameplay mechanics of all time. But ask any SimCity player about their preferred layout of those little green, blue and yellow territories that blossom factories, homes and shops like bacteria in a petri dish and you can start to understand what a big deal it is to simply junk the heart of the old game.

Not surprisingly, this tactic delivers mixed results.

The next chapter in the Sim saga starts with an open field and no need to organize your city by use. In this SimCity, you place buildings according to your own master plan. As long as the ground is flat and the lot big enough, you can jumble structures together any which way you choose. Put a corner market next to a set of houses, wantonly mixing commercial and residential uses. Throw a row of churches or temples in between some factories and bars of a working class district and see what happens. Always dreamed of opening a clown college next to a bank? SimCity Societies lets you live the dream.

Being a game and not just a dollhouse kit of parts, Societies does provide a system of constraints designed to provide some city management fun. To get a town to work and open up the full range of building types, players now must worry about something called "social energies." Buildings consume or create one or more of the game's energies: productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority and knowledge. And while every city will end up with a mix of different energies, the game encourages you to focus on one or two when shaping the soul of your city, from an arty San Francisco or a brainy Boston to a holier-than-thou Buddhist retreat.

It's a neat idea, but one that bogs down under a raft of niggling details that will frustrate the dedicated city planner, because as often as not, the energies generated or used by buildings seem arbitrary or just plain odd.

Understanding that an aquarium generates knowledge energy makes sense: You can imagine tiny school groups wandering in and leaving, filled with the knowledge of the mating habits of manta rays. Other buildings, however, leave you scratching your head or looking for the inside joke: Bath houses generate spirituality? Uh, OK. The art museum consumes spirit while generating creativity? Hmm. Build a cathedral and it will consume spirit at a rate slower than the dojo produces it while the evangelical megaplex cranks out spirituality at a rate three times greater than it consumes prosperity.