SimCity 3000. Electronic Arts and Maxis,

Reviewed by Matt T. Rosenberg

Published on H-Urban (April, 1999)

The third version of the immensely popular high enough, skyscrapers will become a promi‐ SimCity computer simulation game is nent feature. But if you make your Sims unhappy, not just a fun computer game, it is also a useful buildings will become vacant and run-down.

tool for teaching urban development and issues. As the game progresses, the citizens will demand

In SimCity 3000, the individual more public services. Sims will ask for schools, li‐ playing the game is the "mayor" of their virtual braries, and museums to improve education, air‐ city. The game begins with a barren swath of land ports to improve commerce, seaports to improve which must be transformed into an urban envi‐ industry, stadiums to improve morale and hous‐ ronment. In this simulation, the mayor makes all ing values. Mayors can also choose from several decisions related to road construction, zoning, the transportation options from plain old roads to placement of power plants, fre stations, police subways to busses to railroads which move the stations, hospitals, schools, parks, water pumps, Sims around town (Sims are notorious for com‐ and many other civic features. The game simu‐ plaining about trafc problems). Additionally, as lates elapsed time, visible through a month and you reach certain milestones of city growth, you'll year clock on the status bar. There's no winning be granted certain "rewards" to build and proudly SimCity, it's just a matter of developing your city display in your city such as statues, a city hall, a to its outer limit of the available land and creating mayoral mansion.

The mayor is constrained the best city possible. However, you can "lose" in his city planning visions by budgetary re‐ your city through catastrophe or mismanaged straints. Each new public service creates added budgeting that makes your population (called annual expenses. Since this money comes out of "Sims" in the game) fee for greener pastures.

the city's cofers you may choose to raise taxes on As mayor, it's your job to build the city. Bringing your Sims, which, if you are not careful, could residences and commerce and industry to your cause your Sims to vote with their feet and move city requires zoning appropriate amounts of land away. It is the mayor's job to build the infrastruc‐ for each type of land use. Zoning costs money ture and amenities that will encourage Sims to from the city budget, but once parcels are zoned move in.

As your SimCity grows, residents and supplied with power from power plants and will bring their grievances or suggestions to you, water from pumping station, homes and business‐ the mayor, requesting that ordinances be passed es will begin to blossom automatically (as long as (which often cost precious funds) or that new ser‐ demand is sufcient). Improved properties pay vices be provided (such as a new marina or zoo). taxes and, of course, the higher the land value the In addition, the mayor will frequently hear rec‐ more taxes you collect. If your city's land value is ommendations from city department heads relat‐ H-Net Reviews ed to their areas of expertise. As with prior ver‐ well as a "lab" activity in any sort of urban studies sions of the game, the modeling of trafc, pollu‐ course, from urban history to planning to urban tion, and crime are quite advanced. Let any of geography. Students could be assigned one of the these three areas deteriorate and the Sims will many scenario or sample cities and asked to de‐ complain vociferously.

Disasters are the velop it to a certain point. Alternatively, instruc‐ scourge of the game. To prevent your city from tors can create a template city with all sorts of ur‐ burning to the ground, you'll need to ensure that ban problems for students to repair. Five minutes your fre department's coverage of the city is ade‐ of orientation to the program should allow most quate (you can monitor your city's development PC-familiar students to jump right in and build through a variety of maps--one of these is a (the program is icon- and graphic-based). While fammability map that shows fre department commonly thought of as pure entertainment, power along with the fre hazard for various ar‐ SimCity 3000 can and will teach stu‐ eas). Your SimCity may also fall prey to tornadoes, dents of urban studies valuable lessons about city foods, earthquakes (the sound of cats meowing growth and decision-making. Should they agree to loudly could provide ample warning), and yes, legalize gambling and build a casino in order to even UFO attacks --for each of these disasters acti‐ reap the fnancial benefts that go along with such vation of your city's emergency siren can reduce an agreement?

Students will probably be‐ death and destruction. Each disaster will cost come addicted but they're guaranteed to learn a funds and require an extensive clean-up efort lot from the real life-type models and scenarios in though redundancy of support systems and infra‐ SimCity 3000 (well, maybe except the structure along with good urban planning can re‐ part about UFO attacks ;-)

duce losses.

Those familiar with prior ver‐ sions of the game will appreciate many of the new advances in this third version. To name a few, mayors are responsible for creating waste dispos‐ al facilities such as landflls and recycling plants, the input of the constituent Sims is much greater, and there are increased opportunities to improve revenue through a variety of business deals with developers and neighboring cities. If you've used the prior versions of SimCity Classic or SimCity 2000, you'll defnitely want to upgrade to 3000, for the graphics, the de‐ tails, and the real-life look and feel have been greatly enhanced and are absolutely fantastic. In this latest version, your staf and constituents pro‐ vide a great deal more input--news and an‐ nouncements arrive via a news ticker that scrolls across the bottom of the screen, a big improve‐ ment on the irregular "newspapers" of prior ver‐ sions.

It is my feeling that SimCity 3000 is an interesting and entertaining re‐ source to help teach students about the dynamics of urban development. The program would work

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Citation: Matt T. Rosenberg. Review of SimCity 3000. H-Urban, H-Net Reviews. April, 1999.

URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=15205

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