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"SimCity," a game by Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS), is available for US$9.99 at the App Store.
I'm not usually a big spender when it comes to iPhone games. Due possibly to past experiences on other phones, I'm often doubtful that any game playable on a cell phone would be worth $10.
However, Electronic Arts' release of "SimCity" on the iPhone was enough to make me take a chance. I've played "SimCity" games on the PC since the first installment back in the '80s, and I half expected the iPhone version to be extremely trimmed down in terms of both features and appearance.
However, the game surprised me with its depth and detail. It also left me feeling a little restrained.
If You Build It ...
Anyone familiar with the "SimCity" series should be able to start building right away, though there are built-in tutorials for the uninitiated.
You get several square miles of green countryside to develop into whatever sort of city or town you want to create. Once you've provided roads, power and water, buildings ranging from bungalows to skyscrapers start popping up. You'll need to provide landfill space and incinerators, but mind that pollution. Balance the budget to keep the money flowing, build schools to ensure a smarter workforce, and maintain a stable balance of industrial, residential and commercial districts, with varying densities.
The game's menus, layout and graphics are among the best I've seen in an iPhone game. Its overall appearance closely resembles "SimCity 3000" -- the highpoint of the series before "SimCity 4" lost me with over-complexity.
Fans of "SC3K" will notice a few limitations in the iPhone version. Hills are virtually non-existent, and you don't have as many options when it comes to editing the terrain before starting your city. Some of the grandest skyscrapers from "SC3K" never came up in the posh financial districts I set up (perhaps they weren't as posh as I imagined?), and you're not allowed to choose what year to begin in or which style of architecture (U.S., European or Asian) you want to dominate your skyline.
Despite the absence of these features, some of the best parts of "SC3K" remain, including many of the gift buildings like the performing arts center and the option to throw in a few world-famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building at no charge.
The interface makes few dramatic departures in its transition from mouse to multitouch. Pinching the screen zooms your view in and out just like with the iPhone's Web browser. To build roads, structures and zones, just draw them with your finger, move them into place if you need to, and tap the green checkmark box at the bottom of the screen.
What I didn't like about the interface was having to re-select an item each time I wanted to build it. For example, let's say I wanted to line my main drag with a dozen or so small parks. Instead of selecting a small park option and touching each spot that I want a park to appear in, I have to go through a series of menu items and re-select the small park icon again and again. What could have been done in 12 clicks now takes 48 taps, with a little flicking, loading time and an occasional crash thrown in. Patience is required.
Dreaming Bigger
The item re-select issue is part of a larger quarrel I have with "SimCity" for iPhone: Can a game this big be fun on a platform this small?
That perhaps depends on how much "SimCity" you've played on a regular computer and how you like to play it. Those used to playing the game on a big screen may feel somewhat limited on the iPhone version.
It's not that the iPhone lacks the processing power to make "SimCity" roll -- it seems to chug along just as quickly on my phone as the real "SC3K" would on a typical PC circa 2000. The problem lies more with the size of the screen, which sometimes feels like it doesn't do justice to the game's "I-am-ruler-of-the-universe" point-of-view.
The iPhone's 3.5-inch screen is a good enough window to view your creation as you eke out small developments in a newly created village. But things get more cumbersome as your city grows and you have the opportunity to be more creative. What about when you have a population in the hundreds of thousands, a coffer full of cash and the urge to create a tremendous new central development project? What if I want to gut the disorganized heart of my city and repave it into a well-planned downtown full of parks, landmarks and skyscrapers?
To me, mass destruction and rebuilding is what makes SimCity truly engrossing and fun. There's nothing about the iPhone version of the game that makes a project like that impossible -- the depth and detail are there, it's just more enjoyable to use it on full-sized screen, where you can accurately plan out new roads, zones and structures even while looking at your city from a highly elevated viewpoint. At 3.5 inches, I sometimes times felt like I was trying to paint a house with a watercolor brush.
Mayor or Dictator?
Is this comparison fair? It really depends on your playing style. This game promises "SimCity" on an iPhone, and that's exactly what it delivers, along with an impressive level of detail.
If you're a player who prefers to grow your town piece by piece -- you know, the way cities in the real world usually get built -- then "SimCity" for the iPhone is worth the price.
On the other hand, if you more enjoy laying waste to old districts and planning out spacious, blocks-wide urban centers -- sort of like a dictator ordering a massive redevelopment project -- then you might find yourself frustrated and held back by the game's interface.
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