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SimCity
3000 Unlimited: In Depth
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Jason Wilson
SimCity
3000 Unlimited begs the question, is it just an expansion
pack or more?
SimCity
3000 was released in February of 1999. Shortly one and one-half
years after that time, SimCity 3000 was released in May of
2000. SimCity 3000 Unlimited was touted as having even more
landscapes, more disasters, and more buildings. But fans who
jumped the SimCity 3000 bandwagon had the question, "Is
it worth it?"
SimCity
3000 Unlimited includes an array of new features that weren't
available in SimCity 3000. Now, instead of having one building
set you have multiple sets to choose from. The first of course
being the original, but now you could change to an Asian building
set, or an European building set. Also included (which many
fans complained about it's absence in SimCity 3000) was the
ability to play scenarios! Not only that, you could make your
own, and share them over the internet. For those who like
to tear down what they built up, Maxis included 4 more disasters
to please you to your whims. Yes, there's even more. Players
now have the ability to customize the terrain as they like.
Anything from snow covered mountains, to deserts, it's all
inside. Last but not least, a popular feature in SimCity 2000
that somehow missed it into SimCity 3000, the ability to edit
your terrain before you started building.
The actual
gameplay of Unlimited hasn't changed much from SimCity 3000.
It's all the same idea, build a metropolis all while balancing
taxes, and keeping your sims content. Those looking for an
increase in gameplay won't find it here.
Unlimited
now gives you the ability to make things a lot more customizable.
Whether it's the terrain, the buildings, or scenarios. Maxis
has really allowed fans to do a lot more than they could before.
One major tool that has been included on the CD is the Building
Architect Tool Plus. Previously, it had to be downloaded from
the website and was a pretty hefty download as well. Now that
an upgraded version is included, you can do as much as you
could do before, along with placing "props".
Another
thing that Maxis has made more customizable is the scenarios.
They've included a tool that will allow you to tweak a scenario
to your liking in anyway. It's quite easy to use once you've
gotten used to it, and fun to play with. You can specify what
sort of disasters, what time they'll take place, and where
they will strike. You can also change different aspects of
the game, such as crime, or education. If pollution gets to
too high of a level (at your specification) it could cause
your victim... I mean players to lose the game. Of course
this can be done with pretty much any aspect of the game that
has a value attached to it.
Still,
one of the biggest changes is the ability to change the building
set from America to European to Asian. The two new building
sets are just amazing. Changing to the Asian set allows you
to create a city that you would imagine look much like Hong
Kong, or Beijing. Changing to the European set you could create
a city to be a replica of London, or even Berlin. Changing
the set changes almost everything from police stations, to
schools. Building a sports field under the European set won't
get you a ballpark, it becomes a soccer field. Changes like
these is what makes the game even more fun.
No more
boring green and brown terrain. There's snow now! You can
have redwood trees! And it's all easy to change on a whim.
Even with
all these new features, and different ways to customize the
game, it's still the same SimCity, just with more eyecandy.
The full game price is bound to drive away SimCity 3000 owners,
as Maxis has claimed this isn't an "expansion pack"
but a whole new games in itself. SimCity 3000 Unlimited does
not require SimCity 3000 to install, so it will bring new
users into the series. Maxis has created a great game overall,
they just should have provided a discount for those that own
SimCity 3000.
Overall,
it's a good game, but nothing completely new. A minimal "upgrade"
to an already good game which makes it worth the buy if you
don't own SimCity 3000.
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Gameplay
Nothing much has changed from SimCity 3000.
Same old, same old...
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8
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Presentation
Excellent
is all I can say. A manual 1" thick that goes
into just about every aspect of the game. The box
is colorful and impressive. |
9.5
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Graphics
New buildings, and new landscapes, even more
landmarks. But still the same as SimCity 3000. |
9
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Sound
The overall area sound hasn't changed much,
but Maxis included some more "foreign"
soundtracks to add to the game. Although, they
took out some of the more upbeat tracks from SimCity
3000.
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9
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Appeal
The game costs as much as a new game, which will
drive away those who jumped at SimCity 3000. But
for those that didn't get to it the first time around,
it's a great buy. |
8
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Overall
Rating: 8.7 out of 10
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Yes!
You can buy SimCity
3000 Unlimited at our online store!
Jump
to: SimCity
3000: In Depth
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