Inside Social Games

The next big game is out on the iPhone, and is definitely a “must have” if you play games at all on the platform. EA has released the classic, community building, Will Wright title, SimCity for both the iPhone and the iPod touch.

There was, of course, concern over how the game would play with the lack of a mouse. It seemed unlikely that the game would be as good, or that it would end up being streamlined or “light” version of the original title. Surprisingly, however, none of this is the case. The iPhone SimCity is the real deal – a full on version of the original game with nothing really changed (sans the obvious control scheme). Yes, that means the game still has pre-built cities, accountant recommendations, water pipes, and the ever coveted natural disasters.

The missing mouse doesn’t seem to be a big deal either. The player controls the game just like they would Google maps: Sliding your fingers together zooms in while sliding them apart zooms outward and touching and dragging moves the view around. Everything is controlled via the touch screen, and basically turns your fingers into a mouse. Placing zones, for example, simply involves touching and dragging your preferred width and length.

However, there is rarely ever a perfect solution, and there are times, especially in denser areas, where zones might overlap, or roads may not line up properly. EA has taken this into consideration and has allowed the user to easily correct mistakes by merely touching the unwanted areas, but occasionally it can be a little frustrating since you can often delete or move the wrong item.

Regardless of some slightly awkward situations, the game sill looks and plays fantastic. It has beautiful 2D sprites have very intricate details, particle emissions, and delicate shading. Overall, the graphical quality is comparable to SimCity 3000.
Anyone that has played the original can truly appreciate the level in which it was preserved during the port and is wonderful entertainment for both new and veteran players.

Furthermore, considering the time investment that came with all of Will Wright’s previous creations, SimCity is an ideal iPhone game when it comes to mobile entertainment. Anyone that has an iPhone should definitely own this game.