SimCity 4

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 360 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 305 out of 360
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 360
  3. Negative: 9 out of 360
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  1. GuilhemC
    Feb 3, 2007
    10
    This is the best game I have ever played in my intire life! one of the best parts of the game is destroying the city with the ufo, robots, meteors and so on..... BUY IT!
  2. malkin8
    Oct 10, 2018
    10
    Simcity 4 is an outstanding game. I have grown up all my life with Simcity, and by far, this is the best game in the series. My first experience of Simcity came from Simcity Ds when I was about 8 years old, and have been playing ever since. Compared to Simcity 3000, this game is a huge step up.
    Clearly aimed at experienced, PC gaming, simulator loving gamers, Simcity can satisfy all of    Simcity 4 is an outstanding game. I have grown up all my life with Simcity, and by far, this is the best game in the series. My first experience of Simcity came from Simcity Ds when I was about 8 years old, and have been playing ever since. Compared to Simcity 3000, this game is a huge step up.
    Clearly aimed at experienced, PC gaming, simulator loving gamers, Simcity can satisfy all of the requirements that are needed to make a great city simulator, and does so much more to interest the player.

    The game is orientated around grittier city building, or large gleaming metropolises, which, to a long term player, is a great change from the previous installments - where the design choices and city genres seemed somewhat limited.

    With so many buildings to choose from, you may expect a steep difficulty curve, which indeed is apparent as you play the game. However, there is a certain satisfaction as your first high-rises begin to develop!

    In my opinion, an important factor in gaming, is the music, as it creates most of the atmosphere. Simcity 4 does impress; it impresses a lot. The ambient music in the regional view, combined with the gritty, hard jazz in the mayor view, combine to create an incredible atmosphere, incomparable to previous entries in the series, despite the impressive jazz tracks in Simcity 3000. My favorite track in the game, known as ‘Zone System’ is an example of the perfection of ambient, gritty, depressing, but most of all, interesting, city-sounding music. It sets the atmosphere of the game perfectly, and captures the player’s and the sim’s emotions as you expand your corrupt city into a gleaming paradise.

    One of Simcity 4’s main selling points, is the region view. This is a grid of differently sized square plots, all connected together. Compared to Simcity 5, this set up is perfect. It allows players to create a huge metropolis, which would not have been possible in a single city, with a total plot size that would be impossible otherwise to run on a computer today, let alone back in 2003.
    Each individual cell, either 256x256, 128x128 or 64x64 tiles, can be landscaped by the player before creating their city. This could involve creating mountains, valleys, rivers, oceans or really any land form that the player could dream of.

    Alternatively, the player has the possibility to import maps off of Simtropolis, and though difficult to install, adds an extra element to the game – I’m currently working on a city in a region shaped as the UK, with the landscape shaped from a high detailed height map.

    Another selling point of the game is the implementation of features from The Sims. While these features are not necessary, they add a certain charm to the game. They allow the player to drive cars, fly planes, ride boats, control trains, or even drive a tank whilst destroying buildings with missiles.

    An important part of gaming is certainly the graphics and aesthetics, and Simcity 4 does not disappoint. The graphics, while pixelated once zoomed in, are amazing. Loads of buildings have interesting features, even with customized gardens or small details such as cars. The view of the game is isometric, and the player can rotate the view by 90 degrees, in order to see parts of the map that may be hidden. This is an important feature, especially when working around hills. What I would have liked though is a feature where the player could view the map from birds-eye-view, but I can understand there may have been hardware limitations back in 2003 that may have made this impossible.

    Simcity 4 gives the player access to many natural disasters and scenarios. Meteorites, tornadoes and earthquakes can be summoned by the player at any time, along with many other disasters. An example of an interesting scenario is if a nuclear power plant explodes, causing a lot of radiation to be expelled into the city. This can be interesting if the player wants a challenge, or just fun to destroy a huge metropolis!

    Simcity 4 does have a few problems however, though not major if you know how to overcome them. The most prominent problem is the commute time being too difficult to manage.

    Another issue is the constant industrial demand, where the player would need to build huge cities dedicated only towards industrial. This can be rather boring, as industrial development is limited, but can be improved by adding a mod that quarters the industrial demand.

    Overall, Simcity 4 is a steal on Origin! For such an amazing game as this, with so many customization options, and such amazing music and game play, it is definitely worth the low price, despite being 15 years old. I would rate Simcity 4 a 10/10 simply for the enjoyment of the playing the game, but I would recommend that new players start with an easier game, Simcity 3000 or Simcity Ds, in order to introduce themselves to the basic fundamental ideas of how to play and manage a city.    … Expand
  3. [Anonymous]
    Jan 16, 2003
    10
    Not just an evolutionary step, a truly revolutionary one! Far more immersive than past efforts, and as much micro management as you want (or don't). Perfect!
  4. BennettM.
    Mar 1, 2003
    7
    SimCity as it was meant to be. Beautiful and well done, this game will delight any SimCity fan. However, finances are ludicrously impossible, and the game is merely a perfection of the previous games, and is really nothing new.
  5. K.W.
    Jan 31, 2005
    10
    One of the best computer games ever made! Such a great timekiller!
  6. WaltB
    Oct 29, 2009
    9
    This is a good game that has become excellent over time with additional PC processing power, graphics and even user-made add-ons. Probably the deepest and best City simulator of all time.
  7. CaKeS
    Dec 29, 2013
    9
    The perfect city-building simulation game! I've spent SO many hours of my childhood making cities and destroying them, that I lost track years ago. I've always held this game in a special place in my heart, and for good reason. It's very well constructed, it seems accurate enough (from a citizen's standpoint), the graphics do not disappoint for it's time period, the gameplay isThe perfect city-building simulation game! I've spent SO many hours of my childhood making cities and destroying them, that I lost track years ago. I've always held this game in a special place in my heart, and for good reason. It's very well constructed, it seems accurate enough (from a citizen's standpoint), the graphics do not disappoint for it's time period, the gameplay is exhilarating and keeps you on your toes. It feels great to be in control of a city of hundreds of thousands of people (for me, even a million!). It makes you feel accurately powerful and that you've truly accomplished something. I played this SimCity before any of the others, but I believe this one's the best either way. The control and interface is spot-on perfect, and all of the utilities and missions you can do keep you interested for hours and hours! There was so much promise in this game series, as this was in my top three all-time favorite games growing up (before I got into Steam and such), but my god EA, SimCity 5 is probably the biggest gaming disappointment in my entire life.… Expand
  8. WilliamG.
    Jan 3, 2005
    10
    Best sim city ever created!!!!!
  9. NickM.
    Mar 20, 2007
    9
    Awesome game, its about as realistic as a game can get as far as strategy....the only thing keeping it from being a ten is some slight technical problems: it takes forever to load, it occasionally has some freezing problems....but the problems aren't major enough for me to stop playin it....its worth it.
  10. LuisL.
    Apr 20, 2003
    10
    C'est magnifique.
  11. JosephJ.
    Apr 26, 2004
    10
    NICE!!!
  12. KevinG.
    Oct 25, 2006
    8
    It took me three goes to get it right but eventually I got my city off the ground. But the budgeting is ridiculous in this game, you should have more sources of income to counterbalance the seemingly enourmous drains of utilities, services etc. But other wise a great game maybe too hard for someone not used to the previous titles.
  13. JoshH.
    Apr 5, 2006
    9
    Superb they must make a fith game. Not sure which is better, 3000 or 4 but who cares, buy this game(and its expansion, makes it way better) BUY IT
  14. SamF.
    Sep 24, 2006
    9
    Once you start playing your hooked... trying to balance out money, your sims happiness and all the available infrastructure is an amazing feat. Best yet.
  15. GOD
    Jan 15, 2003
    10
    Endorsed by me!
  16. LenaS.
    Nov 3, 2004
    10
    Beatiful graphics & feeling, a great timekiller!
  17. JacobK.
    Apr 24, 2004
    10
    This game was weird when I first played it becouse almost nothing is based on tiles. then i found out you can make tress in exact spots it takes time to make stuff, it makes it seem like when you make something, that it falls from the sky, you can see people everywhere practicle, and that you can terraform before you start your city for free in god mode. You start with $100,000. Its justThis game was weird when I first played it becouse almost nothing is based on tiles. then i found out you can make tress in exact spots it takes time to make stuff, it makes it seem like when you make something, that it falls from the sky, you can see people everywhere practicle, and that you can terraform before you start your city for free in god mode. You start with $100,000. Its just overloaded my brain with fun. when i quit and walked out of my room i think i found a little pice of my brain by the light switch(LOL).… Expand
  18. KalanYamato
    Mar 21, 2013
    9
    An incredible game, it has kept me entertained for so many years making cities is very fun and the simulation is quite deep and complex, but sitll retaining a fair difficulty level for those less patient (coming from someone who plays in Rush Hour). Great Sim City.
  19. BeatHour
    Jul 7, 2013
    7
    I wrote a scathing review before, but I have to say the game isn't quite that bad. Sure, it has a quite a few crash bugs and falls flat in some places, but altogether the regional map is nice and the development of the city is fun to watch and manipulate. There are some annoying things, like terrain pathing for building placements (like, a lot of the time housing built on a hill will justI wrote a scathing review before, but I have to say the game isn't quite that bad. Sure, it has a quite a few crash bugs and falls flat in some places, but altogether the regional map is nice and the development of the city is fun to watch and manipulate. There are some annoying things, like terrain pathing for building placements (like, a lot of the time housing built on a hill will just make a garage spring up). But more than that isn't to be expected from a 10 year old game, which was just getting a grip on its technology.

    Still, here's some points from that old review that I still think are worthy of consideration:

    "SimCity 4 loses much in the way of atmosphere from the previous title. The great caricatures from SimCity 3000 are replaced with sprites from The Sims (classic) when Sims 2 was already out. What? There's still the uptown jazz, but some of it is annoying and repetitive. Graphically, its only a marginal improvement over SimCity 3000 and doesn't fully utilize hardware available at the time.

    As to mechanics, there's not much to do but zoning and planning. One of the reasons why SimCity (2013) revolutionizes the series is because it gives you something more to do than just lay down streets, pipes, and zones. Once you get everything layed out, you'll find there's nothing to do but build a new city.

    There's also some arbitrary things like power lines, which have no real purpose except making islands a little harder to play. Not really, because you can just lay down one wind turbine and its all good."    … Expand
  20. Osmium
    Jul 30, 2013
    8
    To this day, still the best city building simulation (and certainly so much better than the lastest Sim City). Sim City 4 lets you play God and create your own region, terrain, and of course cities. Design, build, destroy your own cities, so much fun. Gets repetitive, but only after something like 50 or more hours once you have discovered all the special buildings. And then you can stillTo this day, still the best city building simulation (and certainly so much better than the lastest Sim City). Sim City 4 lets you play God and create your own region, terrain, and of course cities. Design, build, destroy your own cities, so much fun. Gets repetitive, but only after something like 50 or more hours once you have discovered all the special buildings. And then you can still gets dozens of great mods for this game. Definitely recommendable for anyone who from time to time feels like actually creating stuff in a videogame rather than destroying.… Expand
  21. WCheffirs
    Dec 8, 2013
    10
    Over a decade on there is nothing that comes close to SimCIty 4. The map size is huge, the detail and graphics are beautiful especially at night-time and the core of the game is challenging but very rewarding. Starting as an agricultural city with high profit ratios, your city expands and many of the corresponding issues that plague big cities build up till you find yourself trying toOver a decade on there is nothing that comes close to SimCIty 4. The map size is huge, the detail and graphics are beautiful especially at night-time and the core of the game is challenging but very rewarding. Starting as an agricultural city with high profit ratios, your city expands and many of the corresponding issues that plague big cities build up till you find yourself trying to juggle all your cities demands. Unlike previous and future SimCity games this one is enthralling from start till...we always which can become a problem for ones social life. I consider this to be a perfect game.… Expand
  22. DiogoC
    Jun 28, 2008
    10
    The improved graphics and the marvelous taste of challenge makes this the best SimCity ever!
  23. nichollz
    Mar 5, 2013
    10
    This game is stunning and so far ahead of its time it's crazy. Probably Maxis' finest achievement. Will anyone be playing SimCity2013 in 10 years?......
  24. Ian277
    Feb 8, 2013
    9
    one of the best game i have played. you can create entire countries and continents, shape mountains an plains. and also create beautiful and intricate cities. many good things about this game, and a few cons of annoying advisers and bad pollution.
  25. Daneoid
    Mar 7, 2013
    10
    The last true simcity to be made. The epic culmination of the games that came before it, presented with perfect, goal driven gameplay, a steep learning curve that screamed out accomplishment! when you overcame it, so many hours, so much creativity to be had, easily moddable, one of the top 5 games ever made.
  26. CRL
    Jul 25, 2011
    7
    Once you get the hang of building a city, this game will eat up hours without you noticing. It's fun, challenging, realistic enough... and sometimes if you're having a bad day, it's just what you need to send an asteroid crashing down into a city.
  27. MrDMan
    Mar 10, 2013
    10
    A city simulation that allows for total control and customization. Ten years later the game is still a huge hit with the modding community and still has plenty of replay value. I'm not sure there will ever be another city simulation game like this one.
  28. MattR.
    Feb 8, 2003
    5
    This game lacks the spirit and fun of the earlier games. It is also much too hard, in the sense that going bankrupt is a given. The graphics are great, but the game is very taxing on even a high end rig. Also, there are stability issues that cause the program to crash.
  29. Nick
    May 3, 2003
    1
    Games crashes after every 5 minutes. Despite fast machine and all patches, divers etc downloaded. Think twice....
  30. MattD.
    Sep 18, 2003
    3
    While the mechanics of the game have been improved yet again (saving this from the possibility of a 2 or lower), making it much more realistic, the designers seem to have forgotten one thing: when there are a lot more things to drain your money, you should start with MORE MONEY. In short, an "easy" game here is the rough equivalent of the hardest levels on SC2K and SC3K, and a "hard" While the mechanics of the game have been improved yet again (saving this from the possibility of a 2 or lower), making it much more realistic, the designers seem to have forgotten one thing: when there are a lot more things to drain your money, you should start with MORE MONEY. In short, an "easy" game here is the rough equivalent of the hardest levels on SC2K and SC3K, and a "hard" game... *gag* don't even make me talk about it. The ridiculously high difficulty has kept me from playing this game enjoyably and has put me back into the mood to design a competitor to this game... all the ability to micromanage your city, but with a much nicer learning curve.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

25
#25 Best PC Game of 2003
16
#16 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
14
#14 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. GameSpot
    81
    Due to the presence of some stability and performance issues, as well as a few noticeably lacking features, SimCity 4 doesn't seem as polished as it could have been.
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  2. Gaming Age
    83
    Technical sim junkies will have a lot to build, destroy, and monitor, but newbies might want to run for shelter.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpy
    75
    Unfortunately the high system requirements and tedium of building will probably turn away hordes of players who otherwise would've had a great time.
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See all critic reviews »