When Will Wright masterminded Sim City back in 1989, I don’t think anybody would have guessed that almost 20 years later the market for city simulations would still be expanding, and expanding it is! With bigger and better buildings, more detailed textures, and a soothing upbeat soundtrack, City Life stands out like the Sears Tower of city simulations. Streamlining some of the more hassling aspects out and adding some more meticulous financial additions, the game provides and upgraded and enjoyable play, even if it doesn’t re-define the genre.

For starters, the game takes a ridiculously long time to install. I really don’t know if it was just my computer, but you could probably watch a whole wall of paint dry before this massive DVD installs. When you do finally get into the game, you will be greeted with some awkward tutorials that look more like Internet gif tutorials. It’s a series of looping instruction screens with a paragraph summary underneath. So after reading about two of those you get the basic idea and scrap the whole tutorial thing and jump right in.

You will first choose the land for your city to reside on, and the first structure to be built on it is the city hall. This is the center and initial building block of your soon-to-be mega-tropolis. From there the goal is attract as many citizens as possible to begin work. You will build a series of residential and industrial grids but City Life doesn’t make it that easy. You are further challenged with more complex construction choices because of class differentiations. With a mix of people comes a mix in culture and sometimes disagreement ensues. You must strategically place your different class groups as carefully as possible as to avoid conflict while also worrying about providing power, recycling and trash plants, hospitals, schools, and fire stations etc. The main goal here is to find the perfect cost/provision ratios.

The UI to City Life does a fairly good job in assisting the player. Consisting of a few basic categorical buttons, they each break down into slightly more complex sections as you get deeper into your needs (i.e. most impact to least impact). There is also a TV-monitor looking news updater at the bottom right hand of the screen. This provides both visual and textual based updates and suggestions within your city. That particular feature is by far the most helpful and appreciated when first starting the game and probably makes up for the less-than-helpful tutorial on how to start your city.

But before you know it there will be a sprawling metropolis that will keep you busy as well as give you something to smile about when you zoom out to watch it come to life. Speaking of zooming, this game gets the hands-down award for most zoom freedom (that is until Spore is released). With the scroll of a mouse wheel you can zoom out to see your city in post-it note size and then immediately zoom in and follow and individual person waltzing around the streets. It’s one of the most rewarding features of the game.

And a good game it is. Even though City Life doesn’t blow the competition out of the water, it is a very fun and satisfying sim experience. Who could complain about taking all the best and proven features of past sims and giving them a pretty facelift? If you are addicted to Sim City, definitely consider giving City Life a chance. Besides, it’s not every day you get a opportunity to play mayor…

Gameplay: 8.2
Although a lack of thorough tutorials starts you out slightly confused, City Life comes together quickly and provides an enjoyable smooth experience.

Graphics: 8.7
Some of the best I’ve seen for a city simulation; it’s just a shame that’s not much to live up to.

Sound: 9.0
Very upbeat and sometimes relaxing soundtrack. Even though it’s short on tracks, the existing ones fit perfectly.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.9
City Life learned well from Will Wright and his pioneering franchise, and plays it safe by sticking to these proven formulas.

Overall: 8.2
If you are a city simulation fan it would be hard to pass this one up. If you are a casual sim fan; definitely let this one at least perk your interest, my guess is you won’t be disappointed.