GameSpy: E3 2007 SimCity Societies Preview The last time I looked at SimCity: Societies I tried to get in-depth with various aspects of the game's strategic model and game philosophy. That's fine in an environment where one can spend the time examining the title in fine detail and asking probing questions of the developer. E3, however, is no place to do those kinds of investigations. This time around I'd have to be satisfied with a more surface examination of the title -- mostly sitting back and enjoying the pretty representations of a city onscreen. As it turned out, though, this was just what I needed to really begin to appreciate what Tilted Mill is trying to do with the title. City-building fans often dismiss the importance of graphics in favor of appreciating the river of numbers that underlies the city simulation. Yet what is the reward of all the hard work of balancing tax rates, plopping down industrial zones and budgeting city services if not the ability to look at a beautiful, well-ordered city full of happy citizens going about their daily lives? SimCity: Societies takes this dynamic one better by offering all kinds of visual rewards both large and small as a reward for properly managing the "societal values" of their virtual city. "Societal values" are the renamed "social energies" that constitute much of what the player must produce and manage. Read More!
