This is one of those games you use to measure others against when you want to call them "classic" games.
First off - the game won people over with gameplay alone. Sounds were beeps through your IBM and graffix, come on - this game is around 20 years old. Looking back now they are terrible.
But you know what?
There isnt a week that goes by that I don't wish I was still able to play this on my Windows 7 system.
This game was amazing, way outside the box as there was nothign else like it on the market.
You were in charge of building a city from literally nothing...there were literally a million ways to do it. You had to determine residential zones vs. commercial zones, parks, you could change elevation of the grounds, etc and all on a budget. The game was so revolutionary I cant even begin to say how much this game rocked.
Oregon Trail eat your heart out, this is the true gem of the era.