There is enough replay value in this game to make it worth the money.

User Rating: 8.6 | SimCity 2000 Special Edition (Electronic Arts) PC
SimCity, a very popular city builder game franchise, and arguably one of the most addictive games of all time. Many SimCity fans just get hooked on for hours. It is just so hard to imagine why this game is addicting, it just is. I'll take a look at the second installment, SimCity 2000.

SimCity 2000 allows you to start a city either in 1900, 1950, 2000 or 2050, with different technology in each. You first must lay down your Power Plant, then roads, jobs and houses, as well as many more buildings to get your city up and running, while avoiding major issues like crime and bankrupcy. Choosing what buildings you put down can change your city. For example, lets say that you're cheap, and choose to build no Fire Stations, Hospitals, Police Stations, Schools etc. Though your city will be weak in those categories, and maybe a lower population, you will still have a strong city as far as money goes. Put those down, it may be vise versia. There is enough replay value in this game to make it worth the money. You can build a city that you would want to have a large population, you may want a small town with a low population, or you just may want a town suitable for tourists.

With all this replay value in, the Learning Curve also jumps in. It may sound easy, but the learning curve may be long for some people. You may not know everything that works for the city. You may not know how to get people in your city. You may not know how to get your zones fully prepared for full population. That said, once you get past it, it is just a very simple game that you will enjoy.

The graphics are pretty good for it's time, but then again not overly great. Some of the buildings designs are done well, will a good amount of 2D detail. However, some aren't so pretty. You will notice that the ground has no detail in it at all. It is just a flat, light brown plain. Also, fire doesn't look like fire at all. It just looks like a red and orange blob that's spiky. Nevertheless, most of the game's art is still done quite well.

As for the sound, that is where SimCity 2000 trips on the wire. I face many problems with the sound. I hate it when a game is dead silent, but when the sound is turned on as well as the music, it is just too loud to listen to, and it isn't pleasant to listen to either. They are just loud, repetative, soundtrack. Also, the sound effects aren't worth listening to either. The destruction of buildings is one of the games worst sound effects, and when you've got a massive hurricane coming through, the sound is as annoying as it can get in any game you've played. Yes, there are many flaws in the sound.

Also, there is a sense of unrealism in the game, especially when it comes to disasters and newspapers. First, your Power Plants blow up 50 years. Like, come on. Do you hear on the news that the power plant is going to explode in one year? What would happen if a nuclear power plant exploded? When a hurricane comes in, you will notice that buildings blow up from water. Most hurricanes destroy buildings with high winds, and just basically screw up buildings. Also, there are many, many mistakes in the newspapers. Lets say that a tornado goes through open land. In the newspaper, it says that it swirled in the heart of your town, causing millions of dollars in damage and a thousand deaths. Wow, I never knew about the invisible town that was there. I really didn't. Also, when they publish something about an earthquake, it would say the scale was was 143, while the highest is actually 12. Also, it will say a story about 8000 people dying in Chicago due to a tornado, yet when you open up the story, it says no one died, but 8000 people got injured. What if they published that in a newspaper. In spite of this, the game has enough positives to it to keep the score higher.

There are also missions you can play. Some are real and some are fake natural disasters. You will find some like Hurricane Andrew, Hugo, San Francisco earthquake of 1989 and many more. You must take over the city and get it to a set goal. Even though the goals are repetative, these may be worth playing. However, they do not cash in full addiction, so this may not be the best for most people, and just stick to normal mode.

But in the end, SimCity 2000 is a highly addicting game that should keep you hooked for a good long while. The graphics may not look clean, and you may hate the sound, but this game still keeps in many positives to keep it enjoyable.