[wycked]

I bought City Life Deluxe yesterday and it suddenly hit me that I hadn't seen that many sim games the past few years.
It was the simulation games that got me into gaming yeras ago. The first PC game I ever played was Sim City, and from there I went through the usual stack of sim games like Sim Tower, Theme Hospital, Theme Park, Caesar, The Sims etc. and many sequels to the different games. These days there don't seem to be made all that many sim games, (I know there's a Hospital Tycoon in the make though) and the ones I've seen have received mediocre reviews at the best. I thought sim games would always have a fairly big audience, but maybe I was wrong? Or have they just ran out of ideas?
I would've loved to see a remake of some of the old games, one of them being Sim Park. I know, it was a kids' game, but my little sister had it and it looked like good fun. Just think what they could have done with this idea today and how beautiful it would've looked ^^ Make and manage National Parks, choose between a wide range of different climates from swamps to high mountains. Build visitor centers with souvenir shops and cafes/restaurants, rental cabins etc etc., everything good parks need. There are many additional ways to make money. Stables with rental horses. Arrange hiking trips, canoing, rafting, mountain climbing, chopper rides etc. etc.
I wonder why there isn't a game like this out already? I think it would sell ^^
OK, that was the rant. Now to the question;

Has there been made any good sim games say, the last 5 years? I am wondering if I have missed a pearl

[insane_cobra]

Actually, there have been quite a few recently, but the mainstream gaming press practically ignores them. Maybe because the PC is still their natural habitat and nowadays consoles are all the rage. Some of them even manage to achieve very good sales, but you rarely hear about that. I guess sim/god games players are not a particularly loud bunch, they probably prefer playing their games to arguing about them.

So here's a few relatively recent examples (some of them walking a line between sims and strategy games): Sid Meier's Railroads!, The Movies, Evil Genius, CivCity: Rome, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Supreme Ruler 2010, Peacemaker, various games made by Positech, Zoo Tycoon 2... This is a good place to look.

Speaking of a somewhat different kind of sims, I have this strange urge for checking out Silent Hunter 4 and I've never played a submarine sim in my life.

[wycked]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

Actually, there have been quite a few recently, but the mainstream gaming press practically ignores them. Maybe because the PC is still their natural habitat and nowadays consoles are all the rage. Some of them even manage to achieve very good sales, but you rarely hear about that.

That's so true

So here's a few relatively recent examples (some of them walking a line between sims and strategy games): Sid Meier's Railroads!, The Movies, Evil Genius, CivCity: Rome, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, Supreme Ruler 2010, Peacemaker, various games made by Positech, Zoo Tycoon 2... This is a good place to look.

Thanks for the links and suggestions. I tried a demo of Zoo Tycoon but didn't like it that much. Maybe RollerCoaster Tycoon is better, I might give it a try
Thanks again

[stepurhan]

This thread reminds me I've got a sealed copy of SimLife sitting on my shelves at home. (I got it in a second-hand shop) Is it worth my breaking the shrink-wrap? Should I sell it as a "Sealed Collectible" on eBay instead?

[Davies]

Roller Coaster Tycoon is marvellous and you shouldn't hesitate! One warning: it's surprisingly addictive.

If you're not sure, you can download the demo here and give it a try.

I have the original RCT (played on Windows 98) and have just got hold of a version including the expansion packs. Waiting for them to arrive from a nice person on eBay. So I'll be looking to sell the original one. If you decide you want it, let me know.

[wildcat]

I quite enjoy the Wildlife Park games, far better than Zoo Tycoon in my opinion. Like someone else said, The Movies is fun also.

[Davies]

I can also recommend the Creatures series, in which you raise, teach, and breed intelligent life. Creatures 2 is probably the best all around - Creatures 3 is amazing but much more complicated, especially if you haven't had any previous experience.

[wycked]

Originally Posted by wildcat

I quite enjoy the Wildlife Park games, far better than Zoo Tycoon in my opinion. Like someone else said, The Movies is fun also.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definately keep this one in mind

And Davies, you have convinced me to try out Rollercoaster Tycoon ^^

@stepurhan: I'll let you know what I think of City Life. So far I've hardly had a time to look at it, I'm busy playing Runaway 2 atm but will pay City Life as soon as I'm done with that one.
I loved Sim City 2+3 but didn't much like the 4th for some reason. I'm hoping Sim City will be more to my liking

[sand maester]

Originally Posted by Davies

Roller Coaster Tycoon is marvellous and you shouldn't hesitate! One warning: it's surprisingly addictive.

I own that game, and its a pretty good one, but it gets SO boring after about 1 1/2 hours of playing it straight. Too much micro-management. Or maybe its just because I don't like simulation games.

[MdaG]

Galactic Civilizations 2 is my most recent favorite "sim game" (ok, maybe it doesn't qualify as a sim game.). It does however need a relatively powerful computer. (My 3.5 year old pre power laptop doesn't do it anymore.)

[Davies]

Originally Posted by sand maester

I own that game, and its a pretty good one, but it gets SO boring after about 1 1/2 hours of playing it straight. Too much micro-management. Or maybe its just because I don't like simulation games.

To each his own. At least there's a free demo so Wycked can "suck it and see". The demo gives you an unfettered 15 minutes of gameplay, which should be enough to tell whether you're enjoying yourself.

I like the micro-management angle myself. And also the ability to follow individual little people around and watch them. I have brilliant memories of one (who I named "Queasy Pete") who was only interested in going on the most intense rides, but had a terribly sensitive stomach. He'd go on something like the Cresta Run or the Spine Tingler, stagger off looking green, and say "That was great!" Then he'd sit on a bench for a while until the nausea passed, and go straight back to queue up for the same ride again. Give him some credit, he never actually puked on the pathways. Not while I was watching, anyway.

[Periglo]

Originally Posted by Davies

... Creatures 3 is amazing...

There's a 3?! I loved Creatures 2! I thought it was so much better that the Sims. I liked that you have to teach the creatures, but then they went their way (teaching each other also). C2 used to be abandonware, I'll check how I can get C3.

[Davies]

Creatures 3 is much more complex than Creatures 2. It's set on a spaceship with multiple habitats and controls. The Norns are more intelligent and have more specialised behaviour and needs -- for instance, not just "hungry", but "hungry for protein" or "hungry for starch". They can also teach each other a bit more effectively than in C2.

The Grendels are nastier and need to be guarded against more. There are alarms and machines that can be used (singly or in combination) for defence, and the Norns can be taught how to use them, if I remember correctly.

It's all a lot more complicated than in C2, and personally I think I prefer C2 for its relative simplicity. I certainly wouldn't recommend C3 to anybody as their first experience with Creatures.

[Endosanity]

Well, there is alot of buzz on a new sim game called Spore. It hasn't been released yet but it seems to be generating a bit of hype. I used to play a few sim games but after about 20 minutes it hits me... "You can't win this game, there is no end." Then I ask myself "Why are you playing this?" and I shut it down.

Bought this package deal a while back that had all the Simwhatever games in it and Theme Park and Theme Hospital. The only one I played was the Theme Hospital mainly because it was corny and not really a sim game.

[Davies]

I've got Theme Hospital. It *is* corny and the humour is cheesy, but it's fun to play for a while. After a few levels it gets pretty samey. I find I play it for hours, but then can't be bothered to pick it up again.

What annoys me the most about Theme Hospital is that there's no way to zoom or view from different angles, which can make the gameplay really awkward at times. Considering Bullfrog made it after Dungeon Master, there's not much excuse. Just being able to jump the view by 90 degrees a time would have made a lot of difference.

[Endosanity]

Really? Theme Hospital was after Dungeon Keeper? Hopefully not after Dungeon Keeper II since it's all fancy schmancy 3D graphics and is totally un-XP-compatible.

I'm not into sim games since, basically, you can't win.

[Davies]

I've always assumed Theme Hospital was made after Dungeon Keeper because in the title sequence you can see a Horned Reaper sitting in the hospital waiting room. Haven't actually checked the dates on them. Let's see...

GameSpot says: Dungeon Keeper 1997, Theme Hospital 1998, Dungeon Keeper 2 2000. So there you are.

WYCKED: Let me know if you're interested in Roller Coaster Tycoon. You can have mine if you want it. (Legitimate published CD, not a pirate copy.) I can't be bothered putting it on eBay.

[wycked]

Originally Posted by Davies

WYCKED: Let me know if you're interested in Roller Coaster Tycoon. You can have mine if you want it. (Legitimate published CD, not a pirate copy.) I can't be bothered putting it on eBay.

Thanks so much for the offer! I've just bought it though as it looked pretty fun ^^ I just need to finish a couple of games I'm playing before I get to it, lol.

[vivasawadee]

Roller Coaster Tycoon is great, Theme Park was not up to par and had the most realistic throwing up noise ever. It taught me that putting food stalls and toilets before the rides was a bad idea.

[JemyM]

Im afraid that every genre that isnt diabloclones, mmorpgs, warsims or crimesims are getting rare.