[theme music]
[fizz, sip]
Aahhh!
[typing]
SimCity and SimCity 2000 are known for their exceptional single-player experiences
where you play as an omnipotent mayor of a city
deciding the fate of every Sim through zoning, taxing and policy making.
Imagine my surprise when I saw this on the store shelf in 1996:
SimCity 2000: Network Edition.
SimCity 2000 had been released two years prior
and the CD collections had been released and were enjoying continued success.
Then comes SimCity 2000: Network Edition
which wasn't a sequel, an add-on, or anything like had been seen before.
It was a true multiplayer version of SimCity 2000,
complete with LAN, modem and Internet connectivity.
And it was only for Windows; no Mac version this time.
Freakin' weird.
Maxis had experimented with multiplayer gaming over the years,
but none of them had achieved much success,
with stuff like RoboSport,
multiplayer SimCity for Unix,
later The Sims Online and, of course, Network Edition.
In fact, Network Edition was only out for about a year
before Maxis discontinued it and pulled the game from store shelves,
dooming it to clearance sections for years
and making it one of the hardest-to-find Maxis games today.
The premise of Network Edition is super simple:
it's SimCity 2000 with up to three players managing the city.
But instead of just dropping into a scenario or new city,
you first choose from a selection of network options,
like what connection you'll use,
your name, the city's name and the speed of the simulation,
since you can't change the speed in-game.
Once you've started the server, the game will start as usual
and any clients can connect in any point in time.
If you're familiar with the original SimCity 2000,
the first thing you might notice is the new user interface.
The old UIs were designed with their OS in mind–
DOS, Amiga, Mac OS, Windows 3.1, etc.
But this one was designed for Windows 95,
so you have menus and buttons inspired by the look of 95,
with most of it that seems reminiscent of the task bar and Start menu design.
You also have a compass indicating the cardinal directions your current perspective has.
This all just takes some getting used to,
especially if you're experienced with SimCity 2000
and I'm not sure I like it.
I don't see how it's an improvement, but I'm not sure it's worse, either.
I just prefer the original Macintosh-inspired design
instead of everything all spread out.
Most of the gameplay itself is unchanged.
You'll need to build power plants, lay zones,
pass laws and manage your personal budget
in order to grow the tiny town into a massive metropolis.
But if you try to place anything, you'll notice something new right off the bat.
The land belongs to the city, so you'll need to purchase land in order to build on it.
Although you can just play alone, remember that it's meant to be played with other people.
So instead of just playing as the be-all, end-all overlord of city management,
you are now a district commissioner.
The land belongs to the city and it's up to you and any other players
to develop parts of the city, working together for the greater good–
or competing for power.
You then develop your own land in tandem with other players,
raising and lowering property values,
and even selling back and buying new real estate, if need be.
These are incredible ideas and I have to commend Maxis for this
because it's actually quite fun.
For instance, maybe you've got some nice waterfront property
with a school and upscale housing,
but the nearby commissioner owns the local power plant
which you'll need to power all your stuff.
They, however, need access to educational facilities and residents.
You could strike deals with the other players for resources or services.
In this case, you can exchange access to your schools
for access to their power.
Or you could just pay an annual dividend to the other player
for a certain amount of power,
or perhaps an exchange for police or fire protection.
This really adds an entirely different element of strategy
for everything in the simulation,
and it's a nice refresher for veterans of the original games.
Now you'll really have to think outside the box when choosing a location
instead of just plopping down zones everywhere.
Everything from building new areas to planning your budget
is affected by this new idea.
The same thing applies to passing laws, which not everyone may agree on.
I may want to legalize gambling, but the other players oppose it.
Everything is then put up to a vote to see what happens.
This can also get quite interesting when disaster strikes,
since you may be forced to work together with your opponent to tackle fires,
floods and crime.
Or you could just let them suffer as payback
for not passing that sales tax proposal last month.
Oddly, there's no monster disasters this time around, which is somewhat sad.
You do, however, have access to many of the features
from the later expansions to SimCity 2000,
like the Urban Renewal Kit and alternate tile sets for your buildings.
It's also worth noting that while most things are competitive somewhat,
the water system is shared.
So as long as somebody is pumping water and you've got pipes connected,
everybody can get water.
The transportation system is also shared,
but you will have to connect your roads to their roads,
and you pay for your own roads in your own districts.
Really, I don't have too many complaints about the game,
but the biggest I guess would be the lag.
There's about 30 seconds between every action the other player performs
and the time it takes to appear on your screen.
There's also some lag when placing zones and roads and such,
but it's only really noticeable if you're used to the regular game.
It's really nothing that breaks the experience, but it is something that I noticed.
Also, the land buying can be a pain.
Like sometimes you may not realize you bought a ton of land
that was actually useless underwater land.
So you end up wasting a ton of money if you're not careful,
almost having to buy land one tile at a time.
I wish there were a few more features, too.
For instance, the in-game chat is somewhat limited.
It would be nice if there were a better way to communicate,
but I guess this was kind of limited by technology of the time.
I'd also like the competitive aspect to be expanded on,
because half the time you really do forget that there's even another player in the game with you,
and it starts to feel like just another game of SimCity 2000.
I mean, wouldn't it be awesome if you could do a smear campaign against your opponent,
and instigate a riot in his part of town?
Or even do some dirty, underhanded deals
to cut off somebody from water or set fire to some abandoned buildings,
while you move in and buy up all the cheap land due to its low property value.
While the game is okay with one other opponent,
it really works best with the full three people playing.
So unless you know two other people who are willing to play,
you're probably not getting the best experience.
And there's no AI to play against,
and playing against only one other player can get kind of bland.
Still, a new game like this will probably never happen
and SimCity 2000: Network Edition is likely all we'll ever get
in multiplayer Maxis city sims.
Recent multiplayer city games like Cities XL have tried, and ended up failing,
so I have my doubts it will ever get revisited anytime in the near future.
But if you're up for something new with a friend or two
and can't get enough of that classic city simulation,
the odd but awesome SimCity 2000: Network Edition
is totally worth checking out.