SimCity 4 Deluxe

Anyway, this Deluxe edition is the combination of SimCity 4 and Rush Hour, and offers excellent value for money to the person who doesn't have any other title yet. The manual clearly states that the Deluxe edition doesn't contain anything that the two titles don't contain on their own, so don't buy this if you have either. If you have SimCity 4 but not "Rush Hour", rather just get "Rush Hour", because you won't miss a thing.

Now that is out of the way, let's take a peek inside the box and see what we get.

Firstly, something that is becoming increasingly rare these days, a nice, comprehensive manual (thank you Maxis). Next, the game on (now customary) two disks. Smooth installation, quick enough for me to not even get through the "Introduction" in the manual before the game was up and running. So, with the game running, let's see what it offers.

Right from the first screen one can see the radical departure from earlier Sim Cities, as this one starts the player of in a region of maps, subdivided into potential sites for new cities, all interconnected. GREAT touch!

I found the tutorials to be very informative and a lot of fun. They make it easy for the player new to this franchise to get stuck in, right from the start. And be warned, this game is ADDICTIVE!

For the seasoned Mayor, I must say that this game has improved by leaps and bounds. Different kinds of streets ( eg streets, roads, avenues, one-way streets and highways) each suitable to different traffic loads. You also have the option to be mean and place toll-booths!

A great new addition to the game is the ability to get specific statistics on traffic patterns: click on a commercial or industrial building, and you get presented with information on where all the employees live, and how they get to work, even the distance they have to travel to the bus stop! Or, click on a residence to see where the inhabitants qwork! You get the idea. Or, click on the RCI bar to get a detailed breakdown of zone needs, et cetera. The improvements are too many to list here. The point is that the DeLuxe Edition has much to offer, to the new city planner and the old Mayor alike, provided you don't own SimCity 4 yet. My only gripe is that I am experiencing lock-ups on my home pc with this game, but it could be the pc.

If you want to have sleepless nights, frozen in front of your pc, this is the way to go.


Brilliantly Addictive!!   February 15, 2006
John Kimble (N. Ireland)
43 out of 45 found this review helpful

I would definitely have to go along with the other reviewers who have given this game 5 stars. Once you get going you’ll find it extremely addictive and it’s very difficult to stop playing!

Installation is easy and straightforward and you'll get a well-detailed instruction manual to keep you on the right track. However I would recommend full use of the in game tutorials which are very helpful in teaching you how to maximise the new map set up and familiarise you with the many changes and improvements that have been made.

This game is superb and you'll be amazed at the quality, detail and high level of game play you experience as you go along, indeed, rarely has the word 'deluxe' been so aptly put to a game title. It really is unbelievable how much the Sim City series has moved along since its inception what now feels like an age ago.

If you haven't already got this game then I would suggest that at this price you will not be disappointed.


An alright game   November 16, 2006
Mouseman (England)
20 out of 23 found this review helpful

I am going to start with the fact that on another day I would have given this game 4 stars. But I guess I keep thinking of the game this could have been.

This game comes with the original sim city 4 and the add-on pack simcity:rush hour. The rushhour add-on gives the gamer better control of transport and traffic within the game, which was a necessary improvement. You play as a mayor of a town on a desolate unpopulated(as yet) planet. You get to build your city from scratch into a thriving metropolis - providing you don't go broke that is. You allocate sections of your plot of land as either industrial, comercial or residential. And from this, the computer simulates the building of these new structures.

In terms of style and design of the structures, I would give them a 7/10. There is a good range of style of buildings but it would have been nice if there had been more. Or even better constant updates from the developers via a patch of somesort. Sadly this was not the case.

I will now move onto the commute of your simolians, in other words, the people that inhabit your new city. The commute time is given in a graph format (this was added in the rush hour expansion pack). One thing that becomes apparent is that it is very hard to control this. And for something that is such an integral part of the game, it is a sincere failure on the part of the developers to not give this feature better funtionality. How ever many bus stops you add , the simolians just ignore the bus stops and go to work by car causing a lot of traffic congestion. The same goes for the monorail, although, to a lesser degree. This lack of artificial intelligence, when you are trying to increase you "mayor rating" is very frustrating.

Running of the game: This game is cpu dependent . So I would reccommend a system with at least a 3ghz pentium or equivalent.

Graphics: I used the highest level of detail. Quite impressive if you stay at the same perspective. Alas once you zoom in onto your city the picture blurs for a second or more whilst it is tryin to focus at this new resolution. Which is quite annoying.

Controls and Layout: The layout of the user menu bar, what with the graphs and everything is pretty much spot on. No complaints here.


The Sims WOW again   February 13, 2006
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

I payed for this straight after it came out- so I payed nearly £40 for it, though I can't say I regret it- me and my brother have had hours of endless amusment out of it, so I can't really complain.
As with all games, there are some downsides, and I'd say one of the most annoying things is the tough balance of keeping everyone happy! Plus, I'd like to have more control over the buildng styles and what gets built where.
However, having said that, the graphics are really good, and you do get different outcomes depending on how you play- it's more varied thatn you would think. If you're into simulation games, especially the tycoon games- hospital, airline, shopping centre, rollercoaster etc- then you'll love this. People of all ages would like it too, despite its 3+ rating.
If you're in any doubt, then can I assure you that you will get hours of fun out of it, the graphics are amazing and you can (to a certain extent) build a city entirely from your own imagination!


Installation Problems?   February 19, 2007
H. Ismail (Bradford, England)
19 out of 21 found this review helpful

Initially I had installation problems with the sim city 4 deluxe edition (the first disk would install to 49% and ask for the second disk, after insertion of disk 2 the installation would remain stuck) but after trying a modified version of the suggestions on the EA games website for another simcity I managed to do it. This problem occurred on a desktop pc and two other laptops that I have, so it is not just a fault with my computer.

Basically I copied disk 1 onto a folder in my hard drive and removed disk 1 and replaced it with disk 2. (so all the disk 1 info is on my hard drive and disk 2 is in the CD drive)
I would run setup.exe from the folder with the info (copied from disk 1) and the installation would occur. At the 49% completion mark, where you are supposed to switch disks, the installation automatically continues (no switch disk box appears), switching from reading disk 1 info from your hard drive, to reading the disk 2 info in your CD/DVD drive.
Installation was faster and it worked.