The simulation gaming genre has seen an explosion of titles in the past few years (tack a popular industry or place in front of the word "Tycoon" and chances are you'll come up with a valid game title), but for some of us, SimCity will always be a cut above any mall or zoo simulator. SimCity 4 is still a favorite among the fans, but it's not always as open as one may think. What if you want to skip the actual objective portion of the gameplay and just play in a sandbox? Leave it to the user community to come to the rescue in this Ask Metafilter discussion.
What frustrates me about SimCity 4 is that there is no way to have a true 'sandbox' mode. [Rollercoaster Tycoon] allows a sandbox mode that lets you do whatever you like, unlimited funds, but doesn't count towards scores or whatnot. Is there any way to get this in SimCity 4? Yes, I know all the cheat codes.. but pasting in 'weaknesspays' a few bazillion times is just no fun. All I want to do is play in a sandbox!
I'm behind on my favorite Sim series releases. I drifted away after SimCity 3000, spent a year or two with the first two Rollercoaster Tycoon titles (and their expansion packs), and then just haven't really been back. SimCity 4 looks like a slice of enjoyable and complex fun, but I've yet to find a Sim game that can capture the experience of SimCity 2000 in which I could export my cities out to Streets of SimCity and SimCopter and see the world through the eyes of my simulated citizens.
