SIM-OFFS SimCity 2000’s many spin-offs
SIMCOPTER
Players could import
SimCity 2000 cities into
the game and fly around in
them – and it was the first
time gibberish language
Simlish was used.
STREETS OF SIMCITY
Similar to SimCopter, but
for cars: you could drive
around in your SimCity
2000 cities. You could also,
weirdly, have car-based
deathmatches with friends.SIMHEALTH
A game simulating then-
President Bill Clinton’s
healthcare reform policies.
Ironically, perhaps, it was
DOA, because who wants to
simulate that?THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING
SO MESMERISING ABOUT
PEERING DOWN AT THE LITTLE
WORLD I WAS BUILDING
could try to rebuild it again. Disasters
could occur, with anything from
earthquakes to plane crashes to alien
attacks, but I could launch them
myself, too, if I wanted a little extra
challenge or if my city was humming
along so nicely I’d just gotten a bit
bored. That’s the danger of including
a disaster menu at the top of the
screen. It’s impossible not to click on
it once in a while. Boom. There’s a
flood or tornado or a nuclear
accident. Hmm, maybe city builder
games do make me feel like some
sort of god after all, and not a very
nice one at that.