If they ever patch this thing, I'd say it's probably the best city builder game I've ever seen, but until there is a patch avoid it.

My PC's specs that I played Simcity 4 on are, Athlon xp 2400+, 512MB of pc2700, geforce 4 ti4200 128mb etc...

"If you've got an older version, save your money.", I've played most of the Sim games, and find them all equally addictiive. Sim City 4 is no departure from the addiction, but unfortunately it was a waste of money. It's basically a graphics upgrade from 3000 and I would have been just as satisfied with the graphics in 2000. The game crashes constantly. You'd think by now I'd learn to save my game, but it usually crashes after I've played a couple hours after forgetting to save... There's no patch yet, and the word on the forums is that the mysim feature, which allows you to import a sim... is what causes the instability. If they can't support a feature, they should hold out on releasing the game. It's very difficult to run a city without running into the negative. I'd love to be able to build freely without using a cheat code to get more simoleans.

"Hours of Fun!", Great graphics! You can see the buildings going up, and the Sims in action! The game takes a lot of stategy in planning and combining your recsouces with your neighbors. I've played the game for many hours and the game runs fine on my PC, no problems at all, but check the system requirements before buying!
This game is very different from prior additions of Simcity. The new Sims on line (TSO) interface takes some getting used to, and the use of regional strategy takes some new thoughts of city planning (you need to build neighboring cities in order to succeed).
You will need to use carefull placement of industrial zones as they emit a LOT of pollution, and you must conect to Simnation via rail/road connections.

"Buggy", I installed it and go to start the game and the CD ROM spins, but nothing happens. I go straight back to the desktop. Even used the online support, but its no help. I have plenty of PC power to run the game, but it won't go. In reading the Amazon reviews, it looks like I'm not the only person with major techno-problems. This game is a big fat pig. Its so big your computer will choke.

"I could go both ways", SInce I ahvent played the game I reallly have no opinion, but i think i oculd go either way. The website is nice, but i am worried becasue there is no demo. I played a lot of simcity 2000 but i was 14 then and i do not know if i still have the same taste in video games. I might try to download it illegaly which i suggest you do too.

To trully appreciate the complexities you do NEED the strategy guide though; which is why I only gave it 5 stars.

However if you don't like this type of game you will probably hate it because it is HARD to master and has no difficulty setting.

The region play mode adds even more involvement than SC3K as you can design neighbor cities that have needs and then profit from selling or buying stuff directly from them or via arbitrage.

The graphics are much improved and the music is outstanding for a video game, with plenty of variety in genres.

Also the game runs fine on my machine (AMD XP 2000+ with Geforce 3 & 1GB RAM) even though it's over a year old. I think any one who bought a real computer (not Gateway, HP, Dell or any other mass market slug) in the last 12 months should have no trouble running this game at full detail level.

"Great graphics but at a cost", Really looked forward to this version based on a number of previews; graphics and city details definitely improved over SC3K.....but there's a cost to pay. Even with a computer running at 1.1GB w/128MB RAM, NVidia GEForce2 32 MB video card and most of the neat graphics features turned down/off, the gameplay becomes slow and erratic as your city develops. Just read a review where the same problem appears in a 2.2 GB system w/ 512MB RAM. If you're thinking of buying, wait and see what EA can do to fix this problem.

"SimCity is [fading]", I've played since the original SimCity, on a Commodore 128. The last SimCity, SimCity 3000, was a letdown, and after a week of play, it seems as if the folks at EA/Maxis have lost sight of what this game is all about. You now have to chase after every little fire, there is no sandbox mode for creative play and city building, it's impossible to build a small town with a high living standard, and so on.

My impression is that EA thinks Will Wright designed SimCity to be a strategy game. He didn't. He designed it to be a TOY. Something that creative types - especially older gamers such as myself - could sculpt with. Apparently EA/Maxis believes that all gamers have the mentality of 12 year old males with water on the brain. They don't.

The second star is for the graphics. They're nice. So what. "Tropico" and "Stronghold," more modest games, are soothing compared to all this micromanagement, constriction, and inanity.

"Wow, a great version of a classic", I've played all the previous SIMCITY versions and Maxis has done a spectacular job with this one.

Compared to SIMCITY 3000 this game has more depth, is more fun to play and is easier to get used to.

I've been playing it for about three days now and it has really been a treat. There is a lot new in terms of how lots are laid out, how transportation and traffic work and the landscaping of the city.

I highly recommend you get SIMCITY 4.

"Released before its time!", If it weren't for the serious bugs, this might be a fun game. As released, it crashes and burns to the point of frustration.

It's a resource hog. I have a 1.5 GHz P4 with a gig of RAM and a GForce 4 video card. SC4 still runs slow, and crashes fairly often. Upon exiting SC4, one has to reboot to clear the debris left behind. It's sad that this stuff gets released long before it's ready.

I also "tested" SC4 on a 700 MHz P3 with 256 meg of RAM. It was unplayable. Taking the RAM up to 512 meg helped. 1 gig of RAM seems to be the point at which the game actually starts working decently.

So, how long do we have to wait on the patch?

Famous Programmer,

Ted Dead