SimCity 2000

The Good
I personally didn't like the top-down view of the original SimCity very much. The new isometric view is simply great since you can see your city from a much wider angle. You can even rotate the view in 90-degree increments, which gives a pseudo-3D impression.

The graphics look glorious in 256-color 640x480 SVGA. You can see all the tiny details thanks to the higher color depth and resolution. The interface is polished -- using the toolbar is much more intuitive. A new help feature (pressing the Shift key while clicking on an icon) greatly reduces the learning curve as well.

The terrain has now elevations, which can be completely customized. So instead of relying the random land generation algorithm, you can create hills, mountains, waterfalls, lakes, etc. on your own.

The addition of "light zones" is a definite plus. In this way you can rid of those ugly apartment buildings. You can now build elementary schools, high schools, and colleges to give a broad range of education options to your citizens. In addition you can also build hospitals and zoos, which the original lacked.

The Bad
You will need a fast 486 or Pentium for a smooth gaming experience.

The Bottom Line
SimCity 2000 is a classic piece of realistic simulation software which is both fun and addicting. Prepare to spend hundreds of hours on this "game".

The Good
The graphics were the same from the computer version, which was good. Sounds were OK and the gameplay is mediocre.

The Bad
TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE controls. But this is a Game Boy Advance game, you would expect a game like Sim City 2000 to have poor controls on a Game Boy Advance.

There is no music except for that terrible song that plays in the main menu.

There is only one save file. What the heck is up with that!? This isn't a computer where hard drive space is taken up when you save cities!

The Bottom Line
If Maxis did the developing, it would have been much, much, better. A whole lot better.

Get the Windows version( or Macintosh, for you Apple people).

The Good
Nothing really. Everyone thought the original SimCity was great and, yes, it was fun. But Maxis just didn't tickle my nosehair right when it came around with SC2000. True, the graphics is much better and the game is more complex, but it was not more fun. Maybe the "SimCity" concept could only be pushed so far.

The Bad
I got bored by it even before the shrink wrap came off.

The Bottom Line
Another one for you gaming archeologists. But if you were serious about digging dead bones, you should really go for the original SimCity instead. But whatever you do, STAY AWAY from SimAnt!!!