Customer Reviews

SimMania Pack

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In this collection, Maxis has bundled together some of their least popular titles. All of them are classics, however! When SimCopter was first released, it sold for thirty dollars in stores, and it's still a pretty good game--especially if you have SimCity. That one game alone makes this bundle a great purchase! Don't forget about Streets of SimCity--it's a similar game to SimCopter, except you're driving cars through your Cities, not flying a 'copter. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys the Sim games, or who's just starting out with simulation games.

I just bought SimMania yesterday. I'm a 13 year old girl, and for the most part, I really enjoyed SimMania! Here's how I rated each game: SimCityClassic- This version of SimCity is old and the graphics are awful! If you just want SimCity, I reccomend that you get SimCity 3000.Also, it was a little confusing. SimTower-I love this game! It is fun, challenging, and addictive! You can build a tower as wide and tall as you want! The possibilities are practically endless! SimIsle- I tried playing this a couple of times and it is confusing! Maybe I'll figure it out sooner! SimSafari- This game is terrific! It is the simplest game on this pack, but it doesn't get boring! You have to make a flourishing safari, and it's really fun. TheStreetsofSimCity- This is your average car driving, blow up everything you can game. My 7year old brother loves it, but there really is no object to the game! SimCopter- In this semi-confusing game, you have to rescue people from every day crisises. You waste most of your time trying to find the people, and then you get scolded for not finding them on time! All in all, the SimMania Pack is pretty interesting and fun! But if you get frustrated easily then you might not enjoy the game as much as I did!

First of all, I would just like to write that four of the six games in this boxed set are playable on a Macintosh: SimCity Classic, SimTower, SimIsle, and SimSafari. The other two can only be played on a PC.

SimCity Classic is the godfather of all simulation games. It was originally released in the 1980's and Will Wright, the genius behind the game, was launched into simulation game stardom. This game is very similar to SimCity 2000 and SimCity 3000.

SimTower is the most unique of the games (in my opinion). Your mission is to build a successful skyscraper, thwart terrorists, and make your tower a major attraction.

SimIsle is a game about an island paradise in danger. Tourists, poachers, and corporate raiders are trying to get onto the island and it is your job to control them all while saving a rare species.

SimSafari is similar to SimIsle in that you run a tourist business in Africa, but that's about it. Manage guides, poachers, tourists, and of course, the animals, to create a safe environment that turns a profit.

I cannot review SimCopter or Streets of SimCity as I said that they do not work on a Macintosh.

These games are old and it really shows in the graphics and sound quality but in saying that the game play is still current. As with most of the `Sim' games, they have a mindless enjoyable quality about them. If you enjoy `Sim' games then you've probably already played one or two of the games in the collection. The great things about these games are their replay-ability. You can play them again and again with each a game differing as you build your sim (city, island, tower etc). Of the collection I really didn't like Sim Copter or Streets of Sim city, which are more like vehicle simulators than building simulators. I wouldn't even bother installing them ;0( After all if your looking for a vehicle simulator you can certainly find something much better out there.

I stumbled across this set quite by accident, and being the Sim addict I am, I just HAD to buy it! I already had half of the games, but the price was worth it just for the others. The one thing I'm not crazy about is the lack of printed manuals, but for these prices, you can't have everything. There is full documentation on the CDs themselves, so if you have a printer, it's easy enough to create your own reference manuals. If you'd like a more than reasonably priced introduction to Sim Games, this set is a must have :D

If your a parent or a kid, get this if you've got a wide variety of tastes in games. Two classic building games, Sim City and Sim Tower are addictive, while Sim Isle and Sim Safari and just fun to watch and play around with. Streets Of Sim City and Sim Copter I'd reccommend for guys, or girls who like action games. If you've got a boy and a girl in the house, I really reccomend this set of fab games!

Okay, first warning: like other people said, these games were made from 1989-1997, so some of them are REALLY old. If you want moderately modern games for the price, I reccomend the SimMania 2 pack. Anyway, my uncle bought this as a gift for me 3 yrs. ago. I'll rate the games individually:

- SimCity Classic (1989, Maxis)
Yep, folks, it's the first SimCity ever. While it certainly was a great game for it's time (it must've been good then if Maxis got daily calls from the CIA), it is preceded by the sequels (Sim City 3000 and 4), with even more options, so if you're planning on buying the entire set just for this, don't.
If you want a taste of the game right now, you can check out SimCity's website at www.simcity.com because they have an online version of it on their website. Only problem: you have to have a username.

- SimTower (1994, Maxis/Yoot Saito)
SimTower, as the name describes, allows you to build your own 100-story tower with condos, restaraunts, offices, shops, all that good stuff. Even though I haven't played it in a long time (too much time playing Sims) it's pretty fun. I will warn you about this: it is a bit hard to get past 3 stars, because the people in the suite will never like you. Good for it's time, and I'd really like a SimTower 2.

- Streets of SimCity (1997, Maxis)
Like some people said, this really isn't a Sim game. Though you can customize your own cities with the help of the SimCity 2000 Urban Renewal Kit, and make the gameplay feel a lot like the U-Drive-It missions from SimCity 4. Though nevertheless, it's a good game when you really aren't focusing on a game and you're just looking through your CD collection.

- SimCopter (1996, Maxis)
I have a feeling this is an updated version of Raid on Bungling Bay (NES), Will Wright's first game before creating SimCity. I've barely played this game, though I personally think it's sorta hard to control your helicopter.

- SimIsle (1995, Maxis)
Most disposable game: ever. In SimIsle, I don't get the very concept of what you're supposed to do. I "build" something, and hire architects and construction workers, and nothing happens...nothing. Recommended only if you're on a quest for every Sim game ever made.

- SimSafari (1998, EA/Maxis)
SimSafari is a nice novelty to pass the time. I personally remember renting SimSafari from the video store when I was little. Oh, how much fun I had... though anyway, being the sequel to SimPark (the game with the annoying frog, thank god for the Rizzo Off option) it is set in the African Savannah plains. Your objective is to attract people to your safari camp and get 5 stars, and meanwhile help the village get essentials like a granary, a schoolhouse, etc. via hiring the villagers. Though it certainly isn't the best game in the world, it is pretty fun if you're trying to pass the time.

That is my review.

I gave these games 4 stars becouse they are fun for the whole family with sim copter for the kids and sim tower for the adults this game is great vaulue 1 year ago you would have to buy all these games seperate and each one costing the same price so buy buy buy !!! PoPkOrN

Retro gamming is not for everyone. I like to play old games, well, because I just have a problem with nostalgia. If you your not worried about graphics and you want to explore the early years of the "SIMS" universe, then it would not hurt to drop a couple of bucks for this pack of games.

Be warned, I could not get all of the games to run on my system, which is still 6 months away from not being modern anymore. But since the price was reasonable I still felt it was worth the three games I was able to run.

The original Sim City is just stupid fun. It's so easy to build a quick city and it's still easy to fail. This is a no frills, time killing game.

Sim Copter was by far my favorite. Talk about a game that had so much potential, but it still turned out to be fun to play. Maxis should have gone out of house on this one, like to MICROPROSE (while they lasted). The people inhabiting the cities are like the original "Sims" and funny to hear where I think the simesse language came from considering what's it's evolved to today.

Sim Tower was a dirty little pleasure. Who thought that building and office tower with apartments, restaurants, movie theaters, etc. could be soo much fun?!

Sim Island, just throw it away when you open the box.

Like I said, the game only costs a few bucks so why not give it a try. Worst case is you loose a few dollars from what you paid when you sell to the pawn shop.

These games are a bargain, but they are old. Here are how I rated the games:
Sim City-It is OK, it isn't really that great 3/5
Sim Tower-The one game that makes buying this worth while 5/5
Sim Isle-Can't play it so 0/5
Sim Safari-Very babyish, not really worth it 1/5
Streets of Sim City-It's OK, all though it really has a low replay value 3/5
Sim Copter-Choppy graphics, but the game itself is pretty good 4/5