Tracking a game from idea to final product is a wonderful thing to do. It's just a shame when these ideas don't quite meet expectation. One of the least hyped games I've known about, City Life, is an interesting alternative to Sim City.

First Impressions

Expecting a Sim City clone, I was surprised. Its play style and rules were far different than Sim City. It's not about city-building any more. It's now about social balance. Traffic, power, water, garbage, etc., don't matter as much as racial harmony.

The graphics were also quite different. No longer am I stuck at 90-degree camera angles -- I now have full freedom, even very close zoom. The buildings were genuinely 3-D and so were the people. That's about where the graphics surprised me. After that, it wasn't all that impressive.

More after the jump ...

The final thing that got me was the interface. Being used to Sim City, the interface was awkward for me to use. Unlike Sim City, you really don't have the same control as before. That's a bummer for a control freak like me.

Howdy Neighbor

As I mentioned, the biggest part of this game is social harmony. The population is divided into six groups: Have-not, blue-collar, fringe, radical-chic, suit, and elite. Have-nots are liked by the blue-collars and fringes, while the blue-collars and fringes hate each other. Meanwhile, the suits are fine with the blue collars and the elite, but really don't like anybody else. Same thing with the radical chic, but with the fringes. See where this is going?

The biggest thing to keep in mind is to separate incompatible social groups, least they mix and start racial tension. The fun part comes when malls and stores that require workers from more than one social group to work in the same place. This means a balance between borders must be kept in order to keep these businesses afloat while preventing a social disaster.

Put 'er There!

City building in City Life is radically different from Sim City. No more water to worry about, and power is also magically distributed to all the buildings. There is no grid, so buildings, roads, and bridges can be built practically anywhere. It was a big step for Sim City to build on hills, this is a bigger step building at angles. This method of building certainly leads to curious city design and better land contouring, which can lead to a more beautiful city, if it wasn't for the bland models.

Some Are Just More Equal Than Others

Despite the 3-D engine and "improved" game-play, Sim City does triumph over City Life in one way: Variety. Buildings, cars, and people all look the same in City Life. Each social class has its own architecture and color, repeated over and over again. Cars come in two designs for each social class. People of one social class wear the same clothes. Even the music is bland. One song... over... and over... and over again. No variety.

Sounds... Well, I Don't Know How To Put It...

So far, the game-play is "unique," the graphics are "improved," and the city is bland. The music follows. Unless I haven't heard a new song yet, there is only one song in the game. It repeats endlessly. It makes me yern for Sim City music once again. Also, the city itself lacks some sound. The sounds are basic and only available for certain city buildings. Not impressive.

Overall

Monte Cristo has presented a good alternative to Sim City, one of the best I've seen. Despite the minor annoyances, the game is fairly interesting. Not enough to keep my attention for too long, but it has enough to keep me going for a few hours. My biggest complaint is the residents complaining about not having enough parks. I guess surrounding the house with parks is just not enough. This game really wasn't worth all the money I spent on it, but it is worth something. Perhaps Sim City's developers can learn a few things from this game and incorporate it into their own play-style.

I give this a 6.7 out of 10