We Built This City

You've got to admit, this is pretty cool.

Eight years after the release of Sim City 4, Electronic Arts has just released a trailer for its successor, Sim City 5.





From The Huffington Post:

The new game, which was unveiled at this week's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, will be brought up to current-day speed with environmental issues affecting construction and mayors dealing with climate change, renewable energy and natural disasters as they build their cities.

...Decisions as a city builder can have pronounced effects on Sim City residents. If a player chooses to make a town economically reliant on coal mining, for example, the city will have to invest in building hospitals to keep residents from getting sick and fleeing.

"The choices that you make will affect the lives of the Sims who are there," Bradshaw said, "and you might start to see some residents protesting at City Hall."

What happens in one city can also affect a friend's town. The game will have online features where one person can play side by side with friends who are mayors of their own cities. All players globally can compete in rankings to be the greenest, the dirtiest, the fittest, or the best city in which to live.

It's good to know I'm not the only person who's been longing for a new Sim City. I played one of the early versions during study halls in high school, and 15+ year (shut it) of absence has definitely made the heart grow fonder. It's almost unfair, though, that we still have to wait another year before this game is available.