[YouTube] SimCity

https://youtu.be/JbX2OwG9FzQ

Above is a "Let's Play" video for SimCity on the Commodore 64 (C64) that includes an intro with an unboxing. I decided to do a blog post to go with the video since it is a significant game and this way I can also include magazine reviews. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews of the C64 version. While the review from Video Games & Computer Entertainment (VG&CE) doesn't actually state the platform being reviewed, it clearly is not for the C64 version. That review mentions adjusting taxes, building police and fire stations, constructing a sports stadium, starting funds that vary by difficulty level, and multiple windows with graphs onscreen while playing. In the Amiga review from Commodore Magazine, the writer also mentions flooding, air, and nuclear meltdown disasters, multiple game speeds, a traffic helicopter, ships, railways, and how the zones change, such as houses transforming into apartment buildings. None of these things are in the C64 version. It's normal for games available on multiple computers to be of the lowest quality on the C64 but typically that is in regards to graphics. With SimCity there is a lot missing in the C64 release, though it does include a terrain editor which is a separate purchase on other platforms. At least it also retailed for $20 less than the others (the VG&CE review states the Amiga version was $44.95 but the Maxis newsletter I posted earlier has it at $49.95).

              VG & CE - November 1989                 Commodore Magazine - October 1989

The box and its contents are scanned below. I only included a few pages of the 44-page manual.