Tools for this page
SimCity Creator
-
Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 8, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10. -
Is it any good?
-
Common Sense says
Complex city-building game has fussy controls.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
The good stuff
-
Educational value:
What to watch out for
-
Violence:
-
Sex:
-
Language:
-
Consumerism:
-
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of SimCity Creator was written by Chad Sapieha
Parents need to know that while advertisements have played up a feature in Sim City Creator that allows players to destroy cities via spectacular means such as UFOs, monsters, and earthquakes, the violence is actually quite mild -- you just see tiny buildings crumbling or burning to the ground. What's more, the game does a good job of introducing players to the challenges involved in municipal management. It teaches the rudiments of city zoning, garbage disposal, utilities allocation, and budgeting. However, be warned that the game's high level of complexity combined with inadequate controls may lead some players to experience more frustration than fun.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about how well or poorly they think SimCity Creator has managed to recreate the challenges of city planning. Has it provided you a better appreciation for municipal issues facing your own community? Do you think you might be able to use the creation tools in this game to fashion a rough replica of your own city or town? Do you feel badly when disasters wipe out large swaths of urban land?
More on SimCity Creator
What’s the Story?
The ever-expanding Sims universe bulges a little more with SIM CITY CREATOR, which lets players build and manage their own municipalities. A series of 15 tutorials lays down the rules for such activities as city zoning and utilities allocation. Then players are left to explore the game's broad array of functionality on their own. You can design and construct cities however you see fit, working within a modest budget to build infrastructure and municipal buildings that will attract residents, who will in turn start businesses and grow the city's economy. But watch out for potential disasters; an earthquake or fire could demolish massive portions of the cityscape and leave you struggling to keep citizens satisfied.
Despite its all-ages rating and the kid-friendly Wii platform, Sim City Creator, like many city building games, can feel dauntingly complex. While the basics are pretty straightforward -- make sure all of your buildings have power, that there are measures in place to deal with garbage and pollution, and that roads exist to make citizens' commutes as simple and short as possible -- learning how to manage the costs of these projects by altering tax percentages, taking out multiple loans, and buying and selling power and waste, is a formidable challenge. Staying in the black without prompting a citizen revolt in the form of a union strike or population exodus can be extremely difficult.
CloseIs It Any Good?
Complicating matters, the game's controls are finicky at best. Attempting to create a new zone by using the Wii remote as a pen to paint the land a certain color is a clumsy process and can take minutes to complete. And if you aren't careful to keep the remote pointed at the center of the screen during play you may suddenly find the map scrolling off to one side or another. What's more, the Wii's relatively modest graphics processing power and standard definition output make for some muddy looking cities. Indeed, Sim City Creator would have benefited greatly from the precise control of a mouse and cleaner graphics, making one wonder whether perhaps it should have been developed as a PC title.
A small group of city-building fans will likely have fun tinkering with Sim City Creator's surprisingly deep features, but casual gamers would be better off looking elsewhere for their interactive entertainment.
ClosePublisher’s Details
Released on 09/22/2008, price $30-50, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E (for Alcohol Reference, Mild Violence, Tobacco Reference)
ESRB rating: E (for Alcohol Reference, Mild Violence, Tobacco Reference)
Our Members Say
Give Recommendations, Get Them, Too!
Become a member and get recommendations from other parents based on your child's age.Tell us your child's age:
Already a member? Log inFor Your Family
Get age-based recommendations for your kids:
Customize based on your child's age
