City Life

Andrew takes to the street life...

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If there's one thing that a particularly popular Australian television soap opera has taught us all, it's that everybody needs good neighbours. Sometimes, however, this is not the case. If it were, there'd be no arguments over fifteen foot high Leylandiis, verbal or physical abuse between households in close proximity or even full on neighbourhood riots - something other television shows are keen to show us goes on as well. Monte Cristo, the developers behind City Life must've noted this, as one of the defining features of the game is to compartmentalise different groups in society in order for the city as a whole to run smoothly. Despite promising many a virtual ruckus, then, it is one of the weaker elements of an otherwise accomplished 3D building simulator.

City Life's main game consists of preset objectives over 22 scenarios. Each level or scenario has gold, silver and a bronze standard of achievements to reach. Attaining a shiny metallic reward requires a competency of building and management in the onscreen world. If you're after the precious gold credential, then sticking anything anywhere isn't the way to go about it. Your metropolis must begin at a central point, preferably close to fuel for factory industries (adjacent to the sea for water power, for example) and from then on you can slowly start to expand, placing every essential element of the jigsaw puzzle that is society into place very carefully. This will not only help you to mentally analyse the continuing development of your creation, but also help you to survey what your next step will be. And in a game where segregation between the different social rungs in the ladder of society is key, getting your decisions right can mean the difference between reaching financial and social civility and, well, not. The locations of the districts you have created in your city can easily be identified and edited from above, allowing you to make amendments to them, whether it be the construction of new roads to help people get to work, local amenities to help satisfy the area's leisure time requirements or, if needed, extra police stations to help keep the rabble out. To put it more succinctly, "you've gots 2 use ur brainz for dis one".

Six different socio-economic tribes exist in City Life, which, as well as differences in wealth, also have conflicting opinions on other issues such as the environment, health and education. Making sure that never the two shall meet is a case of formulating environments that will attract each of the classes. For instance, the 'Have Not' tribe are the least affluent city dwellers, while the business gurus of the 'Elite' are the occupiers of imposing skyscrapers, (the other classes are 'the Bobos', 'the Suits', 'the Fringe' and 'the Blue Collars', by the way, each with their own characteristics). So, obviously, you wouldn't want to go about placing expensive restaurants in the city's grimiest areas and dingy bars in the financial district. Such inconsiderate town planning will cause unrest and friction between certain classes who will often begin fighting and rioting. Truth be told, segregating your mini-nation isn't that difficult of a task in comparison to meeting some of the statistical and monetary targets, but it's a brave attempt at something new, even if it does tip-toe carefully between the potentially controversial realms of realism and virtual reality, in as much that no two different races ever fight - their only disagreements seem to be over monetary differences.

Following in the footsteps of Tycoon City: New York, City Life's entire environment can be viewed in full real-time 3D. Although it rarely affects gameplay as trying to chop and change your urban creation from pavement level is more than impractical, it nevertheless achieves in providing a dynamic viewpoint of how your city is functioning. Until recently, widely available graphical performance on PCs restricted such an inclusion on city building games, but in City Life the way it is smoothly implemented helps the player more fully appreciate their gameplay achievements. And if you spend time thinking about the individual routes the people and the cars are taking and the impossible number of routes they are traversing combined, it will probably also make your head ache. Best avoid that, then and just concentrate on the beauty of your design skills. Whether supervising your city from above like some omnipotent being or staring around admirably from a park bench in some suburban gardens at ground level, City Life's environments are graphically impressive. Particularly worthy of note are detailed shadowing and reflective effects from buildings and their windows, adding depth and believability to the already-realistic environments. And while your city's inhabitants are a little pale in comparison, the sheer number of them is more than enough to compensate.

If you've got the time and patience for City Life, then you'll surely uncover an engrossing gaming experience that, despite its minor faults (including a still-lacking tutorial, a confusing interface and some awful accompanying shopping centre 'muzak') that does more than enough to stand proud in the company of Tycoon and Sim City. Whether you want to create peace in the world or create havoc in society, you're sure to find it if you invest a little time and patience into this addictive and engrossing title. Just remember: 'with a little understanding you can find the perfect blend...'

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By Andrew Macarthy