Name: Sim City DS
Genre: Simulation
System: Nintendo DS

Sim City 3000 has finally stepped through the mouse hole and arrived on the Nintendo DS. I'm happy to report that it has brought with it the same addictive gameplay of its predecessors on the PC. I am less happy to say that it has also carried over a lot of the annoying baggage of the SNES version.

The look of the game is similar to the computer versions, with some scaling down to get it to work on a handheld. Characters that can be interacted with are good looking enough, but show a certain unimaginative and uninspired art style. Upon selecting a language the player is asked a series of questions to decide what type of adviser they will get. There are many different ones ranging from a spoiled brat, to a robot. The advice given varies on the assigned adviser, but on the whole, the advice given seems to be minimal and inconsequential.

After you choose your adviser, its time to build a city. All of the features of the previous games remain intact, at least in some way, and the controls are fairly strong. While earlier versions of building simulations on the DS have suffered from mediocre control schemes, EA seems to have hit the nail on the head with Sim City DS. The controls allow the player to build the city they desire by simply dragging the stylus wherever they wish. Dropping schools, monuments, and police stations are easier than I've ever seen on a handheld.

Sadly though, the world of Sim City DS is not all flowers and roses. Remaining are the disasters that can plague a players city. Monsters, aliens, fires, and other catastrophes are waiting around each bend and a player can stop some of them using the touch screen. Some disasters, namely fires, are more luck based. Praying that the firemen placed in the city put out the fire is about all of the influence the mayor can have.

I'm also disappointed that there is a lack of customization that had been so prevalent in the other versions. Gone is creating a custom landscape to place a city on. Instead, the player can choose from the games pre-set landscapes, about 40 of them, to plan a city. But there is also only one save file on the cartridge. This just seems silly in this day and age, but alas, it is truth.

Sim City has always been a great time killer, but its transition to the DS left more behind than it brought over. The novelty of a handheld version of a classic title should carry it far, making Sim City 3000 the perfect game for long car rides, plane rides, or train rides.

As a fan of the genre I rate it low but suggest that any prospective city planners: