SimCity holds a very special place in the world of gaming. When video games started becoming popular, gamers would move past genres of simple puzzles and adventures. Simulation would rise as a popular means of play.
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In this regard, SimCity paved the way for civilization construction and how to build a society from the ground up. It wouldn’t take long for other games to follow suit and put their own spin on just what a simulation can do. This could range in anything from amusement parks to a single building. Here are some games that SimCity fans would enjoy.
10Animal Crossing
One of the great things about simulation games is that they are not entirely objective-based. Sometimes players are encouraged just to build up and create a successful society for the sake of it. That’s one of the fun things aboutAnimal Crossing.
It’s not exactly a building or engineering game, but it does have a high level of social simulation as players are encouraged to explore their village and perform certain activities. For gamers who are looking for a break from the high-intensity, octane action of some shooters, Animal Crossing is a change of pace.
9Jurassic World Evolution
Jurassic World Evolutionis similar to an amusement park or zoo simulation game. The only difference is that instead of populating the park with animals,players have to find dinosaurs instead. Another fun aspect of the game is that it’s directly tied into an existing franchise.
Very rarely do simulation games actually take an IP and use it as the basis for their gameplay. Jurassic World is a film series with a lot of fans, so the prospect of being put in charge of a park of their own is something that a lot of gamers would enjoy.
8Roller Coaster Tycoon
Besides the SimCity line of games, the Tycoon brand was another simulation franchise that became extremely popular and expanded to include other kinds of control. One of the most well-known Tycoon games is Roller Coaster Tycoon.
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Judging by the name, it’s obvious that the game allowed players the ability to build roller coasters and other rides in their own amusement park. But it went beyond just having fun. Players also needed to have plenty of garbage cans and bathrooms, otherwise, their Park would fail miserably.
As early simulation games tried to take SimCity and expand it into other areas of society, SimTower arose as a fun and different way to build something. The concept is fairly simple. Players had to build a tower from the ground up while populating its floors with different shops, office spaces, and even security.
But the game goes beyond just thinking about how a building would be populated. People also need to traverse the building, which leads players to think about stairs, elevators, and other means of travel.
6Zoo Tycoon
Whereas Roller Coaster Tycoon had players build amusement parks, it’s no surprise that Zoo Tycoon would have players build zoos. The game more or less plays out as simulation andmanagement fans might guess.
Players have to build containment facilities and purchase animals to be housed in them. What’s also interesting about this game, like other Tycoon games, is it allows players to actually enter their park and experience it as a visitor might. That kind of first-person perspective is what makes simulation games so appealing.
One of the most fun aspects of simulation games is that players have almost godlike control over their city. Of course, this is just for the sake of the game. Bureaucrats don’t really have godlike powers over their municipality.
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But in history, no leader has had more influence or control than the Pharaohs. That’s what this game is all about. It has players take the role of Pharaoh ofan ancient Egyptian civilization. The fun aspect of this game is that it allows players to carve their own legacy as a leader.
4Surviving Mars
A lot of simulation and social engineering games are the same. Players are tasked with building up a society that functions on its own without any sort of collapse. What these games do, however, is put various spins on that format. In terms of Surviving Mars, that means trying to have humans live in a functioning society on the red planet.
It’s essentially SimCity on Mars, but the act of trying to create a self-sustaining city on a planet without resources makes it much more difficult.
Simulation games are very weird when players take a step back and analyze them for what they are. It essentially gives one person godlike control over constructing a civilization.Tropicoembraces this weird dynamic head-on.
It has players essentially become a dictator over a fictional island nation as they exert their control and influence over politics and global affairs. The fun thing about Tropico is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously as some simulation games like to do. It has a humorful and tongue-in-cheek atmosphere that makes it unique.
2Age Of Empires
Age Of Empiresis an extremely popular real-time strategy game that has spawned numerous installments, spin-offs, and expansions. Most simulation games focus on creating civilizations for the future. Age Of Empires does the opposite as it has players build up civilizations focused on the past.
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Real-life historical events and characters are used as storytelling fodder. The great thing about the series is that there’s no shortage of history to choose from. Players can go all the way back to the Stone Age if they so choose.
Judging from the name alone, it’s no surprise why fans of SimCity would be interested in something calledThe Sims. Whereas SimCity has players control an entire city, The Sims gets a lot more personal as players can control the lives of individual people.
In the beginning, the control players had was fairly simple as they could design houses and have their Sims perform certain actions. But things became much more complicated as newer installments were released, allowing The Sims to go on vacationsand have engaging careers.
