Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critics What's this?

User Score

Mixed or average reviews- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: True to the SimCity series, players can create and control their city in the palm of their hands...and more. Maximizing the stylus and built-in microphone controls of the Nintendo DS, SimCity DS brings to the franchise like never before the feeling of personal involvement with your city - from blowing into the microphone to put out fires in the city to signing off on mayoral proclamations with your stylus. By enabling the players to communicate with each other, the "wireless data exchange" feature brings additional interactivity into the game. As an added bonus to SimCity fans around the world, the game also offers a wide array of recognizable international landmarks to spice up your city. [Electronic Arts] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 27
  2. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. A great game strongly converted to its ideal system - but it's not as flexible as it could be. [Aug 2007, p.68]
  2. The gameplay is addictive, and the controls are about as good as the PC and Mac versions. The graphics are painfully lacking, but don't make it difficult to play, they just make it less rewarding.
  3. 70
    With some tweaking to the gameplay this could have been a really solid SimTown sequel, something that kids could get into. For now this title is really only for people who have been jonesing for their real estate management fix.
  4. Taking a trip down memory lane with this classic sim on the handheld was a quite decent experience, aside from the DS' small screen and dated visuals.

See all 27 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Negative: 2 out of 11
  1. CarlR.
    10
    The negative reviews just prove that journalists are out of touch with video game players these days. The only things they rate really high are the hard core shooters and action games. This game really captures the great SimCity gameplay of lore. If you liked SimCity, or think you would, this is the game for you. It's really fun! Expand
  2. JordanB.
    8
    Good game although there isn't a big enough plot to make a city.
  3. TimC.
    7
    Not perfect. Delivers the fun of old school SimCity, but in an ugly and annoying package. The bad: The advisors and townspeople are completely obnoxious. You'll have to sit through a dozen screens of bad jokes about highschoolers and nerds just to find out what your townspeople want from you. The news ticker moves so incredibly slow that its rendered completely useless, and just wastes valuable screen real estate. The music is pretty terrible, but thankfully you can shut it off and keep the sound effects on. The graphics are some of the worst I've seen on the DS. Houses and buildings don't look like much of anything, regardless if you're zoomed in or not. And I really don't know what they were thinking with those big-head character designs. The good: It's SimCity. One of the most fun and addictive games I've ever played. And it's portable. The DS controls fit the game perfectly. Drawing roads, parks, and zones is much simpler with a stylus than it ever was on the PC. This has become my game of choice for my 10 minute bus ride to and from work. Despite all its shortcomings, the gameplay is still as fun as it always was, and that makes this a recommendable purchase in my book. But it could have been so much better. Expand
  4. BlueFalcon
    4
    Out of all vesions of sim city i have tried, this is my least favorite by far. It's got all the great sim city content from the past (and more), but it's ruined by a bad view of the action, poor controls, and an annoying 'advisor'. Expand

See all 11 User Reviews