SimCity DS

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
SimCity DS
SimCity DS Coverart.png
Developer(s) EA Japan/EA Partners
AKI Corporation
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Series SimCity
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: February 22, 2007
  • NA: June 19, 2007
  • PAL: June 22, 2007
Genre(s) City-building
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

SimCity DS (シムシティDS, ShimuShiti DS) is a city building and management video game and the first Nintendo DS installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by the AKI Corporation and EA Japan.

Contents

Gameplay

Screenshot of SimCity DS, displaying a city on the top screen and the city's map at the bottom screen SimCityDS1.jpg
Screenshot of SimCity DS, displaying a city on the top screen and the city's map at the bottom screen

SimCity DS inherits SimCity 3000 's graphics and uses the handheld's dual screens to display additional interfaces. Console-specific features are also prominent, such as the use of the systems' integrated microphone, which is used to blow out fires and the touch screen which is used to control the interface. Before beginning a city, the player must choose a location in the region, one of five advisors and then sign the town charter using the touchscreen and stylus. The upper screen of the DS displays the city and news ticker, while the map, advisor, information and buttons are shown on the touchscreen.

Advisors and petitioners

SimCity DS features five advisors who help players make proper decisions in the game by providing recommendations and advice. As opposed to previous versions of SimCity, the player must choose only one advisor to help them when they sign the town charter. The different advisors include Julie McSim, Ayako Tachibana, Kaishu Tachibana, Servo 3000 and a secret advisor named Alien.

There are also petitioners, many of which are citizens of the players' cities, that approach the player with problems and request solutions or to modify city policies, such as lowering tax rates, or neighbor deals (old coot offers to take trash for $250 per month, Granny Agnes offers to buy water for $500 a month, both last 5 years). They may also give the player rewards or request certain structures to be erected in the city.

News ticker

In addition to the advisor, a news ticker scrolls along the bottom of the upper screen, displaying pertinent information about the city in the form of news stories, such as indicating that the city needs improvements in certain areas, or how well a particular city department is functioning. Generally, when things were going very well in a city, the news ticker displays headlines which are comical, or even nonsensical and often seemingly useless to the player.

Landmarks

Independent real-world landmarks (and one fictional landmark) are also prominent in SCDS, but must be unlocked in play or by using passwords. Real-world landmarks featured in SCDS include the Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Big Ben, Statue of Liberty, White House, Grand Central Terminal, Palacio Real, Moai, Capitol Records Building, United Nations Headquarters and Hagia Sophia. Bowser's Castle from the Mario series of video games is also featured. [ citation needed ]

Disasters

The game features a number of disasters which the game can inflict upon a city, including earthquakes, fires, giant ape attacks, and UFO attacks.

The game also features a "Save the City" mode in which the player must help one of several cities recover from a disaster and reach a specific target to succeed.

Research

There are a number of buildings that can only be obtained by spending money on research (found toward the bottom of your exp. budget sheet). Each building grants certain benefits to the city. They require both water and power to function. Research takes both time and funding. For example, even if you devote 200% funding to research you will still not obtain a nuclear power plant if the year is 1909.

Zones

As with other SimCity games, the player sets zone types, either residential, commercial, industrial, seaport, or airport. Each of these zone types, except for the airport and seaport, can be built in light, medium, and dense varieties. The zoning colors are different from other SimCity games residential is yellow instead of green, commercial is purple instead of blue, and industrial is red or orange instead of yellow.

Reception

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [1] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40. [4]

Sequel

AKI Corporation went on to develop a Nintendo DS version of SimCity Creator that is treated as an official sequel to SimCity DS in Japan. It was first released there as SimCity DS 2 in March 2008, several months before it was released in the rest of the world along with its Wii counterpart.

Related Research Articles

<i>SimCity 3000</i> 1999 video game

SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation video game released in 1999, and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by series creator Maxis. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and, through an arrangement with Loki Games, Linux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo DS</span> Handheld game console

The Nintendo DS is a 32-bit foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tandem, a built-in microphone and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they could interact online using the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its main competitor was Sony's PlayStation Portable during the seventh generation of video game consoles.

<i>Super Mario 64 DS</i> 2004 video game

Super Mario 64 DS is a 2004 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was a launch game for the DS. Super Mario 64 DS is a remake of the 1996 Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64, with new graphics, characters, collectibles, a multiplayer mode, and several extra minigames. As with the original, the plot centers on rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. Unlike the original, Yoshi is the first playable character, with Mario, Luigi, and Wario being unlockable characters in early phases of the game.

<i>WarioWare: Touched!</i> 2004 video game

WarioWare: Touched! is a minigame compilation party video game released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The fourth installment of the WarioWare series, and the first of three on the Nintendo DS, the game involves rapidly completing "microgames" — simple minigames lasting extremely short periods of time — as quickly as possible. The microgames are exclusively controlled with the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and microphone.

<i>The Urbz: Sims in the City</i> 2004 video game

The Urbz: Sims in the City is a video game for the Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo DS. It is the third Sims game for video game consoles and is the second Sims game not to be released on Microsoft Windows, after a planned PC port and sequel were both cancelled due to mediocre sales. The next release for consoles and handhelds was the console port of The Sims 2.

<i>SimCity 64</i> 2000 video game

SimCity 64 is a city-building video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64DD. The game and its peripheral were released only in Japan.

<i>Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!</i> 2005 video game

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble!, known in Japan as Viewtiful Joe: Scratch!, is a video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom for the Nintendo DS. It was released in 2005 in Japan and North America. Capcom partnered with Nintendo to distribute the game in Europe and Australia in early 2006. Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! is the fourth game released in the Viewtiful Joe series. The game's story opens on the set of director Captain Blue's new action movie in an amusement park called Movieland. When a mysterious group of villains known as Madow steal the only copy of the film, the superhero Viewtiful Joe and his younger sister Jasmine quickly give chase.

<i>Crosswords DS</i> 2008 video game

Crosswords DS is a puzzle video game developed by American studio Nuevo Retro games released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It was previously released in Australia as CrossworDS but a new OFLC entry confirmed that Nintendo Australia re-released it with a European localization. Crosswords DS features over 1,000 crossword puzzles that the player solves by using the stylus. Despite the title, it also features word search puzzles and anagram puzzles. It makes use of similar handwriting mechanics that the Brain Age titles make use of. Crosswords DS is included in the Touch! Generations series of titles, which includes such popular games as Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! and Nintendogs. The background music was composed by Fabian Del Priore.

<i>MySims</i> 2007 video game

MySims is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Wii and Nintendo DS in September 2007, re-released for Microsoft Windows and mobile phones in 2008, and for BlackBerry in 2009. MySims: Cozy Bundle, which contains MySims and MySims Kingdom, will be released for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2024.

<i>Bust-a-Move DS</i> 2005 video game

Bust-a-Move DS, known as Pullback!! Puzzle Bobble in Japan, is a puzzle video game developed by Happy Happening and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.

<i>Contra 4</i> 2007 video game

Contra 4 is a 2D action game published by Konami Digital Entertainment in the United States and developed by WayForward Technologies. It is the eleventh overall installment of the Contra series, and was released in North America on November 13, 2007 for Nintendo DS. A mobile port was released six days later on November 19, 2007. A rerelease, called Contra 4: Redux, was released for Android in 2011.

<i>The Sims 2: Castaway</i> 2007 video game

The Sims 2: Castaway is the third console spin-off of the life simulation video game The Sims 2 for the Wii, Nintendo DS (NDS), PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is also available on mobile phones; Nokia offered Castaway on the Ovi Store. A roughly similar game, The Sims Castaway Stories, is available for personal computers, but is not a direct port of Castaway.

<i>SimCity Creator</i> (Nintendo DS) 2008 video game

SimCity Creator is a city-building game for the Nintendo DS video game console. It was released in the Western world in September 2008, alongside its Wii counterpart. In Japan it was released several months ahead on March 19, 2008, as a sequel to SimCity DS under the name SimCity DS 2: Kodai kara Mirai e Tsuduku Machi.

<i>SimCity Creator</i> 2008 video game

SimCity Creator is a video game in the Sim game series by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Wii in 2008.

<i>MySims Kingdom</i> 2008 video game

MySims Kingdom is a video game developed by EA Redwood Shores and published by Electronic Arts as a spin-off to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2008. MySims Kingdom is a follow-up to MySims, which was released in 2007 and was followed by MySims Party, MySims Racing, MySims Agents and MySims SkyHeroes. MySims: Cozy Bundle, which contains MySims and MySims Kingdom, will be released for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2024.

<i>MySims Party</i> 2009 video game

MySims Party is a video game developed and published by Electronic Arts as a spinoff to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2009. It is the third game in the MySims series. It consists of 50+ mini-games which can be played with up to 4 players. The game was released on March 10, 2009, in North America.

<i>MySims Racing</i> 2009 video game

MySims Racing is a go-kart-car racing game developed by Artificial Mind & Movement and published by Electronic Arts as part of the MySims series, a spin-off from its trademark The Sims series of games. The title was released in June 2009 for the Nintendo DS and Wii.

<i>MySims Agents</i> 2009 video game

MySims Agents is a 2009 mystery life simulation video game published by Electronic Arts. The fifth instalment in the MySims series, it was released in Europe on September 25, 2009, and in Australia on October 5, 2009 for both the Nintendo DS and the Wii. It was slated for release on June 16 in North America for both consoles, but was instead released on September 29. In the Wii version, the player is tasked with solving several cases which help the player determine the evil plot of the game's antagonist, while unlocking additional features which are essential to completing the game. For the DS version, the player has to take part in several minigames and interact with various townspeople to find a thief who attempts to steal a secret treasure.

<i>Cooking Mama</i> Japanese video game series

Cooking Mama is a video game series and media franchise owned by Cooking Mama Limited. The series is a cookery simulation-styled minigame compilation of many video games and adventures for Nintendo gaming platforms. Generally, the gameplay revolves around performing different kitchen tasks, through the instructions of "Mama", to cook various meals. The series so far consists of five main games on Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, two spin-offs on Wii and DS each, as well as a spin off on 3DS. It is also a spin-off to the Gardening Mama series. The original Cooking Mama video game was also ported to iOS. A sixth main series game, Cooking Mama: Cookstar, was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2021.

<i>Crash of the Titans</i> (Nintendo DS video game) 2007 video game

Crash of the Titans is a 2007 platform video game developed by Amaze Entertainment and published by Vivendi Games for the Nintendo DS. It is an installment in the Crash Bandicoot series and an alternate version of the console-based title of the same name developed by Radical Entertainment.

References

  1. 1 2 "SimCity DS for DS Reviews". Metacritic . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. EGM staff (July 2007). "SimCity DS". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 217. Ziff Davis. p. 93.
  3. Whitehead, Dan (July 7, 2007). "SimCity [DS]". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "シムシティDS". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain . Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  5. Vore, Bryan (August 2007). "SimCity DS". Game Informer . No. 172. GameStop. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  6. Dodson, Joe (June 26, 2007). "SimCity DS Review". GameSpot . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  7. Di Fiore, Elisa (August 1, 2007). "GameSpy: SimCity DS". GameSpy . IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  8. DeVries, Jack (June 25, 2007). "SimCity DS Review". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  9. "SimCity DS". Nintendo Power . Vol. 218. Nintendo of America. August 2007. p. 88.
  10. Erickson, Tracy (June 25, 2007). "SimCity DS". Pocket Gamer . Steel Media Ltd. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  11. Freeman, Will (July 8, 2007). "SimCity DS Review". VideoGamer.com. Resero Network. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  12. "SimCity DS for Nintendo DS (2007) MobyRank". MobyGames . Blue Flame Labs LLC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.