Heh so I'm sitting in TechEd class (technical education) and I am happily waiting to start. This year, my teacher got the principle to let him use SimCity3 Unlimited to demonstrate how cities are usually zoned ect. and I loved it! All we did was build a simple custom city, and he gave us three days afterward to expand it. Whoever had the largest without debt (me w00t) got five extra credit points. But now our class is into the actual class, using the computers and machines and we can't play simcity anymore because my teacher has the cds locked in his cabinet. But lucky for me, this class is also my homerooms so I always play during homeroom when my buddies aren't around. I was thinking about actually purchasing the game for myself, but I noticed that they have a Simcity4 deluxe edition out, and I need some actual review.

Why? After looking at reviews on EBgames.com and Gamestop.com, I keep seeing five-stars and then a three-star and then a one-star and then a five-star and some complaints and some praise. I can't really tell whether to buy it, since I can't talk to these people, I hope someone here can help me! I loved simcity3 unlimited, and I want to know if you think I'd like simcity4 based on that fact!

Responses wanted ASAP so I can decide what to do with the money I saved for it.

Fixed topic.

I've played it...

Pro:
- more types of buildings and services
- more freedom in construction (build on slopes, build on diagnals)
- more choices in transportation
- more space to build on, hundreds of square kilometers
- visual improvements; sometimes a city can almost look like a high-altitude photograph

Con:
- more difficult: finances, economic stability, balance of services... transportation especially
- runs a lot slower, due to graphics but also due to greater simulation depth. Memory hog.
- building multi-zone cities and having them share citizens is tricky, to get the right balance of people:jobs.

It's somewhat less of a "fun game" than 2 and 3 were, more of a simulation. If you like simulations, then it's worth a buy. Get the Deluxe Edition, not the original, because they throw in "Rush Hour', which adds some very useful mass transit options. And also some "driving missions" that are good for a quick buck, if your budgetary planning is less than perfect.

If you don't like simulations, reading numbers, examining systems... then you probably won't like Simcity 4.