Streets of SimCity

Streets of SimCity is a game released in 1998 by Maxis and partially developed by Will Wright. A complete departure from the usual retinue of Simulation-based games that Maxis released, Streets of SimCity is known as the "Black Sheep" of the Sim series, and the name is no longer spoken around the offices of Maxis.

The premise of the ill-fated game was similar to another lacklustre Sim game, SimCopter. Trying to ride off the popularity of SimCity 2000, the idea was that, similar to SimCopter, you could import your SimCity 2000 games. This time, you could a;sp drive around the streets like your Sims.

However, the similarity to any other Sim game seems to stop there. The object of the game is not unlike most destruction derby games (e.g. Twisted Metal); you race around the city, attempting to destroy rival cars. At your disposal are various weapons like Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers, Oil Slicks, and more.

Like SimCopter, there are two modes: Career and Free mode. In Free mode, you drive around the city battling rival vehicles with four levels of difficulty. Included is a "Sunday Drive" option that simply lets you drive around the city at your own, leisurely pace. Career mode features 4 different TV-shows that you take part in, with plots ranging from a courier service, to a grandmother trying to stop aliens from taking over the Earth, to a race car drive trying to raise money for his terminally-ill child.

Also similar to SimCopter was the radio system, which carried 4 stations (Country, Jazz, Techno and Rock), which at least made the game slightly more interesting.

In the end, Streets of SimCity was an utter failure in almost every sense of the word. It pulled down Maxis' reputation, ended up costing the company money rather than making a profit, was despised by critics and gamers alike, and was ridiculously bug-ridden (think random crashes, driving through trees, Sims walking sideways, and more).