Random Game O' the Day: SimEarth

[digitalpress]

The DP Random Planet Simulation Game Generator (tm) has chosen SimEarth: The Living Planet, specifically the Super NES version, but let's open the conversation up to the TurboDuo and PC versions as well.

I may have opposition here, but I was sorely disappointed with SimEarth. I had a lot of fun with SimCity both on PC and Super NES and was really looking forward to this new experience, but it just seemed to lack the rewards of the SimCity title. Whereas you had instant traffic, visible growth to buildings and stats coming at you from everywhere in SimCity, this sequel (of sorts) seems to plod along, with very little reward even after hours of play.

Though maybe that's what it's supposed to be, and I just don't "get it". What did you think? Write your own review here.

DP Guide sez:

SimEarth: The Living Planet (SNES, by FCI) $10/R4 -
Original game designed by Fred Haslam and Will Wright. Inspired by James Lovelock's Gaia theory, which suggests that Earth itself is a giant living organism. FCI stands for "Fujisankei Communications International". Simulation/Life Development. SANTULLI SLANT: I've been playing this game for over ten years (well over 5 billion years in game time) and I'm STILL waiting for my opposing thumbs. Ironically, I'm waiting for them in the game too. Note: as much as I love the Sim series by Maxis, I can't get into this one, it's really really really s - l - o - w... [Gr: 3, So: 2, Ga: 2, Ov: 3] Released 1992. #SNS-SE-USA.

[IntvGene]

Yea, this one came after SimCity and everyone was waiting for it to be just killer. But, it's definitely more Sim than game. I could never get into it. Then, SimAnt came along, and Simearth was never played again. Simearth was just too boring. It needed something to spice it up. I felt like I was learning too much, and not having enough fun. As a kid, that was a really bad feeling.

[Bratwurst]

I'll third the voiced opinion that it's slow. Only worthwhile experience to really come out of it was to cheat and use that monolith advancement thing.. and hold down the frame skip key in ZSNES, something the console sorely lacks.

[YoshiM]

They probably used the model from the never released titles Sim-Watching-Paint-Dry and Sim-Watching-Flies-Mate. I had this game for PC and it was slooooooow. Waiting for life to grow and then speeding up time to increase the process wasn't all that interesting. Sure I had morbid fun baking then freezing my one celled wonders and I hoped that sending a monolith would invoke SOME kind of massive evolution. Yet all I got were sentient amoebae. Yay.

The concept of playing a god and shaping the world is a cool idea, but to actually go through the thousands of years of evolution (even in accelerated time) is boring. This was written back in the day when there seemed to be more patience with games there was no real interaction in the first chunk of the game (which is about as long as I could stand it).

[hydr0x]

hehe joe how funny is this, we were just talking about this game in the snes-id topic and whooops game of the month :p (btw, have u updated the list again??)

i never liked Sim Earth, i didn't play it really though, but that was because i thought it sucked, i only have the japanese snes version of it right now (ok got the english as rom) so i can't really check if i still don't like it! I do have some reviews of it though , it got 75% in Mega Fun (Starwing got 89 and E.V.O. 85 in that issue), the reviewer says that u had to really WORK to learn the game and controlls but after u did it was a superb game, one of the best Simulations he said, well if he says so, i don't agree at all :) i did like Sim Farm a lot more, hell how cool was that :)

[digitalpress]

(btw, have u updated the list again??)

I'm updated locally but haven't published the PDF yet. It will be there by the weekend though, thanks again!

[Charlesaway]

I agree with all so far. I couldn't get into it.

Heck, even now I'll throw on the original SimCity once in a while and whizz through a few years. (though I must admit putting it on fastest setting and I don't have any time whatsoever to do anything on the 1 gig athlon) ;)

[Jorpho]

I played with the Mac version for a while, and likewise found it to be quite unimpressive. Some of the scenarios were kind of nifty, but still nowhere near as fun as the average game of SimCity.

Was the SNES version much better? I know that SNES SimAnt had some added scenarios, and SNES SimCity's development was supervised my Miyamoto, but I haven't heard much about SNES SimEarth.
________
Threesome video (http://www.fucktube.com/categories/40/threesome/videos/1)

[zmeston]

My boss at the time of SimEarth's release, Rusel DeMaria, wrote a 300-page SimEarth strategy guide, and I remember falling asleep at least a half-dozen times while proofreading it. SimEarth is a god game without the game part, but Will Wright did score points with me for trying something different. (Those points have long since been deducted for churning out six Sims expansion packs in three years, but who can really blame Wright for cashing in on the best-selling PC game ever?)

-- Z.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

I played the PC version an i don´t like it...