SimCity DS
Encyclopedia
SimCity DS is a city building
and management computer 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.
SimCity DS is a heavily modified version of SimCity 3000
. The game inherits SimCity 3000s 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.
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. They may also give the player rewards or request certain structures to be erected in the city.
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 headline
s which are comical, or even nonsensical and often seemingly useless to the player.
, 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.
s which the game can inflict upon a city, including earthquake
s, fire
s, 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.
City-building game
City-building games are a genre of strategy computer game where players act as the overall planner and leader of a city, looking down on it from above, and being responsible for its growth and management...
and management computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
and the first Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
installment in the SimCity series
SimCity (series)
SimCity is an open-ended city-building computer and console video game series and the brainchild of developer Will Wright. It is published by Maxis . The game was first published in 1989 as SimCity, and it has spawned several different editions sold worldwide...
. It was published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
(EA) and developed by the AKI Corporation and EA Japan.
Gameplay
SimCity 3000
SimCity 3000 is a city building simulation personal computer game and the third major installment in the SimCity series. It was published by Electronic Arts and developed by series creator Maxis, a wholly owned subsidiary of EA...
. The game inherits SimCity 3000s 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. 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 tickerNews ticker
A news ticker resides in the lower third of the television screen space on television news networks dedicated to presenting headlines or minor pieces of news. It may also refer to a long, thin scoreboard-style display seen around the front of some offices or public buildings...
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 headline
Headline
The headline is the text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it.It is sometimes termed a news hed, a deliberate misspelling that dates from production flow during hot type days, to notify the composing room that a written note from an editor concerned a...
s 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 TowerEiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
, Big Ben, Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
, White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, Palacio Real, Moai
Moai
Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
, Capitol Records Building
Capitol Records Building
The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket – and one of the city's landmarks...
, United Nations Headquarters
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...
and Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
. Bowser's Castle from the Mario series
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
of video games is also featured.
Disasters
The game features a number of disasterDisaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
s which the game can inflict upon a city, including earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s, fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s, giant ape attacks
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, and UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
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.