In Real Life

Chiptunes, Schmiptunes: Embracing The Human Side Of Video Game Audio

We’re living in something of a golden age of chiptune music. The last five or so years have seen a popularity explosion for the classic electronic sounds that most gamers associate with the games of their youths.


April 20, 2012
In Real Life

The Kotaku Mixtape Vol 6: SimCity And Beyond

If you’re reading this, you probably wasted hours and hours of your youth on Simcity 2000. Chances are you also know the weird, off-beat soundtrack by heart. But in the ’90s, Will Wright’s Sim Franchise was massive, and SimCity 2000 was only one one game in a series that spanned subjects like healthcare reform and the lives of ants.


April 18, 2012
PC

The Most Boring Part Of SimCity…Still Looks Pretty Boring

For everything right the SimCity series has done over the years, there’s one thing I will never forgive them for: water. I hate it. It’s boring, it’s a pain in the arse, and while it might be “realistic” to expect “cities” to need “water”, it was never fun laying all those pipes.


April 6, 2012
Retro

SimCity 2000 Had Some Weirdo Music, Man

Every so often I’ll be going back through classic video game music and a game will sound completely different than I remembered. SimCity 2000 is one of those games.


March 31, 2012
PC

SimCity’s Muddled Environmental Activism

A few weeks ago, EA pulled a bait-and-switch at a press event in San Francisco. My fellow journos and I were there to see the reveal of SimCity, but after the brief game announcement, we were cued up for a series of talks by prestigious activist speakers — Davis Guggenheim, director of An Inconvenient Truth and promoter-turned-charity: water activist Scott Harrison. Oh man, were we grumpy and bored! We walked out after Guggenheim.


March 29, 2012
News

SimCity Needs Your Internet The Whole Time You’re Playing

Maxis and EA’s upcoming SimCity game looks pretty cool, but Joystiq is reporting that the game will require an internet connection to play.


March 28, 2012
PC

SimCity Is More Expansive And Detailed Than Ever, Yet Remarkably True To Its Roots

SimCity has always been a game that is viewed from two distances — up close and far away. You would start with the camera zoomed out, able to see the entirety of your creation; a city or cities on a grid, little smokestacks pouring out smoke, tiny aeroplanes droning over the hills.


March 21, 2012
PC

A Look Under The Skin Of The New Sim City

Here’s a neat behind-the-scenes glimpse at Glassbox, the engine powering EA’s upcoming SimCity, the fifth game in developer Maxis’s popular sim series.


March 7, 2012
PC

SimCity Apparently Already Has Bonus Content, System Specs, 16-player Multiplayer

EA has already launched an Origin page for its new SimCity, revealing that those picking up the Digital Deluxe Edition will be getting a range of content that includes supervillain lairs and European city packs.


PC

It’s Official, SimCity Is Back

Sure, it was leaked all over the internet last week, but tonight at the Game Developers Conference, EA has made it official: SimCity is back.