Streets of SimCity

Streets of SimCity
Developer(s)	Maxis
Publisher(s)	Maxis Electronic Arts
Composer(s)	Jerry Martin
Engine	SimCopter engine
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date(s)	NA: October 31, 1997
Genre(s)	Racing Combat
Mode(s)	Freeplay Story Online Play

Streets of SimCity is a 1997 racing and vehicular combat computer game published by Maxis. One of the game's main attractions was the ability to explore any city created in SimCity 2000 by car in a cinematic style. The game, like SimCopter, is in full 3D and the player's vehicle can be controlled using a keyboard, a joystick, or a gamepad. Another notable feature is the game's network mode, in which players can play deathmatches with up to seven other individuals.

Notably, it is one of the few games in the Maxis series that Will Wright did not work on, and the last Maxis game to be developed and released without supervision by Electronic Arts^[1] (which acquired Maxis in the two months leading up to release and assisted development of Maxis games thereafter).

Gameplay

Objectives

The game offers several different modes of play:

• Career

  This is the primary, mission-based play mode, in which the player takes part in one of four television shows, with missions being presented as "episodes." There are four different shows to choose from, each with a set of episodes that increase in difficulty.

  • Zippy's Courier Service

    Players take the role of a package deliveryman who must make a certain number of deliveries in a certain amount of time; over time, his package delivery operation expands.

  • Galahad's Watch

    Tasks players with first weeding out corrupt cops and then uncovering and stopping a vast criminal plot.

  • Granny's Wild Ride

    Has players play the part of Granny, who has discovered plans for an alien invasion that must be stopped at all costs.

  • Race for Your Life

    Involves the player in a number of fast-paced races as a race car driver.

  • A fifth, untitled category also exists, and contains several unrelated missions that include post-apocalyptic deliveries, deathmatches, and, in several cases, following a plot line specific to that mission. The details and objectives vary from mission to mission in this category.
• Players' Choice

  This is a non-mission play mode, and allows the exploration of any of the more than fifty included cities or a city built in SimCity 2000 or SCURK (see below). Four levels of difficulty are available in this mode: Sunday Driver, Bad Hair Day, Commuter's Revenge, and Crush Hour. Sunday Driver features neither traffic nor packages to deliver, allowing uninterrupted exploration of a city. Bad Hair Day, Commuter's Revenge, and Crush Hour feature increasingly well-armed and insistent enemy vehicles, as well as more packages. Packages can be recognized by their distinctive appearance and representation on the minimap as green dots. Delivering a package to its destination within the specified time results in a cash reward.

  • SCURK (SimCity Urban Renewal Kit)

    is an editing program packaged with the game designed to allow the creation and editing (but not simulation) of cities for use with Streets of SimCity.

• Network

  A non-mission play mode in which two or more players can establish a deathmatch with a selection of four different connection options. The player can join a room or create his/her own, give themself a name, a car, establish rules, and designate the map on which the match is to take place. Up to seven players at a time may play on a single map. There are two online play specific options:

  • Deathmatch

    A player is out of the game when the player's car is destroyed; the last remaining player is the victor.

  • Freeplay

    Players are not withdrawn from the match when their cars are destroyed. This mode also uses a point system. Players may also team up (This feature requires an even number of players on the map). The Streets of SimCity online community is relatively small, so most players end up playing matches with people they already know.

Vehicles

• The "StreetRat" is modeled after an older 60's Volkswagen Beetle model
• The "Azzaroni" is designed based on the Ferrari 250
• The "J57" is based on the Ford GT40
• The "Airhawk" is designed as an early 1970s F-Body (Pontiac Firebird or Chevrolet Camaro) car.
• The "StreetRat" and "HMX Utility Van" are among the car sprites that appear in SimCity 3000.
• The Vehicle on the cover, which appears in the menus of the game, is a 1964 or 1965 Ford Thunderbird. Though it appears on the cover and in the menus, it is not playable.

Modifications

There are few mods available for this game, but the ones that are the easiest to find are skin packs, which give players more cars to choose from in the game. Most are still based on the original cars' designs, however. Some examples include the De Lorean from Back to the Future, an ambulance, a fire truck, and new race cars.

Audio

The soundtrack of the game was composed by Jerry Martin, who is also known for composing the music for The Sims and SimCity series.

• The game has many different styles of music to choose from, using a radio control while driving. The stations include jazz, techno, bluegrass, and rock. The garage has a tune composed solely from power tools and machines to make a unique style. In addition, some of the music lived on, and was included in the best-seller game The Sims, as music for "action" television programs, as well as tracks on radios and audio systems.
• Many of the sound effects came from the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds.

Reception
Review score Publication Score GameSpot 4.4/10[2]

References

1. "SIMply Divine: The story of Maxis Software; page 9: A New Focus, a New Mission". Geoff Keighley and GameSpot. Retrieved February 5, 2007.
2. E. Ryan, Michael (1997-12-13). "Streets of SimCity Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2010-09-21.

External links

• Streets of SimCity at MobyGames
• Streets of SimCity @ GameFAQs