"SimCity 4," a new and entertaining city-planning simulation for PC from the Maxis division of Electronic Arts, is a nightmare, and I mean that in the best possible way.
First, I don't see how anyone can possibly describe SimCity 4 as a "game." Games have winners and losers. Games have endings. The "Sim" line of computer entertainment, started by a charming and diabolical genius named Will Wright, does not have winners or losers. With titles like "SimCity," "SimGolf" or "SimAnt," you may fail, but you don't lose.
In SimCity 4, for example, you may end up with an undesirable city in which no one wishes to live, which would mean you've failed as a mayor. But you never really lose because you can find ways to redeem yourself by redeeming your city.