Sim City 2000 was one of the first PC Games that I ever played, and I don't think that I've ever enjoyed a game as much as I originally enjoyed Sim City 2000. The gameplay is perfectly simple and the lack of any sort of general plot or goal makes the game peaceful and transfixing. In Sim City 2000 you just build a city - it's that simple. With patience and effective management, you (the mayor) can eventually expand a small town into a booming metropolis.
Sure, the gameplay is extremely primitive, but that for the most part works to the game's advantage. The three or four repeated music tracks remain stuck in my head after years (a compliment) and the simple budget design and tax system make the game easy to play. The sounds in Sim City 2000 are perfect - especially the ones that play when building roads or stadiums. Also, newspapers and the budget people's advice are great (just try cutting the transportation guy's funds).
Destroying a city, which I only do on rare occasions, is also super fun. Monsters, floods, and even a controlled bulldozer can rapidly destroy entire maps.
There has always been one problem that I had with this game - the incredibly low costs of everything. Just about everything costs fewer than hundred dollars. I would have preferred a somewhat more realistic expense system, but that doesn't matter too much.
Overall, I give Sim City 2000 a 9 out of 10. It's a well-made, classic, simple game.
