Fascinating and endlessly playable God-sim
The Sim series has always been one notable for its ambition and scale, with everything from SimCity to SimCopter and SimSafari all attempting to recreate various aspects of life for videogamers to wreak havoc in. In SimLife, we have perhaps the most complex version yet, as the game attempts to replicate life itself, so for any players with a serious God-complex, this has to be up there with Black & White as a must play. The idea here is to create and sustain an entire ecosystem, where the genetics of every organism within that system can be modified as you see fit, with your choices affecting whether your creations live or die. The concept is an undeniably fascinating one, as you are literally creating worlds and playing with nature, altering living creatures, both plant and animal, at a genetic level and in a way which Charles Darwin would either have been fascinated with or horrified by. There isn't really an overall point to SimLife, beyond testing out variations on genetically modified creatures, so if you like structure to your games, then this is unlikely to appeal, but its playground-like nature means that if you enjoy just experimenting and fooling around, then this is likely to prove endlessly fascinating. You can create an almost infinite array of animals with their own unique characteristics so the game is only really constrained by your imagination, a fact which goes some way to making up for its lacklustre visual and sound design. If you've ever wondered how an egg-laying kangaroo or giant tree-eating snail would fare in the real world, then this is the way to find out. There is a certain sense of pointlessness to it though, so be wary when trying this out.
