We’ve reached No. 50!
At varying points throughout this countdown of Retro Gaming Essentials, I’ve had several “come to Jesus” moments where I’ve had to re-evaluate my ranking.
Often, these internal conversations have occurred at noteworthy markers, such as when we hit the Top 20 with “Super Mario Kart” or the Top 30 with “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.”
The conversations, such that they are, generally go something like this:
“Would I feel like a dumbass if this game wasn’t (or was) included in my Top (whatever)?”
That acts as a tie-breaker and helps me crystalize my recommendations. And when you boil it down, that’s really what this list is – a list of games I think should be experienced. Not just my personal favorites, and not just the games that seem important: Concessions on both points will be had, in the interest of providing a resource that is a little more worthwhile as a whole.
And that resource is this: What games, at the end of the day, do I recommend people play (and why)?
Building off of that, if we’re saying to folks, “Hey, play these 50 games,” I don’t see how that list of 50 can be at all close to complete if we don’t talk about “SimCity” (and by extension “The Sims”).
Any reasonable approximation of the history of video gaming requires that conversation.
So, as we put a bow on 50 reviews of some of the best games in existence (with the intention of someday reaching a tidy 100), I say this with full confidence:
Any gamer looking to play some of the all time greats should 100% include SimCity (or one of its sequels) on their to-do list.
Continue reading SimCity — Retro Gaming Essentials (No. 50)SimCity at a glance:
Genre: Building simulation
Released: 1989
Platform: PC
“Game of the Year” from Computer Gaming Monthly