Now that you know you’ve seen what CDV Software is bringing out on the consoles with Lawn Games and Sacred 2, it’s time to take a look at one of their upcoming DS titles.
City Life, to put it basically, is like a Sim City game. You put up buildings, set up roads, utilities, transportation and all the other usually city building tools are at your disposal. What really separates City Life from other city buildings games, though, is that the game goes beyond just the city building aspect. There are six distinct socio-economic groups in your cities ranging from the dirt poor to the filthy rich. You’ll need to maintain and attract all different groups to your city to keep your city alive and populated.
You can set up a very vibrant high end place right next to the beach on one side of the map while you have your lower end houses located on the other side of the map. Neither side will be able to prosper though, unless you make sure that there are roads connecting each side and that there is a proper transportation system in place too. It’s little things like that that will be a big part in having a successful city.
You’ll manage and design your city via the touch screen and have three modes to choose from. Campaign mode will have you go through a story with goals that you’ll need to complete. Challenge mode will have you dealing with problematic situations that you’ll need to fix. And Free Building mode leaves you to do whatever you want to do as you make your own little city.
For some more info, check out the fact sheet after the jump. City Builder DS should be dropping before the end of the year.
Release Date: Q3 2008
Publisher: CDV Software Entertainment USA
Developer: Monte Cristo Games
Genre: City BuilderCity Life DS, created by the team that delivered the critically-acclaimed City Life series for the PC, invites would-be mayors and urban planners to employ their creativity and Nintendo DS stylus to design, build and manage thriving metropolises on the go.
Players are challenged to deliver the ultimate city through efficient transportation routes and over 150 different building types – including famous world landmarks. To succeed, players must manage the town’s budget, housing, employment, entertainment and additional social services for its residents. Six distinct socio-economic groups add to the challenge. Rather than pleasing only one generic type of inhabitant, players must learn to attract and retain a diverse and harmonious population, drawing from all six cultural groups, balancing their unique and often conflicting needs and expectations.
Scenario-driven Campaign, problem-solving focused Challenge, and sandbox-styled Free Building modes further ensure extensive replay value across three distinct terrains and fifteen different maps.Key Features include:
• A proven gaming experience delivers the best elements of the top-selling PC-based City Life series to a new audience. The portable version takes advantage of the Nintendo DS stylus to drag and drop buildings, design transportation routes and solicit feedback about the population and progress.
• Three gameplay modes challenges a broad range of gamers – Campaign mode delivers story and goal-based scenarios; Challenge mode provides particularly tricky situations for problem solvers; and Free Building mode offers an open-ended sandbox.
• Six distinct socio-economic groups challenge the player to balance normal municipal constraints with the unique and often conflicting needs of the city’s inhabitants – housing, employment, entertainment, health care, safety, education and other social services.
• More than 150 different buildings, including famous land marks – the Eifel Tower, the Empire State Building, the Kremlin, and others – coupled with three distinct terrain types and five maps per terrain ensure a new experience with each city constructed.
• Friendly, animated advisors (typically) help players learn the basics and offer ongoing progress feedback.
