Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as all that but not as good either
Review: A few years ago after SC 2K came out I participated in a bulletin board discussion on the Maxis site about what the next version should have. I suggested editable buildings and real-life landmarks like the Eiffel Tower. I was happy to see that both suggestions (probably also made by others) were to be incorporated into SC3K. But the building editing tool, available via free download for PC users, is not available for the Mac version, and they have no plans to make one! While I can't agree with some reviewers who call the Mac version worthless, this is a strike against it. After all the original SimCity was designed on a Mac! Otherwise, there are many cool things about SC 3K, and enough entertainment value for me to give it 3 stars. However, some cool things about the previous version are now missing. For instance, you can no longer place signs wherever you want labeling various sections of town. This added nothing to the success of your town, but it was fun. I've run across a few bugs and yes, it takes a hellacious amount of hard drive space and time to install, but once it's running it performs fine on my 200 Mz machine.
Rating: 
Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: As a long-time SimCity fan, I was eagerly awaiting the Mac port of this game. Sad to say that it wasn't worth the wait. The game seems to have been ported over with absolutely no regard to the Mac platform -- graphics and navigation all have a sticky PC feel and the game hardly has a Mac feel at all. Even with my PowerPC 275 processor, 24x CD-ROM, and 128K of physical RAM (256 with virtual memory), gameplay is slow and unresponsive (and yes, I followed the performance enhancement instructions to the letter.) Even little touches that made SimCity2000 so playable and addictive are lost -- for example, no satisfying crunch and dustcloud when demolishing. And the amount of real estate the game takes up on my hard disk is inexcusable (not to mention that the game has to be played with the CD-ROM installed, and that there's no "lite install" option.) Yes, it's cool to be able to build the Taj Mahal, but not worth the cheesy Microsoft-clone look and feel of the game and the bloated interface and memory requirements. Save your Simoleons and look for a copy of SimCity2000 in online auctions instead.
Rating:
Summary: A great game that's too needy
Review: Believe it or not, this is a great game...........great content within quite an interactive interface. The news ticker at the bottom of the screen IS better than an interrupting swirling newspaper, as in the previous version. The graphics are superb if your running a G3 or better. However, when I first bought the game I was disappointed by how MUCH memory was needed just to load it. Don't kid yourself--you'll need 96 megs built-in if you want to take advantage of all the game's features. It took forever, and I do mean forever, to install. And it runs increasingly (and frustratingly...) slower as your city increases in size. I would love to give this game a 5-star rating, but it doesn't deserve it. You need a supercomputer to run the thing, and you better pray to the Big Guy if you have any problems; Maxis' online help is just terrible. However, if you are prepared to beef up your mac to testosterone-infected levels, this game IS very fun and fulfilling.
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth It
Review: Even with a G3, gaming is slow. The graphics are nice, but having to put 250 mgs of space on your hard disk for it really takes out a chunk. importing sim city 2000 files isn't worth it either. Most buildings don't show up in the new version and leave you with blank spots. I was really disappointed with it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth It
Review: Even with a G3, gaming is slow. The graphics are nice, but having to put 250 mgs of space on your hard disk for it really takes out a chunk. importing sim city 2000 files isn't worth it either. Most buildings don't show up in the new version and leave you with blank spots. I was really disappointed with it.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best
Review: First of all let me say that I'm not a "gamer" so pardon me if I'm not up to par with lingo etc.Now I'm free to say that this is probably one of the best games I've ever played. I'm a SimCity 2000 vet and was eagerly anticipating this one, and it's everything you want it to be. Enhanced features, better details, great interaction, it still has it's humerous edge (if you've played SimCity you know what I mean, it's a funny game), and the great music (honestly, we need a SimCity soundtrack ;), just kidding). Personally I love the enhanced terrain editing tool, the new cheats, building/facility selection, the graphics, the new (and somewhat amusing) characters, and the more up-to-date graphs and charts and advisors that let you know how your city is doing. It is missing some of the things that SimCity 2000 had like disasters (if you liked that stuff, they could be fun) and the arcologies, but they are replaced with a more user friendly interface, interesting scenarios and offers from neighbor cities and businessmen, a very fun gaming atmosphere, and a royal selection of great new features that make this superior to SimCity 2000 in my book, and up there as my personal favorite game.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: First of all let me say that I'm not a "gamer" so pardon me if I'm not up to par with lingo etc. Now I'm free to say that this is probably one of the best games I've ever played. I'm a SimCity 2000 vet and was eagerly anticipating this one, and it's everything you want it to be. Enhanced features, better details, great interaction, it still has it's humerous edge (if you've played SimCity you know what I mean, it's a funny game), and the great music (honestly, we need a SimCity soundtrack ;), just kidding). Personally I love the enhanced terrain editing tool, the new cheats, building/facility selection, the graphics, the new (and somewhat amusing) characters, and the more up-to-date graphs and charts and advisors that let you know how your city is doing. It is missing some of the things that SimCity 2000 had like disasters (if you liked that stuff, they could be fun) and the arcologies, but they are replaced with a more user friendly interface, interesting scenarios and offers from neighbor cities and businessmen, a very fun gaming atmosphere, and a royal selection of great new features that make this superior to SimCity 2000 in my book, and up there as my personal favorite game.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as veryone says, but not perfect
Review: First things first, I love the Sim City series. I loved the original, and I loved SC2K. They were, without question, five star games. SC3K is not. It bogs down a lot, especially as cities reach Metropolis levels. (1,000,000+) The file saving interface is not done with the Mac in mind, and the game is huge. However, that aside, the question remains: Is this game worth my money? The answer is a resounding yes. I'm running a Rev B. iMac with 96 MB of RAM, so I have an acceptable but not stellar system Don't even try running the game with anything less. But if you have this, a world of fun awaits you.
The in-game interface is simple, although file saving and opening is clearly a Windows clone. However, the in-game interface is neither Mac or Windows specific, and easy to navigate and get used too.. The graphics are gorgeous, especially at the second closest level. You can se the people walking around, the buildings are at hi-res, the detail is incredible. There are the trademarks of Maxis humor (zoom in closely on the stadium and look at the bleachers). Traffic accidents and angry sims, military troops being PTd, it's a riot to watch up close. The rewards system has been vastly expanded upon. It takes forever to discover and earn all of the rewards the game has to offer. The Landmarks are just plain fun, and the advisors have been expanded upon as well. Petitioners bring a new level of detail to your sims, as well as neighbor deals to deal with...undesirable buildings, or raise needed cash.
All in all, this is more like SimCity 2500. It's not the revolution the 2K was over the original. It brings depth rather than breadth. It's not perfect (hence the four star rating). It's incredibly slow at higher populations, the installer is a monster, and the save dialogue boxes are distinctly Windows like. However, the game is just plain fun. And when enjoying a game, the fun factor is all the really matters.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but something's missing
Review: I remember how absolutely addicted I was to the original SimCity on the Mac. SimCity 2000 pushed the envelope further and made a great game even greater. Now here's SimCity 3000, which visually is incredible, but really it doesn't pack the 'wow' factor of its predecessors. The clunky Windows interface doesn't help, and the system requirements are riduculously high. My 200 MHz G3 Powerbook with just over 100 meg of RAM barely needed a chunk of Virtual Memory to run it, and it ran somewhat slow. Only now with a G4 does it run smoothly. Like I said, the graphics are excellent, but probably the only true advancement from SimCity 2000. They've added building types and expanded the whole city council/advisor aspects, but I expected a lot more from this one. Still, if you're a SimCity nut, it's not bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly the very worst Mac game ever
Review: I wish the person who had given me this as a gift for my birthday would've read these reviews first. This game is possibly the worst I have ever played on a Mac. And it's made even worse by the fact that Sim games in the past were among the best. The game play is indeed painfully slow and frustrating, even on my G3. The interface is awkward and ugly. ANd it takes up way too much space on my hard drive! Too bad I broke the seal on the box because now I can't return it anywhere and I'm left with a very expensive paperweight. Maxis and EA really screwed this one up and I'll be very wary of any games by them in the future.
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