Back in FG12 (January 28, 1999) we reviewed the latest addition to the evergreen Sim City range, Sim City 3000. Essentially, the game was a tidied up and made-over update of Sim City 2000, something that didn't go unnoticed on the game's reviewer Jonathan Nash, who said: "Presentation aside though, it's minimally different from Sim City 2000, but you knew that anyway." Still, it's a great game and though not as exciting as the first incarnation, it led Jonathan to sum it up thus: "A shiny, accessible makeover, but it's still an accountancy sim in disguise. By far the best Sim City, but truly universal appeal remains elusive. Shame." He scored the game 80 per cent, a figure we'd agree with today.

Now the Sim family of games is about to grow with the imminent release of The Sims, another simulation from the game's original creators Maxis. The Sims concerns itself with the lives of the individual inhabitants of a virtual city, rather than the grander scale of the city itself, and the player will be able to control their lives and steer them along career paths and all sorts. It sounds like lots of fun, so watch out for the Future Gamer review coming soon.