SimCity Societies: Destinations, the first expansion pack to the unusual take on the city-building genre, gives players the option of building a resort city and wooing travelers. Just as in real-life, catering to tourists can give a city's economy a huge boost. And what better place to build a destination city than in the shadow of the great pyramids or next door to Dr. Frankenstein's lab?
Dracula's Castle spews creepy blue fog over a sleepy hamlet.
Underneath the surface, however, Destinations continues the trend of the recent downloadable updates by continuing to add more and more strategic layers to the game. At release, SimCity Societies was a kind of aimless sandbox lacking much meat to challenge would-be city planners. That's changed with the subsequent updates, and Destinations looks like it'll add some compelling strategy on top of the eye-candy.
Come Ski on Snowy Mountain! Mind the Tarpit.
Obviously the centerpieces of the new expansion are the destinations. These tourist magnets are part of the landscape when you start a new city; you can't build them or move them, but you'll have to build around them.
Destinations include natural wonders, such as the towering redwood grove (trees nearly as tall as your biggest skyscrapers), the bubbling hot springs, or a snowy mountain. They also include sites of historical interest, such as old forts, ancient greek temples, or the iconic stonehenge. And, in keeping with the playful theme of the Sims games, some of the destinations are downright whimsical, including Dracula's Castle, Frankenstein's lab, or a crystal quarry that attracts new-age kooks like moths to a lamppost.
