Review: SimCity 4 Multiplayer -vs- BRE

[lotherius 16]

Yes, folks, I know we''re all spoiled by the multiplay capability in SimCity 4, but there is another game that could potentially dethrone the mighty SimCity 4 in the realm of MultiPlayer capability.

I compared the two, and have come up with the following blow-by-blow comparison:

Play Online:
Well, both games have the same concept here. You take turns with other online players, with each player taking his or her turns playing "by himself" and then afterward another player can play. The similarity ends here, however. In BRE, your gameplay is automatically updated with 24 other people on your "planet" and if you''re participating in a larger game, the system automatically exchanges files with the other systems for an unlimited number of players. In SimCity 4, you have to download your city and have 48 hours for your "turn" at which point, you give it up to someone else.
Winner: BRE

Making Deals with Other Players:
In BRE, you can make treaties with or attack other players simply by selecting some menu options. The other player will be notified of these when he logs on. In SimCity 4 Online, you can''t make deals with other players. You have to create your own neighbor cities and make deals with yourself.
Winner: BRE

Inter-Player Communication:
Neither game offers real-time chat capability. However, both have a messaging system. In SimCity 4 Online, you go to a "bulletin board" for the region you''re playing in and can read or post messages. In BRE, you can send private messages to other players. These private messages will be seen by the player it was sent to as soon as he starts the game - he can''t miss them. In SimCity 4, if a person doesn''t check the BBS, he won''t see the message. Therefore, it is not very easy to communicate with other players, even those who take over your region after you''re done.
Winner: BRE

Long-Term Playability:
In SimCity 4, you are given 48 hours to do whatever you want with your city, at which time, you give it up for someone else to play. You can only play the city again once, and not twice in a row. There is little reward for your investment because you have no say in how the next player handles your city. In BRE, your empire is yours to keep and build, as long as you can defend it from those who want to take it from you. You are rewarded for coming back day after day by being able to continually play your turns and grow stronger, hopefully with the help of the other players who also play locally.
Winner: BRE

Graphics:
This one was a tough call. BRE uses a very high-tech method of graphics known as ANSI Colour. The splash screen is quite impressive, and is cleverly created using a maximum of 255 different "IBM Graphics Character Set" characters and 16 colours - including black. The display speed varies depending upon your Modem, but is usually rather quick, easily keeping up with the fastest gamers.
SimCity4 uses an advanced 3d Engine, with a more impressive splash screen. It uses millions of colours - including black. During online play, however, the graphics depend on the reliability of Internet Explorer. Also, the displa speed varies depending upon your 3d Accellerator card, but is usually rather slow. Most gamers find they have to wait on the display for quite a long time before the game responds.
Winner: Tie - BRE is faster but SimCity 4 is prettier.

Well, it looks like BRE - Barren Realms Elite - wins!

The good news? BRE is available for a song since it dates back to the early 1990''s when it was popular with online dial-up text BBS''s (before BBS meant web message board).

The bad news? You probably paid up to $50 for SimCity 4...

[lotherius 16]

Over two years later, I agree with myself.

[Ninja12 3]

whats BRE??