We are living in a simulated world.

“There’s so much activity going on down at street level. Every Sim has a home, a shop and a place to work.”

—Kip Katsarelis, senior producer, SimCity

SimCity has always struggled to create a believable environment, everything followed a pattern and the people were just simple numbers on a stats screen, or something to get killed in a natural disaster. This latest entry hopes to change all that with some help from the new Glass Box engine.

The engine allows everything in the game to be played out in real time, people’s decisions will change based on what happens and unique outcomes occur, ensuring that no two games are alike. This keeps the game fresh and interesting as opposed to other entries in the series that quickly became dull and predictable after playing a few times.

Everything plays out like a real city, Sims will get jobs and travel to work every day, pick their favorite shops and some may even choose to start using public transport more  - if the infrastructure is put in place.

Crime also works in a similar way, if players don’t invest in a police force and education, then crime will spring up in neighborhoods. This will spread outwards towards other areas – if left unchecked – until eventually the whole city is engulfed.

This new engine should ensure that this is the most realistic and entertaining entry in the series to date and if not then you can always just spawn in a giant dinosaur and fifty tornadoes to spice things up a bit.