Where I'll most likely discuss my opinions on these newfangled "video games". Plus post save files and various game fixes I've come across. Never know who'll need them. Also will contain lists of servers I tend to frequent in each capable game, ordered from most regular to least.
SimCity, Maxis (1989-2013)
SimCity (1989)
The one that started it all. Originally a modified level editor for a seperate game, Will Wright came up with the best idea for a simulation game ever with the original SimCity. "Software toys", as he called them. I used to play this version all the time back in middle school, whenever the teachers weren't looking, ha. Up on the ole Internet Archive, I'd load up the DOS Games page and click thru to this game, and make the best, grid-adhering cities I could.
It wasn't ever appended with "(1989)" when it was first released, but you'll just about always see it listed as such now, so to not cause confusion with the series as a whole I assume.
SimCity 2000
Funnily enough, the one I remember playing the earliest in life is the second one to come out. No doubt b/c this is the one my dad had on hand, along with Streets of Simcity. It was a two-for-one package. Anyway.
This one introduced the isometric camera angle that dominated the rest of the series. It played in 256 color at best. And the music was the best, being MIDIs. I love Downtown Dance, as I'm sure many others do. Play the game, and you'll soon know why.
SimCity 3000
I'll be honest, I didn't really like this one at first. I'd been used to 4 and 2K, but this one I'd never played, not even in my youth. When I did eventually buy it on GOG (it was a package deal IIRC with 2K and 4) and sat down to play it... I didn't much enjoy it. The camera moved much too fast to be comfortable, and everything looked weird. More sophisticated than 2K, yet not quite 4. I know, the latter is a bit of a cheap shot, but what can I say? I didn't grow up with it, and the weirdly fast camera was already turning me off it. So, I closed it. Time passed...
Later on, I had become more wise in the ways of old computer games, and how some old games tied the speed of certain mechanics to the CPU speed, or the expectation that the max FPS would be 30 or so. I had also discovered the PCGamingWiki. So I fixed the speed problem (with the help of this handy guide), and sat down to play it again. Lol, now I quite enjoy it. It expands on 2K quite well, and has its own charming artstyle that is unique, yet is still visibly in that 1999-2000 kinda look.
SimCity 4
The epitome of the simulation city-building game. Nowhere to go but down. And down, down, down it went... SimCity 2013, eugh. Nuff sed. Check out Simtropolis for more info, mods, and more! It's been a very useful resource to put my copy of SC4 well beyond what you can get without it, and has kept my interest in the game alive.
Ah, SimCity 4. I love this game. I really do. It's my 2nd most played game according to my Steam stats, at around 508 hours. I love it so much I put the effort into writing a long review for its Steam Store page. I've made cheat cities, I've made legit cities. I'll probably grab some screenshots sometime and post them here.
Team Fortress 2, Valvᴇ Software (2007)
9-class based team FPS. Overwatch, but older, better, and cooler.
Garry's Mod, Facepunch Studios (2006)
That sandbox game from '06. Now on V13. Magnum opus of one Garry Newman. Other than sandbox, there are a multitude of gamemodes to choose from that tend to heavily modify the existing game functionality to accomodate just about any sort of game style. From Prop Hunt, to Trouble in Terrorist Town, to my personal favorite; Zombie Survival.
Zombie Survival
