Right from the start, players will experience new God-like powers of creation as they lay the groundwork for their cities by molding mountains, carving valleys, seeding forests and laying rivers. With these new landscape creation features, players can now construct the most realistic metropolis imaginable. Unlike earlier games in the series, SimCity 4 cities do not live in isolation from the world, they are part of an entire region. Each city a player now creates will become part of an ever-growing tapestry of municipalities that, once connected by transportation networks, can share and compete for resources. Depending upon the choices made by a player, this multi-city game play can result in a variety of outcomes within that region.

For the first time ever, players can follow a Sim as they go about their life in the city. Players can personalize their Sim and immediately move him into any area and watch him experience life in the city, first hand. Is he or she enjoying a happy existence in an urban utopia or enduring a futile fight for survival in the inner-city. A player's Sim will provide valuable clues to improving the city.

SimCity 4 will allow players to actually touch their handiwork and feel the pulse of their creation. Whether a metropolis is booming with expansion or decaying through neglect, SimCity 4's new simulation engine will give players immediate feedback so they can react to its every need. Individual buildings and their lots will now provide feedback to the player who lives there. Bigger, better and more relevant disasters are also available along with the ability to dispatch the Mayor, police or fire department to areas in the city where they are needed. Your every decision in this new SimCity has much more of an impact and gives you the ability to respond more effectively. Day and night, the movement in SimCity 4 is first-person, frenetic, palpable and unpredictable.