2007 Sim Game of the Year

Simulation games is a category where Independent Games always have some of the most interesting titles. Indie developers' innovative approach leads to simulation games that are typically quite different from the standard fare found in more mainstream games.

This year's games tend towards educational, though they are so fun you probably won't even notice how much real world knowledge you are gaining.

5th Place - President Forever 2008 + Primaries

Developer: TheorySpark	Players: 1-32
System Requirements: Windows
Website

I'm losing Iowa. Despite spending a large amount of money on commercials touting my leadership qualities and spending a tremendous amount of time campaigning there with barn-raising speeches, my firm grip on the state has been eroding. It's mostly due to the unscrupulous actions of one of my opponents who has made an outright attack on my character. Well, two can play at that game. He will soon find out what a character attack really looks like.

The newest version of President Forever has been released just in time for another grueling year of US Presidential campaigning. The game is brilliantly, and often dauntingly, deep, giving players full control over every aspect of the political aspirations of the current presidential hopefuls (or your own custom characters). There are few more fascinating things to watch than the US President-picking process, and President Forever does it all in a riveting manner that kept us on the campaign trail for weeks.

4th Place - Virtual Villagers 2

Developer: Last Day of Work	Players: 1
System Requirements: Windows 98+, 700 mhz Processor, 64 mb RAM, DirectX 7+
Website	Download

Noah seems to be sick. He's the fourth islander to come down with something, leading to much concern among our small group of 10. Though our food supply is good, no-one seems to know much about healing, and I fear, unless we learn quickly how to help the ill, our tribe of 10 will soon be lost to memory, claimed by these sandy inhospitable shores.

The follow-up to last year's Sim Game of the Year and Top 10 game of the year, Virtual Villagers, Virtual Villagers 2: The Lost Children picks up where the last game left off with more puzzles mixed with simulation. The game play has become more active with many more items to collect, the addition of soups that you create from island herbs (as you look for the most helpful recipies), and additional intrigue doled out about the story of the mysterious island of Isola. It's a great trip back to a wonderful place, with music that will quickly transport you directly into the tiny islander world.

3rd Place - Peacemaker

Developer: Impact Games	Players: 1
System Requirements: Windows 2000+ or Mac OS 10.4+
Website

My people are restless. The papers report calamities and grief, and they should. Each day I face a new challenge. Emotions run the gambit and often are baked to a crisp in the burning rays of the desert sun. This conflict between Israel and Palestine has raged forever it seems. As I try each day to bring peace to the region, I'm ever aware of just how difficult that is. Multiple factions, differing agendas, and the fire of hatred can make the most innocuous of actions erupt into breathing nightmare.

Peacemaker brings players into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by placing them at the head of either of the two sides involved. Though it is just a game, Peacemaker dreams of being more and is being used as a teaching tool to help people understand just how complicated the struggle for peace is, with the hope of helping the real-world peace process. While most educational games tend to feel more like school than fun, Peacemaker gets everything right. It is captivating in every sense of the word, and inspirational, staying true to the situation and providing hours of gripping and entertaining gameplay.

2nd Place - Kudos Rock Legend

Developer: Positech Games	Players: 1
System Requirements: Windows 98+, 500MHz CPU, 256MB RAM
Website	Download

Fran needs to go. Everyone can see it. At the tryout, her grooving guitar made her an immediate 'must' for the band, but those were the early days: before the songs, before the gigs, back when we played any venue that would take us and practiced in Jim's garage. To be fair, we're not a household name yet, but we will be, we just need a little more oomph to take us over the hump. That means a new guitarist no matter what hardships we've gone through in the past to build friendships. Everyone in the band agrees, except Fran. Poor brilliant Fran, whose guitar licks helped open our first doors.

Rock Legend is the follow-up to Kudos, though the only similarity between the games is the interface. Rock Legend takes a completely different approach to becoming a guitar hero as it places you in charge of a band. Putting together a band is a blast, and working to get hit singles and sold-out shows is just the beginning. Players control every aspect of the band's life, from where they practice and what type of food they cater, to what type of music they listen to. For everyone who has ever wanted to hit the big time with their own band, Rock Legend is a must play. It defines Indie.

2007 Sim Game of the Year - Venture Arctic

Developer: Pocketwatch Games	Players: 1
System Requirements: Windows 98+, DirectX 8.0+, 2 ghz Processor, 512 mb RAM
Website	Download

With the ice frozen in the winter, and the arctic wolf hungry for food, he ventured forth. Slowly across the ice he crept until he reached the far shore. A new home to explore. New food. The land had become barren. Disease had taken many of the wolves after the food had become scarce. Determined not to become another carcass on the snow, the wolf pushed forward, looking carefully for any sign of life. Looking for the unsuspecting animal that could be the long-sought after meal, and the means of another day's survival.

Venture Arctic is a learning experience, but not because it tries to be. The game, where you control the impact of the seasons on the arctic animals, is about balance. Too many rabbits leads to a barren landscape. Increasing the number of wolves to combat the problem will quickly lead to no animals at all. The animals react the world around them as you paint the land with snow and the water with ice, and then melt it all away. The Inuit-inspired art gives the whole game a distinctive look that matches the game's uniqueness. Venture Arctic, like the world it portrays, is a treasure of beauty and wonder. It's an adventure into the unknown world around us that inspires and excites as players enjoy each new discovery. There are a lot of games available, but few of them are much more than a simple pastime. Venture Arctic is a game that stands out from the pack as being not only meaningful, but also amazingly good. Those qualities made it an easy pick as our 2007 Sim game of the year.

Sim Game of the Year Award History

History:
2007 - Venture Arctic
2006 - Virtual Villagers
2005 - Democracy
2004 - Outpost Kaloki
2003 - Dope Farmer

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By: Russell Carroll
Posted: Friday December 14, 2007