EA announces SimCity Deluxe for mobile

EA has revealed details on its upcoming SimCity Java revamp. SimCity Deluxe is built on the same framework as 2006’s Sim City but, as you’d expect, has been seriously tweaked and enhanced to suit a 2010 audience.

Having had a brief look at a near-finished build recently, this enhancement is most apparent in the game's visuals. The familiar isometric viewpoint is sharper and more vibrant than before, with attractive touches such as shadows cast by clouds.

There's also a hat-full of new animations to bring your city alive, such as aircraft buzzing around the skies. With the ability to enable disasters in Freeplay mode, we couldn't resist asking if volcano activity inhibited this air travel at all. It seems it doesn't, but EA is promising plenty of other neat features instead.

Aside from the aforementioned Freeplay mode, which allows you to build your city unrestrained, there's a Scenario mode that reins in the freedom a little and gives you clearly defined goals (such as reaching a certain population level). It's ideal for mobile play, as well as for introducing newcomers to this incredibly deep series.

The main area the publisher wants to emphasise is the new, more fluid interactive help system that offers advice as needed. Sure enough, bringing up one of the helpful bar chart screens (accessed by pressing '1', '2' or '3') prompted a large animated head to appear and explain its function.

In the same vein, the tutorial is geared towards introducing the basics of the classic franchise to an audience that may never have touched such an in-depth city planner before.

The game’s set for release on May 12th, so keep an eye out for our review in advance of that date.