City Rain, by Mother Gaia Studio, is a puzzle / simulation game where you are mayor of a city that, like all others, grows in an unpredictable way. As the mayor, you are challenged to make fast environmentally conscious decisions while still providing for all your citizens. This environmentally conscious game was an IGF Student Showcase Finalist and City Rain is part SimCity and part Tetris, but never quite came together in the way I would have liked.

Gameplay:

City Rain’s concept of building a sustainable city is excellent, but it has some missteps in its execution. The main problem is that City Rain never reaches the frantic and rewarding puzzle aspects of Tetris or strategically develops a sustainable town a la SimCity. The dichotomy of the two gameplay types sounds good in concept, but doesn’t quite work in practice. The keyboard controls and isometric grid make it difficult to make quick reflexive moves, and the pace of the falling pieces prevents you from really delving into the statistics of each type of building. For me, much of the game revolved around me floating around a certain zone of the map, continually dropping pieces to unlock the next phase of the mission as I watched the main town satisfaction bars in the bottom left. The game would be much better suited as a strategy/SimCity game based around green sustainability. It works as it is and is unique, but at least give the option of controlling the pieces with the mouse. This addition would greatly improve the Tetris side of the gameplay, since I believe the strategy elements are there.

Graphics:

City Rain’s graphics are slick, clean and immediately play homage to SimCity. If you have played SimCity, the graphics will make the game feel instantly familiar…. just be ready to put down your mouse and use the keyboard. Each building tile is easily distinguishable and there’s a great variety. It’s also nice that you can stack similar pieces on top of one another to upgrade and/or build larger buildings. The game’s presentation and menus do a great job of embodying the theme of game. If some more animation and effects were thrown in, the graphics could really stand out. Even as it stands now, City Rain is an excellent looking game.

Sound/Music:

The music is great for the first hour, but then you realize that you’re pretty much stuck with the same track. The sound effects are minimal, but suit the strategy/puzzle theme well. The voice-overs are done pretty well and do a good job of alerting you to your city’s problem….but they can crop up way too frequently and can become annoying.

Lasting Appeal:

City Rain will certainly hold your interest for a decent amount of time. The campaign is the strongest mode and does an excellent job of mixing up the goals and introducing new elements into the game. The other two modes focus on typical survival & high score puzzle type modes and are good additions, but focus more on the inferior ‘Tetris’ aspect of the game. City Rain is incredibly unique and a great starting point. I think with some slight tweaks, more control options, and a larger focus on the sim elements that City Rain could be a must-buy.

Average: 73.75%
Tilt: + 3.25%

City Rain is a good game, but it could be a great game. The sustainability angle is refreshing and enjoyable. The game certainly delivers in the graphics/interface department and is certainly deserving of its awards and nominations for its theme/concept alone. Perhaps, I was a little hard on the game, but ultimately there was just something that kept me from playing level after level. Regardless, Mother Gaia has put out a very impressive first title. I’m hoping that they can build and expand on their concept and make a truly captivating and addicting game in the future.

Verdict: 77%

2nd Opinion by Zak:

Mother Gaia’s City Rain is a timely simulation game in the vein of Tetris and SimCity, I agree. Your job, as the mayor, is to stay in office by creating a sustainable city. This isn’t as easy as it seems with buildings and garbage “raining” down from the sky. The biggest challenge for me was the game control, which is all keyboard. Accidentally pushing the wrong buttons occasionally cost me some job approval ratings – maybe it is realistic. If the mouse or keyboard changes could be incorporated, it would have helped a lot. That said; the progression of the game was a winner for me. As the city grows, you are presented with goals from your oh-so-helpful Secretary Catherine. Great voice work! She helps you keep focused around pleasing your population and creating a sustainable city. Biodiesel power plants, NGOs and water treatment plants all help you with the overall goal of sustainability.

City Rain has three modes to play: Campaign, Quick Play and Block Mania. In the Quick Play and Block Mania modes, the object is to rotate the blocks of buildings to fit the space before time runs out; this is Tetris. For lasting appeal, I would suggest the Campaign mode where the goals create dynamic. I wanted to see what new buildings I could obtain; however, I found myself leaving the game and returning later – in other words I didn’t feel compelled to play. The graphics are solid, clean and I loved the building upgrade feature. Not quite sure I liked the level select screen, but I was pleased with the graphics overall. The music could use some variety, but was appropriate for a simulation game. The concept is great, but something just kept me from going totally green on this one.

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