8 Best Maxis Games From The 90s

Maxis is a company that probably had a huge impact on your childhood if you grew up in the 1990s. From the ultimate city simulation, SimCity, to its various spinoffs, the somewhat educational nature of Maxis’ games meant they found themselves on school computers for many bored students to enjoy. While it is now a subdivision of EA Games, this company has hugely impacted the gaming industry, and The Sims franchise remains one of the most popular gaming IPs out there, even if its a game you can’t win outright.

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During the 1990s, Maxis really experimented with types of games and how they worked. This led to some spectacular flops and fan favorites despite what the critics might say. We all remember Maxis games, and if given the chance to play them again, we would probably boot them right up.

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8

SimEarth

Forget just a city; in this Maxis game, you’re able to simulate the entire planet. You can adjust the atmosphere, temperature, and continents and place life on the planet to evolve. In other words, you kind of play God in this game. Released in 1990, the game received a lot of praise for having a wider scope than SimCity and including some environmental themes such as global warming. It may have really been ahead of its time. Sure SimCity gets all the attention, but SimEarth really shows a ton of ambition at Maxis. With god games being a real thing in this industry, this one probably needs a remake or reboot.

7

SimAnt

SimAnt was considered an educational game but it was also an interesting strategy challenge for running a black ant colony. The player must work to spread their colony throughout a garden and into a house while doing battle with red ants. Think of it like an RPG but instead of Zerg you have real insects.

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The player carries out tasks by releasing pheromones to dig new tunnels, pick up items and food, and attack those dastardly red ants. In an era where Stray gets headlines for making it so fun to be a cat, SimAnt was a fun 90s ride in being an ant.

6

SimHealth

This was more of an oddity than a game and perhaps the purest educational tool Maxis has released. This health sim was not released for kids, but as a way to help educate adults about the healthcare industry, which was a hot topic in national politics when it was released in 1994. This management sim was produced in collaboration with the non-profit Markle Foundation as a public service. It also turned out to be a very tough Maxis title that threw all sorts of complexities at the player.

The game sold about 50,000 copies and was popular among those in health administration schools. If you like insurance companies and co-pays, Sim Health should be a must-play.

5

SimCity 2000

They sometimes say it’s not about doing things first but rather about doing things better. SimCity 2000 came out in 1993 and improved upon everything from its predecessor, SimCity. With better graphics, a more modern interface, more building types, and more elaborate finances – this game became the gold standard of city sims that future city-building games were built upon.

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SimCity 2000 versions and expansions were released throughout the 1990s, and it sold 4.23 million copies while also serving as a tie-in to several other Maxis titles.

4

SimCity3000

You can see the very original naming scheme Maxis did with its games, but that really betrays SimCity3000’s popularity. Released in 1999, with more features and complexities than its predecessor, it sold one million copies in just six months. While there was a 3D version of this game, it had to be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up with sprite-based graphics.

It got a load of praise from critics and was even ported to Nintendo DS and the iPhone. Featuring more expansive play and game features, it also added the most important aspect of city management: waste disposal.

3

SimCopter

We have a special spot in our hearts for this game. When released in 1996, it may have had dated graphics, but it was an absolute blast to play if you were a kid with a weekend to waste. Players take on the role of a helicopter pilot and fly around cities saving injured people, taking them to hospitals, breaking up traffic jams, putting out fires, and arresting bad guys.

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It was sometimes a buggy affair and had one controversy in the form of a speedo-related Easter egg, but the ability to import your favorite SimCity 2000 maps made this game very replayable. The radio in the background, with a variety of awesome tunes and commercials, made the city come alive. It was so darn relaxing that it should be counted among the games considered good for your mental health.

2

Streets Of SimCity

Using the same game engine as SimCopter, Streets of SimCity allowed the player to navigate SimCity 2000 maps and original maps with fully-armed vehicles. While the game did not run well on machines of the time, and there were better games like Interstate ‘76 – this game still had some of the Maxis charm like a radio station aspect and the ability to drive around custom maps. It also had online play if you could convince your friends to buy this game as well.

1

SimFarm

The rural version of SimCity, in this game, you get to manage a farm instead of a metropolis. Build up your land, construct buildings and make money by … well … farming. Like Sim City, there are natural disasters that can impact crops and harvest. It got favorable reviews, as reviewers thought it was a lot of fun.

Before Minecraft, before Stardew Valley, there was SimFarm, and if you can find this Windows 95 classic, you should enjoy the heck out of it.

NEXT: The Best PC Games Of The Early 2000s