Glad to see a bit of praise for SimCity 4; the general opinion on these boards has been pretty negative. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool – it’s not as easy to get started as in 3000, but when you finally get a successful city going it’s a lot more satisfying. You feel like you’ve “earned” it. I still have the fondest memories of 2000, though…
A couple of “gems”:
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature - I never would’ve believed a game about farming would be remotely interesting, but a friend told me I should try it out. It’s probably the most addictive game I’ve ever played, and I’m at a loss to explain why.
Suikoden 2 - I was already a fan of the Final Fantasy games, but had never heard of this series until a friend let me borrow his copy. It became my favorite RPG ever, and I was all over the internet trying to find my own copy (and ended up spending way too much for one on ebay). It’s got the same Japanese console RPG formula going on, but it’s as if the designers weren’t as concerned with going for “epic” as “fun.” The storyline is still big and involving, but there’s tons of interesting characters and minigames and special attacks and secrets and stuff to do all throughout. I liked Suikoden 3 a lot, but the second game in the series will always be my favorite.
And a new one:
Warioware for the GBA - this sounds like a horrible idea, but the game rocks.
Maxis doesn’t usually release demos. I’ve heard of plans to start a PC game rental service online, but can’t find it now. If you’ve got a console (PS2, Xbox, or Gamecube), you could try renting the console version of The Sims. It’s pretty different than the PC version – it’s 3D, for one, and more goal-oriented than open-ended – but gets across the basic idea.
Of course, since The Sims is the best-selling PC game ever, there’s a good chance somebody you know already has it, and you can borrow their copy. Alternatively, you could try to find a copy on ebay – since the game’s 3 years old now, you might be able to find a copy that costs not much more than a rental.