Last weekend as I was perusing GameTap, I stumbled across a game that seemed like it could quickly become a guilty pleasure. The game was Capitalism II. The premise of the game is fairly straightforward – it is a business simulation game, so it plays a lot like Sim City, but instead of managing a city, you manage a business empire. I’ll admit I’m a big fan of strategy games and simulation games, so this game should be right up my alley. Was it? Well…..Capitalism 2 is a bit of a letdown if you are expecting something that is as fun or playable as the Sim City series. Much of the problem revolves around the fact that this game tries to play a lot like Sim City series, but it just isn’t as polished or fun. It’s a bit disappointing.

As a business simulation, this game does a pretty good job of showing the full range of manufacturing, retail, advertising, investment, and other areas of business. If you were a teacher of a business class or even someone who wanted to understand business and business strategy, Capitalism II is an excellent way to learn the basics of business and business strategy. It hits that nail right on the head.

However, beyond the business simulation concept, the game just doesn’t have the refinement and “fun factor” to keep me playing the game. Even if you compare it to a game like Sim City 2000, it just doesn’t hold up. Maxis really knows how to make a simulation game both fun and interesting, while the makers of Capitalism II just didn’t know how to strike that balance.

I could go on about the handful of flaws that I found, but the bottom line is this. If you are a business nerd, you might like this game for a while, but once you know how to build your business, it gets boring. The upshot is if you have a subscription to GameTap, then you can check out this game without paying for it. Otherwise, even at the $9.00 it’s listed at on Amazon, it’s not the best game you could get for $9.

Score: 2.5/5
Verdict: Good business simulation, but not a terribly fun game. Needs polish and more fun factor.