This retro city builder is a beautiful game that includes events such as bank robberies and police chases.

I was blown away when I first saw the isometric city-builder Metropolis 1998 in January. It allows you to design and decorate each building in your town. That's awesome. The retro graphics are pixelated and give it a nostalgic feel.

Metropolis 1998's demo has been updated with five months worth of new features. There are now more options to play. The development roadmap is packed with features planned for launch 1.0, as well as some interesting "aspirations", which developer Yesbox Games hopes will be included post-1.0.

You know, like, bank robberies and police chases. Or zombie outbreaks in which tiny little cops try to hold off itty bitty undead hoards.

In the city builders that I've played, crime usually occurs offscreen. In Cities: Skylines for example, i remember seeing angry little crime icons on buildings or neighborhoods. A police car would then drive to the area and flash its lights until the icon disappeared. You never get to see any action. The "Post-1.0 Aspirations", a bullet in the Metropolis 1998 map, lists "visible crimes" as a bullet. You can "watch a robbery take place" and "police chases," where the cops try to catch crooks. This is a lot more exciting than watching an icon appear and disappear.

Metropolis 1998's 1.0 launch will also include traditional disasters like earthquakes and tornados. There are some disasters that seem a little extra on the map, such as a pandemic - not a zombie pandemic but a 2020 pandemic - recessions and depressions and monopolies'squashing competition in certain industries.

One more feature that I found aspirational: a "Sims mode" which allows you to live in your city. Living in Metropolis 1998 may be dangerous, with bank robberies or zombie attacks. It's a beautiful looking game. I want to build a house and decorate it and move in.

The updated demo includes new animations, more variations in vehicle colors, basic terrain modification and "potato" graphics modes, as well as new activities for your little simulated citizens (like lunch breaks at the office). Here are the patch note for the new demo. I highly recommend that you download it and give it a try.