SimCity players can now deploy Red Cross units to in-game disaster zones, all while supporting the actual organization.
It’s now been six months since SimCity‘s disastrous PC launch, where many prospective fans either gave up on the franchise or waited impatiently for game-fixing patches. Today, the situation has largely improved. Players have access to SimCity for Mac, barring some initial complications, and can expand their game with the latest DLC content. If those features aren’t enough to let you give SimCity another chance, perhaps an appeal to charity would help you reconsider. As part of a partnership between Electronic Arts and the Red Cross, Maxis is offering a limited-time Red Cross DLC pack to SimCity players. Not only would this boost your city’s disaster response capabilities, but the profits will help real-world Red Cross organizations respond to actual disasters.
The DLC pack includes an in-game Red Cross Relief Center, deployment tents, and vehicles that travel your city promoting disaster relief. That sounds pretty innocuous at first, but the in-game organization changes dramatically in times of crisis. Once an inevitable natural disaster occurs, like a tornado or meteor strike, Red Cross tents automatically appear across the city to provide aid for your sims. As the city recovers, each tent releases 10 sims back into the city and disappears until the next disaster. Relief tents function independently of SimCity‘s usual fire and ambulance services, adding another layer of protection for your sims just for buying the DLC.
SimCity‘s Red Cross pack is available in the SimCity Store for $9.99, which sounds admittedly steep for a few tents and vehicles. That being said, at least 80% of proceeds will go to participating Red Cross organizations, including a minimum $100,000 donation from EA. If that’s enough to make you reconsider, the DLC pack will be available for one year before its listing is removed from the SimCity Store.
Source: SimCity
