That actually sounds closer to Sim Ant than not (the game was nothing like Sim City), but moving on. Rebirth is a remake of the original Gradius. I haven't played all the VC/WiiWare shooter (apart from SHMUPGuru, who has?) but for my money I liked Star Parodier. It's funny and fun at the same time. Lords of Thunder was also pretty good, albeit in a very different way.