SimCity

 PC
User Score
2.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 4557 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 602 out of 4557
  2. Mixed: 428 out of 4557
  3. Negative: 3,527 out of 4557
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  1. Afterforever
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    The launch has been a complete disaster. Single player game is basically unplayable, because of idiotic online DRM implementation. Seriously, if you can't offer good service, just don't offer it. Unfortunately, this is rather typical thing for big publishing companies nowadays. What's even worse, EA doesn't offer refunds for digital purchases. Well, we'll see about that... Apparently, it'sThe launch has been a complete disaster. Single player game is basically unplayable, because of idiotic online DRM implementation. Seriously, if you can't offer good service, just don't offer it. Unfortunately, this is rather typical thing for big publishing companies nowadays. What's even worse, EA doesn't offer refunds for digital purchases. Well, we'll see about that... Apparently, it's not ok to steal their games, but it's ok to take someone's money without consequences.… Expand
  2. p360assassin
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Ignoring all the terrible DRM problems, this game is still awful. You cant have any city building game when your city is so small. If I run out of space in under 2 hours, the game is already bad. There is games where map size isn't that much of a problem, but in city building games, you by default need a large area. The multiplayer interaction is forced, and seeing as I like playing it inIgnoring all the terrible DRM problems, this game is still awful. You cant have any city building game when your city is so small. If I run out of space in under 2 hours, the game is already bad. There is games where map size isn't that much of a problem, but in city building games, you by default need a large area. The multiplayer interaction is forced, and seeing as I like playing it in single player, that is unacceptable. No point in having 5 cities per regions if they are not always progressing when I am not playing in them.… Expand
  3. TrueGamerOz
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    This is what happened to SimCity, EA do what EA does best, destroy franchises, they've destroied three seperate franchises in three months (Including SimCity), not bad even at EA standards. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LE0ycgkBQ
  4. SkippyDunbar
    Mar 5, 2013
    1
    Thanks for ruining a great game EA games.. The city size limit, DRM and required on-line play are a total failure. And detract from the games visual appeal.. THANK YOU FOR OFFERING REFUNDS TO THOSE WHO WANT THEM. I have already requested my refund and have un installed the game. I will stick with SimCity 4... It works...
  5. Trustme_imaDoct
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I literally made an account to give this game a 0 and tell everyone it sucks dick. Forced online and so many great features gone, leaves this game to be known as one of the worst in Sim City history...
  6. BrotherDodobird
    Mar 5, 2013
    1
    Poor launch experience. Origin claims the release is on march 7th. A large beta test would have fixed all of this. Hopefully some negative reviews will get the message across.
  7. khorramdin
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    What a disgrace! I can't even play this game and I can't get a refund. Thank you EA for destroying another franchise and than you Maxis for allowing them. Shame.
  8. Joe0
    Mar 5, 2013
    1
    The FarmVille of SimCity titles. This is almost as bad as Civ V. Between the ridiculously small maps, and 'regional building', as well as all the DRM server issues, this has to be as big of a disappointment as Spore.

    $80 is a big pill to swallow for this awful representation of SimCity, Ocean. Thanks for killing the series.
  9. Puk3ify
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Always online even to play singleplayer, and then the server is down. DO NOT BUY! WASTE OF MONEY. EA is clearly buying good reviews from critics. Besides, they kill all the good series anyway.
  10. BluSpecter
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    I cant believe how disastrous this "final product" is (though we all know this games current dlc is just the beginning). No manual, less than helpful tutorial, unbelievably small maps, utter lack of support, draconian wait times, bugs abound, coupled with the obviously massaged critic reviews that will inevitably "trick" less people into buying the game than EA thinks, this has got to beI cant believe how disastrous this "final product" is (though we all know this games current dlc is just the beginning). No manual, less than helpful tutorial, unbelievably small maps, utter lack of support, draconian wait times, bugs abound, coupled with the obviously massaged critic reviews that will inevitably "trick" less people into buying the game than EA thinks, this has got to be one of the worst follow-ups to one of my all time favorite game series. I still play SimCity 4 to this day. EA has failed the gaming community......… Expand
  11. Harmor
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    If you buy this game, you just tell EA that cloudsaving is totally okay and you have no problem with not being able to play in case the servers are down. You'll also tell EA that it's perfectly fine to buy a SIM CITY game that in reality should rather be called Sim Village, while you're eagerly waiting for the DLC that gives you HUGE maps like they were in the earlier games of the series.If you buy this game, you just tell EA that cloudsaving is totally okay and you have no problem with not being able to play in case the servers are down. You'll also tell EA that it's perfectly fine to buy a SIM CITY game that in reality should rather be called Sim Village, while you're eagerly waiting for the DLC that gives you HUGE maps like they were in the earlier games of the series. EA, you're nothing short of disgusting! Don't buy this game, because that's our only voice to tell the publishers enough is enough!… Expand
  12. 4en1vanm
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    This game has been such a disappointment considering what it could have been. While the game play itself is decent the lack of city space (Only 2km square) and the obvious nickel dime that EA is planning by not having basic city options, such as subways, and already including $20 of additional buildings in an $80 purchase makes this game not worth it until you find it on a discount rack.This game has been such a disappointment considering what it could have been. While the game play itself is decent the lack of city space (Only 2km square) and the obvious nickel dime that EA is planning by not having basic city options, such as subways, and already including $20 of additional buildings in an $80 purchase makes this game not worth it until you find it on a discount rack.

    Oh and did I mention its DRM requires always online internet connections. This little gem of and idea just won't go away even though gamers have strongly voiced their disdain against it. I guess EA liked being named 2012's worst American company that they wanted to be in the running for it again in 2013. Until EA completely sells Maxis to a competent software company that listens to gamers avoid any and all EA or Maxis games including this POS!    … Expand
  13. GnrHardy
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Complete and total failure by EA to anticipate server loads. Game is unplayable in North America due to servers full with extremely long queues. Europe Servers finally opened up in the middle of the night there.
  14. kafkaten
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    The level of disdain that this company must have for its customers is unreal. To force paying customers into an "always-on-line" system for an ostensibly single-player game is already a dangerous, anti-consumer road for the industry to go down. But then to have that system be a miserable failure at launch? And this after a extensive Beta? Wow. I sincerely hope their sales take a hit,The level of disdain that this company must have for its customers is unreal. To force paying customers into an "always-on-line" system for an ostensibly single-player game is already a dangerous, anti-consumer road for the industry to go down. But then to have that system be a miserable failure at launch? And this after a extensive Beta? Wow. I sincerely hope their sales take a hit, because I'd hate to think that EA could get away with this kind of business practice and still make a massive profit.… Expand
  15. MikeF
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    Garbage DRM, Windows only. Really? In this day and age, Windows is old news; cross-platform is the future. Get with the times Devs. These big game companies are dying, grasping for air with reboots and old content.
  16. Sneetches
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    TL;DR Here lies the corpse of SimCity, slain by the dishonorable EA.

    Don't even waste your time or your money, let alone give another cent to EA, please just don't do it. You're basically paying for a neutered SimCity that removes many key features in exchange for "Always online" to play a strictly SINGLE PLAYER GAME. Besides the Always Online, DRM, bad graphics, neutered gameplay, full    TL;DR Here lies the corpse of SimCity, slain by the dishonorable EA.

    Don't even waste your time or your money, let alone give another cent to EA, please just don't do it. You're basically paying for a neutered SimCity that removes many key features in exchange for "Always online" to play a strictly SINGLE PLAYER GAME. Besides the Always Online, DRM, bad graphics, neutered gameplay, full servers that don't enable you to even play, and just about everything else that could go wrong, this game could have been released for free and been just as bad. All the critic scores having an average of 91 could make me puke, welcome to the current state of paid reviews.I can go dig out the disk (well you don't need one actually) for SimCity 2000 right now and play it. What are the chances, that in 13 years, that you'll be able to play this pile of garbage? EA will have to cancel the servers or release an offline version, but I wouldn't even bet on those scumbags to do that.    … Expand
  17. tigraner
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Preordered the game and for that Origin decided that I can only download it on march 7 2 days after initial release. Also people who were lucky to be able to download cannot play because of the server problems. Big FAT Fail on the franchise!
  18. TheBrit0n
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I am so dissapointed I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt but they have let us down proving once and for all that always on DRM can never and should never be industry standard on anything relating to single player content. This I can only assume is a an antipiracy counter measure that is about to backfire massively the only thing that this will achieve is to encourage piracy.I am so dissapointed I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt but they have let us down proving once and for all that always on DRM can never and should never be industry standard on anything relating to single player content. This I can only assume is a an antipiracy counter measure that is about to backfire massively the only thing that this will achieve is to encourage piracy. Also on the TOS claims I haven't read them personally but I can assure you I will be checking my games in future I have never rented games I do not intend to start now I would rather quit the medium than allow these major corporation dictate how and when I can play my games. I realise a lot of you are enjoying this game and you have to understand no one is saying its a bad game there saying it's bad business and bad practice and just saying oh well that's the way the industry is headed is just burying your head in the sand gamers are an extremely powerful group unfortunately we are fractured it is time we took a stand stopped fighting ourselves and put our consumer power to test against these people it is the only way things will ever change.… Expand
  19. freddieanto
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I would love to give you a great review on game play, but due to DRM, needing a constant, always on internet connection, and server management, I CANT EVEN PLAY THE GAME!! I already lost the first town I had because the server that I started it on was gone, so I had to start another. Now I cant play because the game can't find any servers. The game times out and quit's.

    Great job EA!    I would love to give you a great review on game play, but due to DRM, needing a constant, always on internet connection, and server management, I CANT EVEN PLAY THE GAME!! I already lost the first town I had because the server that I started it on was gone, so I had to start another. Now I cant play because the game can't find any servers. The game times out and quit's.

    Great job EA! With DRM, the ONLY people you screw are the people who pay for this game. The PIRATES already have this game cracked and are building themselves great cities.    … Expand
  20. Kelukan
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    City size is inexplicably small. I was able to fill 5 entire plots in about 4 hours of play. Unfortunately, it took more than 8 hours to get 4 hours of play, due to the servers constantly crashing. And even though the game is usually played solo, you have to have an internet connection and connect to the servers in order to play. Utter failure. Ill be seeking a refund as the game has noCity size is inexplicably small. I was able to fill 5 entire plots in about 4 hours of play. Unfortunately, it took more than 8 hours to get 4 hours of play, due to the servers constantly crashing. And even though the game is usually played solo, you have to have an internet connection and connect to the servers in order to play. Utter failure. Ill be seeking a refund as the game has no replay value whatsoever.… Expand
  21. LegalEagle2
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Extremely unimpressed by the changes made to a once loved franchise. Smaller "cities" (towns), DRM that requires me to be connected to the internet (what?! SimCity was what I went to play when I wasn't able to get online) horrible servers, DLC available on day one (if we're required to get onto your shop just to play the game, why didn't we get all content for the game on day one? AnythingExtremely unimpressed by the changes made to a once loved franchise. Smaller "cities" (towns), DRM that requires me to be connected to the internet (what?! SimCity was what I went to play when I wasn't able to get online) horrible servers, DLC available on day one (if we're required to get onto your shop just to play the game, why didn't we get all content for the game on day one? Anything after that point I understand, but shoving DLC we have to pay for down our throats when we're supposed to be enjoying our brand new game? Your ads are on my main menu for Christs sake, I expect that from a free to play game, not one I just dropped $80 on.

    The new SimCity literally a better looking "Farmville". Get rid of the online DRM so people can play and get out of those massive queue's, enlarge cities so we can build what we want, and please let me save to my hard drive so every 15 minutes I don't get disconnected from your sub-par servers.

    Signed,
    A long time fan utterly disappointed    … Expand
  22. Seagoon
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Unplayable. Completely ridiculous to pay 60 bucks for what is really a single player game and then not be able to play due to server issues. EA are thieves
  23. Whitemare
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Be aware that this is a 100% online game. i only discovered this today. not only are people having to wait to log on to servers like an MMO launch, but i actually got booted and now i can get back on for more than a few seconds. There are no save games and no loading. you have no control over this. the game let me play for about 30mins offline. then it wouldn't let my place buildings orBe aware that this is a 100% online game. i only discovered this today. not only are people having to wait to log on to servers like an MMO launch, but i actually got booted and now i can get back on for more than a few seconds. There are no save games and no loading. you have no control over this. the game let me play for about 30mins offline. then it wouldn't let my place buildings or advance time etc. i restarted and it didnt save anything since my last connection. I haven't played EA games for years because of crap like this and now i returned for this 1 game and i get screwed around again. Its my own fault for trusting them again. Such a shame… Expand
  24. Hiddendesk
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    This game isn't functional, don't waste your money.

    If you hoped for a rewarding city building experience based on the long running Simcity brand, you'll be sorely disappointed. Small cities and social gimmicks are all you'll find in this reboot. Play a facebook game and you can have most of the experience without the dysfunctional drm.
  25. Ardais
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Some aspects of the game are good, but the constant DRM means you often get errors when trying to start your city. For the past few hours I have been getting an error where I can't start a city. Also, almost every time I restart the game I have to re-do the tutorial all over again because there must be a problem with their cloud storage. TL;DR You pay for a game and get terrible service. ISome aspects of the game are good, but the constant DRM means you often get errors when trying to start your city. For the past few hours I have been getting an error where I can't start a city. Also, almost every time I restart the game I have to re-do the tutorial all over again because there must be a problem with their cloud storage. TL;DR You pay for a game and get terrible service. I am going to try and get a refund.… Expand
  26. jctaylor
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Not only is it required to have an internet connection at all times to play the game, it forces you to download Origin which is EA's sad excuse to capitalize on Steam's success. Day one there are persistent server issues that make the game unplayable and to top it off many gamers who can play are losing saves because all save games are held on the server. This is absolutely ridiculous.Not only is it required to have an internet connection at all times to play the game, it forces you to download Origin which is EA's sad excuse to capitalize on Steam's success. Day one there are persistent server issues that make the game unplayable and to top it off many gamers who can play are losing saves because all save games are held on the server. This is absolutely ridiculous. If I were to go into a movie theater and the projector couldn't display the movie I just paid for, I'd get my money back. This is the reason why people hate you EA. This is the reason why I avoid purchasing any games made by you. Maxis, I'm sure this is a wonderful game and thank you for your work as a developer. I am truly sorry EA screwed you guys and many of your fans will never get the chance to play your game...including the ones who bought it.… Expand
  27. Beefnose
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    This game would be much better if it was actually playable. User interface failures on epic levels (I am unable to even see the buttons that are needed to progress through the tutorial, and there is very poor support in the manuals to assist this process), Preposterously bad DRM, (this is a single player game, no matter how much they want you to be able to interact with your neighbors)This game would be much better if it was actually playable. User interface failures on epic levels (I am unable to even see the buttons that are needed to progress through the tutorial, and there is very poor support in the manuals to assist this process), Preposterously bad DRM, (this is a single player game, no matter how much they want you to be able to interact with your neighbors) and depressingly small cities (even when the game is playable you are limited because of the forced "multiplayer" nature of the game) all combine to make a depressingly awful experience. If you don't own it, don't buy it.… Expand
  28. ratt22
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    EA has lost my business forever! I can't even play the game by myself; have to have an Internet connection and there is no guarantee the server will save your game! EA saw this coming and did nothing to fix it before it actually became a problem. With all the preorders, how in the hell were they not able to fix this problem! EA is a bunch of turds!
  29. t_h
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Always online DRM blows hard. What if someone wanted to play while abroad, offline or in an area with no internet connection? There are those who love multiplayer games and there are those who love their single player games. SimCity will always be remembered for catering to the latter. "These are games that a lot of people like to play single-player," says Graham Smith, the editor of PCAlways online DRM blows hard. What if someone wanted to play while abroad, offline or in an area with no internet connection? There are those who love multiplayer games and there are those who love their single player games. SimCity will always be remembered for catering to the latter. "These are games that a lot of people like to play single-player," says Graham Smith, the editor of PC Gamer magazine. "People don’t want to play with other people. They want to play alone."

    Way to ruin an excellent single player franchise, EA.    … Expand
  30. nitehawk
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    EA ruins a great franchise. Always on DRM means this game will not endure into the future and that paying customers cannot play a game they paid for. EA's policy of Nickel-and-Dime downloadable content policy makes you pay a ton for the right to pay a ton for the game. Tiny cities go against the classic gameplay.
  31. xxysyndrome
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    I'm not the type to complain over every little fault in a game, especially one as ambitious as SC5 right after release. But little faults aren't this game's problem it's massive, fundamental design decisions that have completely changed the way this game is to be played, and overwhelmingly not for the better.

    City size too small this is a mind-blower. Did the developers really think    I'm not the type to complain over every little fault in a game, especially one as ambitious as SC5 right after release. But little faults aren't this game's problem it's massive, fundamental design decisions that have completely changed the way this game is to be played, and overwhelmingly not for the better.

    City size too small this is a mind-blower. Did the developers really think people would rather have nearly invisible microeconomic individual sim simuation rather than the ability to build full, complete cities that didn't look like ridiculous postage stamps? I get that it's a performance issue my machine is a beast let me have bigger cities. Let us ALL have bigger cities and get rid of the unhelpful low-level modeling. We came to build cities first, and enjoy drill-down metrics later.

    Always-on DRM: I don't like this mechanism in general, but I don't dismiss it out of hand either. For some online games, it can be useful to limit or prevent hacking and cheating. Diablo 3 needed that, and even though it takes away a lot from the game and can add much frustration, it has its positive points as well. But I cannot for the life of me figure out why in the hell SC5 has a mandatory on-line requirement to simply play the game. It makes no sense whatsoever. A good multiplayer option is always nice, and hopefully it actually works in this game, unlike some other city sims of late, but Sim City is at its core a single-player game that invites the user to experiment, tweak, mess around and generally goof off sometimes. Now? You can't even set a save point to go back to. You make a mistake, too bad. You ruin your economy? Start over from the beginning. Does EA not know what a "simulation" is? I didn't sign up for a Roguelike. Of all this game's misfires, this one is the hugest of all. How am I supposed to learn how to build anything efficiently or aesthetically or economically when the game punishes the living crap out of you for experimenting? I mean PUNISH, as in hours and hours of your life wasted, with very little learning payoff. It's a really huge problem that destroys this game. Never mind that the first 3 times I was able to play the game crashed and nothing was saved on the server anyway. But really bugs get fixed, and they don't ultimately deter me. But awful design decisions do.

    It's impossible to play this game without almost suffocating in the understanding that this game is going to do everything it can to nickle and dime you to death. Hell, they had DLC available the first day! $60 and I get a no-frills economy model? At least PRETEND like you aren't going to charge for every stupid park and church and billboard or whatever and give me a sense, however fleeting, that I have in my possession a complete game with loads of content. Stuff that was in the initial release of SC2K and SC4 is gone here. Gee, wonder how I can get it. Make a great game, give me great content up front and I will pay at least a little for great NEW content. The cynical microtransaction scheme in place here is ham-fisted and infuriating.

    The Glassbox engine is beautiful. The data maps are even moreso. This game is GORGEOUS. I love the tilt-shift look a brilliant design decision. The music is fine and the animations are ok, I hate the stupid Sim language but I can easily get past that. And that's what REALLY kills me this game could be, nay SHOULD be a great game. The technology is there. I mean right there on your machine. Glass box, microeconomic simulation, expensive production all right there waiting to be turned into a really cool game. But the implementation here is so bad, the overall game experience so misguided, and so radically different and worse than any SC before, that this game can ultimately only be considered a huge, massive and crushingly depressing flop. It's hard to imagine that you can take a brilliant game like SC2K or even SC4, add 10+ years and a customer base with PCs literally 1000x more powerful, and THIS is what you get. EA, I have never said this about any game ever, but I want my money back. This is a travesty.    … Expand
  32. starkline
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    I have to say. Wow. Having never written a review for Metacritic, SimCity has all but angered me to the point of voicing my opinion in a sea of others. I'd generally say that writing a review on or very near launch day is counter-productive. There will always be server problems and 0 day bugs, but EA/Maxis/Origin have done an amazing job at an EPIC FAIL.

    I gave this some thought. How is    I have to say. Wow. Having never written a review for Metacritic, SimCity has all but angered me to the point of voicing my opinion in a sea of others. I'd generally say that writing a review on or very near launch day is counter-productive. There will always be server problems and 0 day bugs, but EA/Maxis/Origin have done an amazing job at an EPIC FAIL.

    I gave this some thought. How is it fair to rate an entire game based on server issues alone? My conclusion is this: How is it not? I paid for a game that requires an internet connection. Any idiot born since 1970 (or earlier) knows that means the game will require servers. Knowing this, the servers are an integral part of the package. They're just as essential as the premise, design and execution of the game play. Reasonable people should expect that a product they paid for should be available for use. Whether it be the first day or 3285th. Occasional server crashes and bugs are human error and random acts of electrons. 10s of thousands of Twitter reports and FB posts are something different. In my case, I was able to play once in 2 days of trying. In fact, I spent all day trying to play one damn time on any of the servers. I was not able to play.

    So, my review is hugely negative. If you think it's unfair to judge a game based on server problems, then you're entitled to your opinion. Me, I'm tired of getting the run-around from mega-corporations and shareholders who only care about greed. I'm sick of 1/2 baked excuses. From day 1 and forward, a game includes all its aspects, and a review should encompass all of it.    … Expand
  33. Dogcat
    Mar 13, 2013
    0
    We were promised a great revival of the franchise. Instead we got a really casual boring game that should be rather called "sim-really-small-town". And yet it costs 80$ has a huuuuuuuuge set of bugs and has the worst kind of DRM ever. To all fans of SimCity3000 and SimCity4 I'd recommend buying CitiesXL and avoiding SimCity 5.
  34. ezioauditore
    Mar 9, 2013
    1
    I have been waiting for this game for a long time, waiting for innovation and an entertaining, LARGE city-building game. This is a horrible game. And I'm saying this not taking into account the million problems I have had trying to play online. Not expecting this many players is a horibble excuse Maxis and EA. I severely recommend that nobody plays this game. The graphics, I don't evenI have been waiting for this game for a long time, waiting for innovation and an entertaining, LARGE city-building game. This is a horrible game. And I'm saying this not taking into account the million problems I have had trying to play online. Not expecting this many players is a horibble excuse Maxis and EA. I severely recommend that nobody plays this game. The graphics, I don't even want to talk about it, I recommend Cities XL. DO NOT play this game, do yourself this favor.… Expand
  35. Xehlwan
    Mar 16, 2013
    3
    I want to like this game, I honestly do. I keep trying to play it, but it always ends the same way: frustration.

    The server, are reasonably ok now, even though most social features are turned off. Other things, like Cheetah Speed, are still missing, and regions are still shaky in their synchronization (even failing to save your work in rare cases). Everything above this paragraph    I want to like this game, I honestly do. I keep trying to play it, but it always ends the same way: frustration.

    The server, are reasonably ok now, even though most social features are turned off. Other things, like Cheetah Speed, are still missing, and regions are still shaky in their synchronization (even failing to save your work in rare cases).

    Everything above this paragraph will be fixed before long, that is guaranteed.

    The greater problem is the actual game. Not only is the balance of the gameplay mediocre at best; the actual simulations are horrible. Earlier SimCity games *tried* to simulate real cities, with varied success. This game, however, doesn't even try. There are no simulations of real-world behavior or city planning. Instead, the game is completely focused on the automated behavior of "agents" in a completely artificial system.

    At best, your population seems a bit dumb. At worst, your city becomes completely irrational, and requires you to build your city the *opposite* way of real cities.

    The game engine is fantastic, and the potential for great simulations is greater than any game I've seen the last 20 years. In fact, the Glassbox engine is much more interesting and revolutionary than any Crytek, Unreal, or Frostbite engine. Not because of graphics, but because of gameplay.

    Unfortunately, the developers lack any knowledge of the subject matter they intend to simulate. And instead of hiring experts to help them out, they let AI programmers build systems that have nothing to do with real cities. The engine could have done great things, but it is fed with sub-par pathfinding and unrealistic behaviors.

    In the ends, you can have a lot of fun with the new SimCity. As long as you don't expect it to actually simulate cities.    … Expand
  36. Zenn3k
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Unable to connect, unable to play. If I DO connect finally, and DO play...the game crashes and nothing is saved. I've tried for 5 hours to play with nothing to show for my efforts. Getting a refund. Avoid.
  37. TreborYelam
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Let me start with a disclaimer: I've never really been a fan of EA. Customer support is non-existent and they rarely spend a dime accommodating for customer concerns. However, I am not rating this game a 0 due to prejudice against EA (I actually used to be a huge fan of Maxis, the developer).

    I'm giving this game a 0 for one major reason: If you do not have a 100% consistent internet    Let me start with a disclaimer: I've never really been a fan of EA. Customer support is non-existent and they rarely spend a dime accommodating for customer concerns. However, I am not rating this game a 0 due to prejudice against EA (I actually used to be a huge fan of Maxis, the developer).

    I'm giving this game a 0 for one major reason: If you do not have a 100% consistent internet connection, like me, then do not buy this game; it is rendered almost completely unplayable. You cannot save the game of your own accord, the EA servers decide when your game auto-saves, and there are not multiple save files. If you lose your connection to the EA servers and cannot recover it in 180 seconds, you are SOL. The game will boot you and, obviously, since you are not connected to the EA server, your game will not save. Compounding this issue (as of launch, servers probably won't be so busy a week from now), when you do try to reload the game, you are sent to the back of a queue, of which I have yet to see the end of (I've been waiting almost 3 hours now), before you can get in the server (even if you just want to play "single player").

    If you have absolutely no worries about the consistency of your internet provider, than you have a decent 7/10 game on your hands. For the total of maybe two hours I have gotten to play the game, I can say that I was genuinely enjoying myself. The game is very identical to Sim City 4, but the graphics are much better and it is quite fun to build a city in a region with up to 16 other people. It would easily be a 9/10 minus a few moderately annoying drawbacks:

    1. You cannot save on your own, the EA server will auto-save for you. This took away one of the most stress-relieving elements of Sim City 4: Saving your perfect city before wrecking havoc on it's unsuspecting inhabitants with disaster after disaster, only to be able to reload the old save when the fun was over, good as new.

    2. You cannot save on your own. Again. If you make a mistake, you're stuck with it. Accidentally jerk your mouse and place that $150,000 Nuclear Plant in the wrong place? Too bad. No refund, no reload.

    3. There are a lot of glitches with creating private regions, and inviting friends to them. Five of my friends bought this game. Only me and one other have been able to play together so far.

    4. The plots are very small. Do you know any cities in real life that are 2km x 2km? Me neither. I didn't even play for two hours and I was running out of room to put new schools. And God forbid you have a river running through the middle of your city there goes half your land area.

    So there you have it. SIM CITY: A decent creation by the developers, ruined by the producers.    … Expand
  38. ScottieClayson
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    EA deserve all of this. The only way they'll ever stop being such a horrible company is if we make it clear how much we hate things like always on DRM. Releasing a game which is unplayable is an automatic zero.
  39. Cschnurr
    Mar 19, 2013
    1
    First, I despise the fact I have to play this game online. I have all the simcities at home play them when I want and how I want. Now to the game.

    I paid $79.99 for this? I have limited control. All the vehicles look the same. Land area is far too small. It is not realistic planning. I have SimCity 4 at home and have played it everyday since I bought it 8 years ago. I never    First, I despise the fact I have to play this game online. I have all the simcities at home play them when I want and how I want. Now to the game.

    I paid $79.99 for this? I have limited control. All the vehicles look the same. Land area is far too small. It is not realistic planning. I have SimCity 4 at home and have played it everyday since I bought it 8 years ago. I never grow tired of it. This "version" of SimCity is the ultimate fail. Yes, I like the graphics; but I was hoping for something even remotely similar to SimCity 4 only even better. Online play should be optional. This game would rock if it was SimCity 4 but with the new enhancements. I can't even construct my own buildings; plops etc. This version reminds me of SimCity on Facebook and it's free! ULTIMATE FAIL, EA! I want my money back.    … Expand
  40. pyeriv
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Always online DRM on a single player game?... ha ha ha that's funny! wait?.. you're serious? YOU'RE FIRED! seriously.. I hope this fails so hard, no other developper will try that.
  41. Shrugnick
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Day 0 DLC as a blatant attempt to squeeze more money out of you, always online requirement for a single player game, tiny city sizes forcing you to specialize and take part in a region, and no saves? Yeah... what was I thinking. There is a reason they didn't call this Sim City 5 and just Sim City. Really what they should have called it was Sim City Online. This is not the sequel to SimDay 0 DLC as a blatant attempt to squeeze more money out of you, always online requirement for a single player game, tiny city sizes forcing you to specialize and take part in a region, and no saves? Yeah... what was I thinking. There is a reason they didn't call this Sim City 5 and just Sim City. Really what they should have called it was Sim City Online. This is not the sequel to Sim City 4 that I was looking for.… Expand
  42. Emhster
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    This launch is a disaster. You can only play online, your cities are saved on some server which hasn't been stable on day 1. I'm usually forgiving when I encounter those problems on a MMORPG, but Simcity isn't.

    Please skip this game. At least for few months.
  43. jakealake4
    Mar 5, 2013
    2
    I enjoy playing, but the drm, server problems, and city size persuade me to just play SC4. I didnt think that it would be this bad but its so very annoying that I cant make sprawling large cities. Digital Rights Management is a joke, and servers, while fixable, are so very flawed. The actual gameplay is very enioyable but I just cant say this is something worth buying.
  44. Fantuus7979
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Get ready not play, and if you do get to play you may randomly lose hours of progress. Online saves are the only type of save games and the servers crash A LOT...
  45. F1aw1ess1
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    I hate EA since a while back when they up Madden past like 02 or 05 or something, and also did the license thing. At that time, I thought that was really messed up because I thought they are forcing you to buy their games (always more of a 2K guy( then they up battlefield 3 for PC (always online DRM also). Since then my hatred has turned into a passionate hatred. I HATE EA. I did not buyI hate EA since a while back when they up Madden past like 02 or 05 or something, and also did the license thing. At that time, I thought that was really messed up because I thought they are forcing you to buy their games (always more of a 2K guy( then they up battlefield 3 for PC (always online DRM also). Since then my hatred has turned into a passionate hatred. I HATE EA. I did not buy this game, (was not even interested because it's EA anyway and once I seen the artwork I knew it was just going to be The Sims, City) But since I hate them so much. I'm taking the time to hop on the bandwagon and add fuel to the fire. YOU SIM CITY AND EA! MUAHAHAHHA ENJOY YOUR 0… Expand
  46. thequailboy
    Mar 15, 2013
    0
    I have managed to play for around 20 hours. On THREE occasions, after spending HOURS AND HOURS building up my city the game said 'Could not process City, please quit' then when it tried to recover the city it just rolled it back to a patch of grass! THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ALL THREE OF MY CITIES. WHAT IS THE POINT! IN PLAYING A GAME THAT DELETES EVERYTHING YOU DO AND DOES NOT LET YOU SAVEI have managed to play for around 20 hours. On THREE occasions, after spending HOURS AND HOURS building up my city the game said 'Could not process City, please quit' then when it tried to recover the city it just rolled it back to a patch of grass! THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ALL THREE OF MY CITIES. WHAT IS THE POINT! IN PLAYING A GAME THAT DELETES EVERYTHING YOU DO AND DOES NOT LET YOU SAVE ANYTHING TO OUR HARD DRIVE? ARE YOU INSANE? WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME.… Expand
  47. Gankatron
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Well it looks like the people have spoken their feelings to online DRM. If EA feels that this is the future of gaming then they had better expect an even greater stigma attached to their name as many people will refuse to support this. I cannot understand how EA marketing seems to purposely degrade their brand with a constant barrage of heavy-handed policies which demean their potentialWell it looks like the people have spoken their feelings to online DRM. If EA feels that this is the future of gaming then they had better expect an even greater stigma attached to their name as many people will refuse to support this. I cannot understand how EA marketing seems to purposely degrade their brand with a constant barrage of heavy-handed policies which demean their potential customer base.… Expand
  48. Zeusbot48
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    Seems like quite a fun game. However, after a night of play, the game informed me that my city was 'not processing properly' booted me back to the main menu and rolled my city back to the last good save, removing hours of work. The game will now not save any progress. If you are going to force cloud saving in the name of piracy prevention (let's not kid ourselves, what other possibleSeems like quite a fun game. However, after a night of play, the game informed me that my city was 'not processing properly' booted me back to the main menu and rolled my city back to the last good save, removing hours of work. The game will now not save any progress. If you are going to force cloud saving in the name of piracy prevention (let's not kid ourselves, what other possible reason could they have for this inconvenience) AT LEAST MAKE IT WORK PROPERLY.… Expand
  49. Nate_T
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    EA blatantly lied to everyone about the DRM. Modders have already shown it only needs to connect to the servers once every 30 minutes in single player. All actions work while being disconnected from the internet. EA you should be ashamed.
  50. thept
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Don't waste your money on this game. The servers are down and there isn't an offline option,
    This was the last time I bought a game from EA: They are really a mediocre company.
  51. DuncanIdahoTPF
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    In the middle of the day on a weekday 3 days after launch and all the servers are busy the game is unplayable.

    Obviously EA only responds to hits to their pocketbook, please be sure to rate this game 'fairly' on 3rd party retailer sites such as Amazon.
  52. OnlyOneWing
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I will never again support Origin, EA or always online DRM. I am sick of this game after only two days. There are so many problems with the game. From graphical glitches to network glitches, it is a mess. Besides, other than graphics(which aren't all that great) and online features(which aren't all that great) it isn't much different from any other simcity game.
  53. buttski
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    this game is published from ea. this alone is reason enough to keep away from it, as good as it may be. ea is known to be the worst publisher ever. can't believe that maxis didn't went to another one.
  54. jim109109
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    When I read SimCity had constant online DRM I didn't buy it. When I read Deadspace 3 had microtransactions I didn't buy it. It seems EA is including these things that players DO NOT WANT in their games and they are now sourly paying the price. EA is the next THQ, watch it go bankrupt. The only difference is that EA actually deserves it.
  55. zaphod6502
    Mar 9, 2013
    1
    It seems games companies refuse to learn from past mistakes. Or maybe they keep retrenching employees after every game release who would have known better. And so SimCity joins the long line of failures because of lack of developer/publisher planning and heavy handed DRM schemes. UbiSoft learned a hard lesson from forcing DRM on people. And now EA will learn that lesson as well. If I can'tIt seems games companies refuse to learn from past mistakes. Or maybe they keep retrenching employees after every game release who would have known better. And so SimCity joins the long line of failures because of lack of developer/publisher planning and heavy handed DRM schemes. UbiSoft learned a hard lesson from forcing DRM on people. And now EA will learn that lesson as well. If I can't play a game because I am locked out of a server or I can't interact meaningfully with other players in SimCity because features have been turned off at the last minute well what is the point of selling me that game EA.

    Shame on you EA. Once again you continue to feed your own stereotype of one of the world's worst game publishers.    … Expand
  56. ZenFury
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Having been a huge fan of the Sim City franchise I was really looking forward to this latest Sim City. Needless to say, that's the only Positive things I have to say about this game.

    The always on DRM and the fact you MUST be connected to the internet in order to play this game is an automatic deal breaker for a few, you basically do not own the game, you lease it per say. If the    Having been a huge fan of the Sim City franchise I was really looking forward to this latest Sim City. Needless to say, that's the only Positive things I have to say about this game.

    The always on DRM and the fact you MUST be connected to the internet in order to play this game is an automatic deal breaker for a few, you basically do not own the game, you lease it per say. If the servers go down, you're SOL. Since it's launch time and the servers are unload heavy load they've been up and down, a big turn off.

    The gameplay itself could be improved upon through patches and what not, but as it stands the cities are kinda small, graphics looked way better in the ads and trailer then they do in the actual game. (latest drivers Gtx 580)

    I would strongly suggest to wait and see if they can salvage this game in some fashion. But, $60 is way too much for a game you don't even own, buggy as hell, and you MUST be online in order to play.

    Extremely Disappointed.    … Expand
  57. AoR
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    I'm in a good mood (and I love the SimCity series) so I start with the Pro's.

    + Dataviews: The presentation of issues and shortages is excelent and even better (because more accurate) than in Sim City 4. + Modular extensibility of civic buildings: Other than in Sim City 4 police stations, schools and other similar buildings don't have a sphere of influence. If your school doesn't have    I'm in a good mood (and I love the SimCity series) so I start with the Pro's.

    + Dataviews: The presentation of issues and shortages is excelent and even better (because more accurate) than in Sim City 4.
    + Modular extensibility of civic buildings: Other than in Sim City 4 police stations, schools and other similar buildings don't have a sphere of influence. If your school doesn't have enough space for al the pupils you simply build a new extension and improve the capacity of this school. Awesome!

    It's right, these two points are the single positive aspects of the new Sim City. My fan-heart is bleeding when I think about the possibilities of a real Sim City 5, based on SC4 with an advanced region part.

    - Small Maps: Okay, the maps are not small they're tiny absurd puny!
    - Curvy roads: This should be a Pro, but according to the point above, it's a absolut senseless feature.
    - Bugs: The "new" Glassbox-Engine, which simulate the whole behavior of the sims/residents, commercial interactions and so on, is so buggy atm that I'm not able to numerate half of the varios bugs and errors. The traffic bug is only the tip of the iceberg.
    - Multiplayer: Had anyone ever thought "Hey it would be cool to play together with a friend of me now." during playing Sim City 4? I never, but multiplayer sounds funny in the first presentations. But Sim City has no "real" multiplayer: Everything you could do with other players together, you're able to do it solo. There is absolut no real reason for the existence of the multiplayer modus in the actual design.
    - Always-On: I'm not a fan of DRM but I understand the reasons to make some games always-on. To example Diablo 3 to prefent dupes and to secure the auction house. But in Sim City there is no gameplay reason to be always online. And the so-called social features: This is only a game! If I want to contact my friends I grap my phone or start my IM. I don't need these functionality in a single-player game!    … Expand
  58. atzach
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    City size is too small but that doesn't matter because you won't be able to play the game because "they are working on the servers". Not worth the money, they won't give refunds. It was a big cash grab and and epic failure. EA is a terrible company.
  59. TheAgentBrandon
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    This is not a game. It's a loading screen with server errors. Don't waste $60. I can't believe EA could do something so incredibly stupid. I hope this company rots.
  60. gnilbert
    Mar 15, 2013
    0
    This game is the result of catastrophic failure at every level of the design process. Even if you *can* stomach the always-online DRM that's been spun as "a rich social experience," you can't help but notice that (a) the "rich" social experience is clearly incidental to the core game play, and (b) it doesn't actually work 10 days after launch. That means the decision to force-feed theThis game is the result of catastrophic failure at every level of the design process. Even if you *can* stomach the always-online DRM that's been spun as "a rich social experience," you can't help but notice that (a) the "rich" social experience is clearly incidental to the core game play, and (b) it doesn't actually work 10 days after launch. That means the decision to force-feed the consumer a dubious collection of non-functional features was clearly made by someone in a suit who's never actually played a game.

    What makes the promotion of these "rich" online features particularly painful is that they are offered in place of a wide variety of features found in earlier SimCity games. You can't place one-way roads, you can't zone mixed density along a single street, you can't use subways, the cities aren't as large as the tiniest maps available previous incarnations, there are no city ordinances, there are no histograms for age groups, education levels the list goes on. It's sickening to read a review of SimCity 4 and compare the features of that game to this travesty. The next complete failure in this title is the much-hyped simulation itself: GlassBox. Everything in the simulation sims, stundents, garbage trucks, buses *everything* is simulated using the same logic they use to simulate the sewage that flows in pipes under the city. Maxis said this explciticly. And the quality of traffic, power, water coverage, and all the rest are a complete trainwreck. But the worst part about this game's release? There is no game. There is no strategy. The entire concept of balancing the needs of your city is completely gone. You don't need industrial. You don't need commercial. In fact, you can build massively profitable cities using only a few service buildings, residential zoning, and some parks. That's it. And the developers are standing by this joke of simulation as "working as designed."

    NO ONE should EVER buy a game that was so badly designed, so ineptly delivered, or so grossly deceptive in its marketing. Maxis has burned SimCity and salted the ground I can only pray they never attempt a sequel.    … Expand
  61. drevils
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I got to play past a unskippable tutorial, after that the game wont start because of online DRM servers. Just helping to drag down the rating here in hopes that EA will learn a lesson here.
  62. Grady
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Despite how well this game is designed from a gameplay perspective, we should NOT allow EA the satisfaction of thinking that we are perfectly fine with an always-online interface by purchasing SimCity. If we buy this game, we are telling EA: "I'm completely okay with your decision to make this game all online, all the time! Why don't you do that with ALL OF YOUR OTHER GAMES?"

    If games    Despite how well this game is designed from a gameplay perspective, we should NOT allow EA the satisfaction of thinking that we are perfectly fine with an always-online interface by purchasing SimCity. If we buy this game, we are telling EA: "I'm completely okay with your decision to make this game all online, all the time! Why don't you do that with ALL OF YOUR OTHER GAMES?"

    If games like these see financial success, gamers like us will be continually screwed for the years to come. Game companies will no longer see the value in making a single-player experience at all. They will push un-wanted (and un-necessary!) social features on us until we eventually start to believe what they are trying to tell us right now: "You guys wanted this, right? We're just giving you what you wanted!"

    NO. Just...NO! This isn't right. EA knows that, and you know that, so let's make it perfectly to them that we will not support this intrusive, obnoxious, and completely unnecessary inclusion into what would've been an incredible game. Vote with your wallet.    … Expand
  63. stripe523
    Mar 7, 2013
    4
    Ignoring the DRM/online only requirement/servers are crap issue for a minute I still have mixed feelings. The lack of a save/load feature is painful because you can't experiment with your city layout once you put down your roads, if you made them slightly too widely or narrowly spaced, you can't plop the buildings you want. And since the addons to the different upgradable buildings (aIgnoring the DRM/online only requirement/servers are crap issue for a minute I still have mixed feelings. The lack of a save/load feature is painful because you can't experiment with your city layout once you put down your roads, if you made them slightly too widely or narrowly spaced, you can't plop the buildings you want. And since the addons to the different upgradable buildings (a nice feature in itself) can only be placed in certain locations, you may need to bulldoze and rebuild the base building a few times to find the right location but you can't just reload a save to do so. The map size is also way too small. Sure you can specialize and design multiple cities in a region, but I play SimCity because I like creating and designing massive urban sprawl it's too simple to do it in bite sized chunks. And then the region map looks strange with tightly packed squares of development separated by empty wide open spaces. If they want to leave regions intact, so be it, but make them directly adjacent to each other so the empty space is gone its an eyesore otherwise. Now to go back to the server issue pure incompetence. They should have known by the amount of the preorders what the expected server volume needs to be. Once the game rolls out in other countries, the volume is only going to go up, and they haven't even solved the problem for existing customer. Not only is this a PR disaster by itself but EA's overall marketing strategy of micropurchasing depends on satisfied customers. Customers aren't going to be willing to be nickeled and dimed for add-ons if they feel cheated by the initial product. Irritated fanbois with short attention spans are one thing. SimCity has a lot of long term fans who are now well into adulthood and have been playing the series for decades (such as myself) cynical marketing and poor technical execution. This game is taxing everyone's patience and customers deserve much better. ***One final comment from someone who knows PR: thanking customers for their patience when they are actually not patient, and have valid and justifiable reasons for their frustration is the opposite of soothing it causes more frustration by making the speaker sound condescending and arrogant. Just apologize and tell us what you're doing to fix the problems stop thanking us for our waning 'patience'.… Expand
  64. EABanBoy
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    EA After years of destroying franchises and companies, they have finally broke the camels back for me. Thus I have now boycotted all products with EA's name on it. Their "Worst Company In America" award is well deserved.
  65. ymqwtqoq
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Made a metacritic account just to say how bad this game is. I paid $60 and have not been able to play even one moment. The servers are constantly "Busy" or "Full" and even if you find one that is available it will make you wait upwards of half an hour just to play. DO NOT BUY!
  66. Complexes
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I'm confused why this is in the PC games section. I thought you were meant to play games, not watch a server time tick away for hours. I strongly suggest this is moved to the movies section.
  67. Mawz
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Bruuuuuutal. Not what I thought I was buying. So much anticipation for this game... and let down. It looks far to cartoony, and too damn easy. The taxes are a joooke.
  68. Leviathan737
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I'd love to give it a better review.. but since I can't actually play the game I paid for... still... day 2. This is the score it gets. Am I at 150 characters yet? It doesn't deserve that many either.
  69. Protons
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I hate EA..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................I hate EA.......................................................................................................

    .............................................................................................................................................................................................    … Expand
  70. hoytick
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    SimCity is a beautiful game, the developers really really really did a great job on it. The greed of EA really killed the game. It is really sad that these great developers are being controled by a money hungry greedy monster, EA. When the game is playable (since it is an always online game which requires strong servers) it is a fantaastic game, however it is very rarely playable. EA hasSimCity is a beautiful game, the developers really really really did a great job on it. The greed of EA really killed the game. It is really sad that these great developers are being controled by a money hungry greedy monster, EA. When the game is playable (since it is an always online game which requires strong servers) it is a fantaastic game, however it is very rarely playable. EA has destroyed a beautiful game. DO NOT BUY IT until it is clear that EA/Origin has "Fixed" their servers. You will know when to buy it, just keep checking the SimCity facebook page and if most the posts by users are negative, do not buy it.… Expand
  71. PrinceofNessus
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Every aspect of this game is a failure. From city size to server reliability to premise. The game is a rehashing of SimCity Societies with enough alterations to remove the Societies moniker. It's spiffy that SimCity 2013 has individual Agents and all, but it's taken a functional system and given it more moving parts to attempt to achieve the same results; an engineering sin. I don't careEvery aspect of this game is a failure. From city size to server reliability to premise. The game is a rehashing of SimCity Societies with enough alterations to remove the Societies moniker. It's spiffy that SimCity 2013 has individual Agents and all, but it's taken a functional system and given it more moving parts to attempt to achieve the same results; an engineering sin. I don't care about my agents that much, I'm looking for a city simulator not a macro version of The Sims. EA may fix server issues and I may not have to wait in a queue to play the game I bought so I'm giving them a pass on that. The game however is not what I was hoping for, it's what I feared it would be. It's like Babby's first city builder game, complete with toy-like graphics and mindless game-play.… Expand
  72. omahastylee101
    Mar 9, 2013
    1
    This user rating is proof that the critics are on EA's payroll. How could the critics ratings be so far off of the consumers? This is the second time I have personally seen EA get amazing ratings for a garbage game. I am sorry that Maxis was sold off to EA. They will go down in history as the simulation trail blazers. Unfortunately, their money hungry master has tarnished the Maxis nameThis user rating is proof that the critics are on EA's payroll. How could the critics ratings be so far off of the consumers? This is the second time I have personally seen EA get amazing ratings for a garbage game. I am sorry that Maxis was sold off to EA. They will go down in history as the simulation trail blazers. Unfortunately, their money hungry master has tarnished the Maxis name for me forever.… Expand
  73. uberzoned
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    Remember the last time you bought a book that was missing the first 10 chapters? Neither do I............................................................................................................................................................
  74. NullRider
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    I will only play this game alone. DRM automatically sucks, but having to be online at all times is like having to confirm your account number every time you change the channel on your TV.
  75. ZoltyKot
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    Piece of crap. I just lost my 5h city and since then i can't even login into that damned thing. Last night i managed to play for entire of 15min before it disconnected me from server. WASTED MONEY don't buy it!. Fok you EA!
  76. peterplane80
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    Drm, internet connection, small map but mainly a buggy game and the worst support i 've ever seen since battlefield 3... Thanks Ea Last game i bought on origin or EAgame...
  77. tartarus1312
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    First of all, there is the always-on DRM. EA tried to lie about this by saying the server connection was essential to running the game because a lot of calculations were made on the server. Turns out, that's not the case, as proven by a modder: http://www.geek.com/articles/games/modder-proves-simcity-can-run-offline-indefinitely-20130314/. So the server connection is just for theirFirst of all, there is the always-on DRM. EA tried to lie about this by saying the server connection was essential to running the game because a lot of calculations were made on the server. Turns out, that's not the case, as proven by a modder: http://www.geek.com/articles/games/modder-proves-simcity-can-run-offline-indefinitely-20130314/. So the server connection is just for their ridiculous DRM.

    Second, the game itself is not even good. The AI is dumber than Simcity 4 from 10 years ago. The pathfinding is especially horrible. Vehicles and Sims take completely insensible paths to reach their destinations. This leads to traffic jams all the time which shouldn't exist. School buses run empty but don't pick up children because they are full. Emergency vehicles get stuck in traffic, and also drive past their destination because they're on the wrong side of the road. These are just specific examples of how the game's AI is terrible.

    Thirdly, thanks to EA hating single-player games, and trying to make this an always-on multiplayer game, the amount of space you have to build your city is pathetic. It looks more like SimVille: The Facebook Game than a respectable PC game. I was looking for a modern, updated version of Simcity 2000 and Simcity 4. With today's graphics and CPU power, we could have built sprawling metropolises with stunning graphics. Instead, we have this pile of rubbish.

    I think it is time for gamers to simply boycott EA as a whole. Battlefield 4 is coming out? It's just a game, you can do without it.

    Don't buy EA games. whether created or published by them. Period.    … Expand
  78. 1Khronos
    Mar 15, 2013
    0
    This game is truly pathetic and has caused me more grief than actual enjoyment. Not only was it released on the 7th of March for me which is 2 days after the "official" release date, but playing the game has been far from an enjoyable experience.

    For the first week, I couldn't even logon to the game due to EA's servers being inundated with traffic. When I finally could, I realised how    This game is truly pathetic and has caused me more grief than actual enjoyment. Not only was it released on the 7th of March for me which is 2 days after the "official" release date, but playing the game has been far from an enjoyable experience.

    For the first week, I couldn't even logon to the game due to EA's servers being inundated with traffic. When I finally could, I realised how poor the actual gameplay was. Most notably, you're given a tiny map to work with which is a fraction the size it was in Simcity 4 and leaves you very limited options to expand your city.

    To top it all off, one and a half weeks after the game was finally activated on my account, Origin asked me to "re-activate" Simcity and asked for a product key. When I tried entering the product key I paid for, Origin advised me that the code has already been used. When I contacted Electronic Arts, I was told there was nothing they could do.

    This game truly deserves a 1 star rating due to its lack of features and extremely poor handling of its release by Electronic Arts.    … Expand
  79. consiefe
    Mar 15, 2013
    0
    Broken mechanics such as no need to make any Industrial zones especially and no need for commercials also are unacceptable. There is no meaningful corelation between zones or agents. This game is painting zones with no purpose! Besides all agents are moving mindlessly, creating chaos. ie While there is an avenue goes to point A and a dirt road, they choose dirt one for being a bit shorterBroken mechanics such as no need to make any Industrial zones especially and no need for commercials also are unacceptable. There is no meaningful corelation between zones or agents. This game is painting zones with no purpose! Besides all agents are moving mindlessly, creating chaos. ie While there is an avenue goes to point A and a dirt road, they choose dirt one for being a bit shorter then avenue although traffic is hell on that. Firetrucks respond all together to the same fire while your city is on the fire. List goes on and on. God bless us! That's not even a game.

    Stay away, because i don't think developers will accept their fault and fix these problems.    … Expand
  80. Big_Nookie
    Mar 17, 2013
    0
    Huge step back from Simcity 4. Restrictive DRM and online only. Buggy and dumbed down from previous games. Maxis and EA lie about online requirements and "computations" being done by their servers. I will never pre order a EA or Maxis game again. I feel cheated and tooken advantage of. Graphics are nice but I've gone back to Simcity 4. More fun and mod supported, the way PC gamingHuge step back from Simcity 4. Restrictive DRM and online only. Buggy and dumbed down from previous games. Maxis and EA lie about online requirements and "computations" being done by their servers. I will never pre order a EA or Maxis game again. I feel cheated and tooken advantage of. Graphics are nice but I've gone back to Simcity 4. More fun and mod supported, the way PC gaming was meant to be.… Expand
  81. Plantface
    Mar 17, 2013
    0
    Weeks after its release and after 'everything returning to normal' according to EA the game is still plagued by connection issues.

    After having spent a lot of hours into several cities on different servers, all my cities got deleted when randomly getting a 'city could not be processed properly' and doing a failed roll back to the last known normal state. Not worth the money, not worth a    Weeks after its release and after 'everything returning to normal' according to EA the game is still plagued by connection issues.

    After having spent a lot of hours into several cities on different servers, all my cities got deleted when randomly getting a 'city could not be processed properly' and doing a failed roll back to the last known normal state. Not worth the money, not worth a in-depth review.    … Expand
  82. krunchysock
    Mar 19, 2013
    0
    I am completely ignoring the DRM issue. My issue is with both Size, and complexity you have neither in this game. Even when you expect to have at least one or the other. Please do not support this product. Give it about 6 months.. and MAYBE they will have it patched enough to be somewhat fun. I honestly can't beleive i pre ordered this game.
  83. Ahazy
    Mar 21, 2013
    0
    This is a very poor attempt at a simcity game. Not only can this game not be played offline, but it's riddled with bugs, design errors, and nazi style DRM. It looks like EA managed to destroy SimCity too, but I'm sure they will fix it with overpriced DLC. Count on it.
  84. staino
    Mar 21, 2013
    1
    Gave up. Hours of time wasted when I was booted and lost my game as it didnt save. Started a new game and was booted again after 2 hours with a "Simcity save corruption" error. EA refused a refund, instead told me to call a 1902 number which is charged at $2.50 per minute. I went to the bank and got my money back. Game was released 6 to 12 months too early.
  85. JohnWayne
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    EA over it's fans and destroys another franchise. Why they didn't just publish this to Facebook instead of through Origin is the question. If you're a fan of DRM, empty games that you need DLC to make even remotely interesting, and having your game become unplayable whenever EA decides, I can highly reccomend this game to you.
  86. Powerkeeper
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Like I usually do with any extremely hyped game, I didn't sweat not jumping in on launch day. Usually waiting a day or two after means I miss the stress of launch issues (server downtime, game breaking bugs, etc). However, this time it looks like even waiting until the evening on the second day after launch isn't sufficient to shield me from EA's failure. After loading from the disc andLike I usually do with any extremely hyped game, I didn't sweat not jumping in on launch day. Usually waiting a day or two after means I miss the stress of launch issues (server downtime, game breaking bugs, etc). However, this time it looks like even waiting until the evening on the second day after launch isn't sufficient to shield me from EA's failure. After loading from the disc and waiting for the super slow Origin updater (no matter what anyone tells you, getting roughly 14K down on any modern high speed connection is not your fault but the server sending you files) I finally was able to launch the game.

    Boy was I surprised when I was greeted with yet another patch, independent of the Origin one. So the EA controlled content delivery system cannot completely patch the game tied to it? I have to launch the game and use another proprietary updater? Once again I had to wait out a slow update speed, this time without even the benefit of knowing just how slow it was going. But whatever, it will only happen once....hopefully.

    Once I completed that patch, I was finally greeted with the server selection screen. I can play!

    NOPE! Unable to connect to the SimCity Servers. Please try again. I click Okay and a server is selected for me. I click the play button expecting to get in and start Mayoring it up. I watch the intro showing me all the cool things I will soon be building. The intro finishes and I eagerly click to select my region etc.

    NOPE! Server not available. Even though it specifically said it was. So now I have a screen without a functioning button except settings and quit.

    So at this point, I have spent $60 and some change to close the game, plop their software on my computer and wait for the incompetents at EA to get off their lazy butts and fix what should have been a known quantity.

    If you are going to force persistent online authentication, at least plan for multiple redundancy and overflow. Don't have a few small servers and then act surprised when they are overflowing in a few short minutes. That might have flown 10-15 years ago, but in this day and age it is totally unacceptable for a publishing studio to demonstrate this atrocious lack of planning/

    To top it off, if you insist on acting like this was an unexpected event at least have the courtesy to maintain good communication with your customers. At the end of the day, they are the ones who are paying for this useless piece of garbage and if handled properly, may just stay once things settle down. If you do as EA is currently and release sporadic and uninformative propaganda instead, you are only pushing your already dissatisfied customers closer to abandoning the game before it even gets off the ground. To condense since most people don't have the attention span to read for very long here it is:

    Don't pretend this wasn't a foregone conclusion with the lack of preload, limited beta that didn't test anything and a gross underestimate of the hardware needed to support the game.

    As bad as it sounds, throw some of that money you have stashed in the back at the problem! Add hardware, add connections, whatever needs to be done to remedy the situation. After the explosion is not the time to worry about how much bandages might cost. Fix the problem and then figure out money later.

    Provide honest and consistent updates to your player base. Don't lie about what is and isn't being done, don't act like everything is working fine when your entire playerbase is telling you otherwise. The server are not online, no one can play. Constant updates until things are working again should be priority #2, right behind the actual problem resolution. Every 30 minutes to an hour until it's fixed. Not that hard, take a page from other companies.    … Expand
  87. Icewind31
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    People say that you can't review a game if you haven't played it... but being able to play is an absolute criteria to be able to review. Even the tutorial doesn't work. Would I be wrong to give a car a bad review because it doesn't start? You should be allowed to create regions locally and have your own pc keep track of single player regions. Doing that alone would reduce a great deal ofPeople say that you can't review a game if you haven't played it... but being able to play is an absolute criteria to be able to review. Even the tutorial doesn't work. Would I be wrong to give a car a bad review because it doesn't start? You should be allowed to create regions locally and have your own pc keep track of single player regions. Doing that alone would reduce a great deal of load on the servers, not everyone is looking to create a region with 10 other people.… Expand
  88. herpderp316
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    EA paid "critics" who played the largely empty press beta? Check. EA apologists trolling? Check. Another online only required game falling flat on launch? Check. $60 wasted on a game that I can't play cause I thought EA would get it right after the epic failure the Diablo 3 launch was? Check.
  89. Gotekta
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I have to agree with most of the people here. The game is huge letdown.
    The always-online DRM is horrible, you have to wait in line to play your game, you can't save your cities to try different things, and worst of all, you can't build a big city because the devs decided that a microscopic map was all we needed.
    If this is the future of gaming, the whole industry is going to plunge into    I have to agree with most of the people here. The game is huge letdown.
    The always-online DRM is horrible, you have to wait in line to play your game, you can't save your cities to try different things, and worst of all, you can't build a big city because the devs decided that a microscopic map was all we needed.
    If this is the future of gaming, the whole industry is going to plunge into oblivion.    … Expand
  90. Bigodon
    Mar 5, 2013
    2
    Ea, f*** everything, you know the REAL reason about cities are small? Its simple... They will CHARGE YOU in microtransactions for terrain expand, if you want a bigger terrain, you will have to buy it, per section. Why this game doesn't support mods? Because they will launch a bunch of DLCs for you tune up your experience. Also i cant forget the god damn DMR, and for the fun sake, this is aEa, f*** everything, you know the REAL reason about cities are small? Its simple... They will CHARGE YOU in microtransactions for terrain expand, if you want a bigger terrain, you will have to buy it, per section. Why this game doesn't support mods? Because they will launch a bunch of DLCs for you tune up your experience. Also i cant forget the god damn DMR, and for the fun sake, this is a pain in our asses! And about the stupid queue to connect in server and finally start play the game? I bought this and COULD NOT PLAY due the server difficulties.

    JUST ANOTHER GAME EA SCREWED    … Expand
  91. Raptor007
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Sadly, I actually bought this game. It's unplayable. The servers are too busy, and they make you wait an insulting 30 minutes between retries. If you do make it into a server, you'll have to keep playing on that one or lose all your progress. If you haven't bought it yet, don't.
  92. Bisonman80
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I made the effort to create an account just to express how terrible it is that we actually have to boycott what looks like a fun game developed by Maxis simply because EA is making worse and worse decisions every year when it comes to DRM. This could be a great game but we in the community have been forced by EA to think about the fact that buying this game is supporting a direction inI made the effort to create an account just to express how terrible it is that we actually have to boycott what looks like a fun game developed by Maxis simply because EA is making worse and worse decisions every year when it comes to DRM. This could be a great game but we in the community have been forced by EA to think about the fact that buying this game is supporting a direction in anti-piracy that absolutely harms the paying customer.

    As gamers, we have to put a stop to this Paying customers are getting screwed over by companies like EA in an attempt to curb piracy, but it's not working, and EA executives refuse to accept this reality. Instead, they continue to wrap the games their developers create with terrible, often-times game-breaking DRM (as many owners of this game have already reported), with absolutely no concern for their actual customers and what they want. As of this moment I am so appalled by how far EA is willing to go to fight piracy, that I'm leaning towards never buying another EA game until they show some kind of wisdom and understanding of the reality of gaming as it is today. Piracy exists and it will always exist. The one thing that will never change is that good games that treat it's customers with respect will sell and make the producers a lot of money. This is what EA needs to do, stop fiddling with game-breaking DRM and just produce the games that we want to buy and play. EA, over the last decade or so you've shown us customers decreasing amounts of respect and faith, so you no longer deserve ours.    … Expand
  93. Weiseth
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    Being Simcity the original fan, simcity 2000, simcity 4 fan this game sucks. It takes everything that was good with simcity, makes it smaller, more simple, easier to master and more stupid. The graphics looks horrible and there is no immersion or feel that you are actually controlling a city.

    This is a feebleminded game.
  94. dexter1983
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    I may be going out on a limb, but I think most people play Simcity to build a huge, populated city.. Limiting everyone to a 2x2km map has to be the most ass backwards idea ever imagined. Forcing me to go online to play a single player game tops it all off... Can someone else take over the franchise?
  95. Speaker-o-truth
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    To everybody that is criticizing people for giving bad reviews of this game maybe you are the ones way too "understanding" of EA. It is one thing for a game to be required to be online, yes fine. You have to be online at all points. Wonderful. No problem.

    Where the problem comes in? The problem comes in when the fact you can't even PLAY the game because of this online server even if    To everybody that is criticizing people for giving bad reviews of this game maybe you are the ones way too "understanding" of EA. It is one thing for a game to be required to be online, yes fine. You have to be online at all points. Wonderful. No problem.

    Where the problem comes in? The problem comes in when the fact you can't even PLAY the game because of this online server even if you are intending to play SINGLE PLAYER. I understand they are trying to take measures against piracy but seriously, this is the wrong way to do so.

    You should not be charging people full retail price of a game so they can sit there and be told that "oh hey the servers are full, we took your money so it's okay but as soon as some server space frees up you can gladly enjoy the single player experience."

    Absolutely pathetic on EA's behalf and they should be ashamed of this launch. I'm giving this game a 0. Why? Because I was in queue for 4 hours and still have NO IDEA WHAT THE GAMEPLAY IS LIKE. I didn't pay money to be thrown into a queue.    … Expand
  96. Boombastix
    Mar 19, 2013
    2
    Always on connection and server problems are bad but they'll be fixed. The worst thing about the game, and something that not many people have even acknowledged is the map size: it's stupidly small!! I had pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to within a few hours and filled every square inch of land. And no, it's called 'Simcity', not 'Simcities' so I don't want to have to make aAlways on connection and server problems are bad but they'll be fixed. The worst thing about the game, and something that not many people have even acknowledged is the map size: it's stupidly small!! I had pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to within a few hours and filled every square inch of land. And no, it's called 'Simcity', not 'Simcities' so I don't want to have to make a whole lot of small crappy cities and have them 'interconnected'. They just had to make a slightly updated and better version of Simcity 4 and they would of made millions of people happy, and millions of dollars. Why reboot what's not broken??… Expand
  97. trickstyle11
    Mar 5, 2013
    0
    EA spent a great amount of resources to convince a loyal fanbase always online will not be a problem, and then hyped up a release while promising the servers will handle launch load. Then you completely fail to deliver, and have prevented the vast majority of your players who just want a single player experience from even playing. That is false advertising, and you failed to deliver theEA spent a great amount of resources to convince a loyal fanbase always online will not be a problem, and then hyped up a release while promising the servers will handle launch load. Then you completely fail to deliver, and have prevented the vast majority of your players who just want a single player experience from even playing. That is false advertising, and you failed to deliver the product we paid for.… Expand
  98. napalm
    Mar 17, 2013
    0
    A huge disappointment. They ripped the heart out of a once beloved game series and created a shallow shell with not substance, simulation, challenge, depth or size. It looks pretty, but outside of that the game is no longer simcity
  99. Agarwel
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    It is sad, but if I would spend my 80eur on empty DVD box from Tesco, I would received more content :-/
    Simcity so far took my money, time (googling for status updates) and provided no content at all.
  100. esocid
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Waited an hour and a half to get into the game. Played for a good 20 minutes until the game crashed. Guess what? I had to wait even longer to get back into the game.

    Pros: My computer didn't come to life and kill me.
    Cons: My computer didn't come to life and put me out of my misery while waiting.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
21
#21 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 75
  3. Negative: 10 out of 75
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 5, 2013
    65
    Given enough patches and DCLs, SimCity might eventually become the game that should have been on its release and justify the ambiguous choices that its developers made. [May 2013]
  2. Games Master UK
    May 9, 2013
    68
    Hints at great things but is limited by small cities and promises it can't deliver on. [June 2013, p.80]
  3. Hyper Magazine
    May 9, 2013
    40
    There's more problems with this game than I have words. Looks great though. [June 2013, p.80]
See all critic reviews »