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. Cabal190406
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    Atrocious Game. First day I received this and it's unplayable. If you want to buy this, wait till a few weeks to get this sort out then buy it. Otherwise steer well clear. It's not worth your money to buy it for AU$79 and then you realize you can't play this at all.
    This review won't change until EA sorts out its problems
  2. giveaphuk
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    i am giving this game 1, for the one (amazing) hour I got to play.. I would give it a 10 if only it wasn't for the 9 HOURS i've spent trying to log in. (I pre-ordered the game even took a sick day to stay home play)

    & now I know I am NEVER buying a single player game that requires I be online to play NEVER pre-ordering from EA again, as I have no faith in them delivering as promised.
  3. 12jcohen
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    I would give the game a 9/10. However when I pay $60 for a game I expect to play it whenever I want to play it. I understand that servers take time to get up and these overcapacity issues will eventually subside, However It is beyond me that Made the decision to make a single player game drm and not let people preload it to avoid exactly the issues they are currently having. I
  4. Overand
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    For the 25 minutes I was able to play this game, I enjoyed it, though the interface was slightly non-intuitive in some areas. The small map size does seem to be an issue, but that's been my only complaint with the game design itself., as far as I was able to see it. The interface around updates, server chocies, etc is also somewhat non-intuitive, and even the updating patching systemFor the 25 minutes I was able to play this game, I enjoyed it, though the interface was slightly non-intuitive in some areas. The small map size does seem to be an issue, but that's been my only complaint with the game design itself., as far as I was able to see it. The interface around updates, server chocies, etc is also somewhat non-intuitive, and even the updating patching system seems to be buggy.

    Of course, the obvious thing here is that I've spent $60 USD on a game I got to play for less than a half-hour that's not a very good hourly rate.I could have seen 5 2-hour movies for that rate, and certainly would have enjoyed myself more, if I at least chose good films.

    Not being able to play a game I purchased? Totally miserable. (Yes, as lawyers will point out, I only LICENSED it but that just points to the broken business model and legal system around software). The future of DRM is that it's going to ruin gaming. I read the warnings, and I made a choice to spend money on a big-studio game. It's a mistake I won't likely be making again soon I'll be going back to my independent, small-studio games. At least they work.    … Expand
  5. opdelt
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    This game had tremendous potential. When EA spread the word that the game would include always-on DRM, the gaming community fired. In response to the backlash, EA reassured everyone they had everything under control. EA had an opportunity to prove that always-on DRM could work and they blew it. Always-on DRM ruined any chance this game had. Plain and simple. This further proves that EAThis game had tremendous potential. When EA spread the word that the game would include always-on DRM, the gaming community fired. In response to the backlash, EA reassured everyone they had everything under control. EA had an opportunity to prove that always-on DRM could work and they blew it. Always-on DRM ruined any chance this game had. Plain and simple. This further proves that EA doesn't care about the gaming community, only $ales revenue and profits.… Expand
  6. JASNYC
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Please do not buy this game, the online only model is horrible. I tried to give it a chance, in essence to view it as an MMO game, but MMo's servers you can actually log in to play. I was able to play this game for a few hours, then nothing for two days so far. Vote with your money, tell EA that online only is BAD.
  7. Shidosh
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Kip Katserelis at EA development studio Maxis sai "We've got experience from Spore and Darkspore," Katserelis said, citing other recent Maxis games. "EA is an on online company. We're definitely watching what's going on at Blizzard, and we're putting in backstops and checks to try to prevent those kind of things from happening."
    Apparently not....
    On a game like Sim City that require a    Kip Katserelis at EA development studio Maxis sai "We've got experience from Spore and Darkspore," Katserelis said, citing other recent Maxis games. "EA is an on online company. We're definitely watching what's going on at Blizzard, and we're putting in backstops and checks to try to prevent those kind of things from happening."
    Apparently not....
    On a game like Sim City that require a permanent connection to internet, you need to expect a lot of connection. EA wasn't prepared leading to inaccessible and not stable server. For $80, you are allowed to do anything, just wait and hope that things will be better. It's unprofessional from EA and they really need to invest money to allow player to play the game that they bought     … Expand
  8. Tipa16384
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Unplayable due to network issues Customer support had me deleting folders in game directories and such, but nothing could make the game finish updating or stay connected. The one time I was able to connect and start a city, the game hung and crashed and I lost all progress. Once was put into a half hour queue, at the end of which, it refused to connect. The multiplayer nobody wanted andUnplayable due to network issues Customer support had me deleting folders in game directories and such, but nothing could make the game finish updating or stay connected. The one time I was able to connect and start a city, the game hung and crashed and I lost all progress. Once was put into a half hour queue, at the end of which, it refused to connect. The multiplayer nobody wanted and always online DRM has taken a great franchise and ruined it. Apparently complaining to EA can lose you access to all EA games forever, so Metacritic is the only option. Asking me to buy their day 1 DLC when I can't even play the game is just icing on the cake.… Expand
  9. degg
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I guess it may be an okay game, IF YOU COULD EVER GET ON THE SERVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!! get rid of the DRM, online always and preferably get it off origin and on to steam!
  10. StUnNeR_H2K
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    This is my first review on metacritic.

    Obviously anyone who has played the game already knows why this is my first review. I have used metacritic for years to get info on games and to help me make informed decisions on purchases, so that I buy games that are worth my time and that I don't waste money on them. The case with SimCity is really the tale of two situations. One the    This is my first review on metacritic.

    Obviously anyone who has played the game already knows why this is my first review. I have used metacritic for years to get info on games and to help me make informed decisions on purchases, so that I buy games that are worth my time and that I don't waste money on them.

    The case with SimCity is really the tale of two situations. One the Critic Reviews are skewed since they were able to play the game before the masses. While obviously the game seems to operate well when the population is small, that is not the case for the end-user.

    Now you can take this review as just me venting my frustration, but how as a consumer am I supposed to make educated and informed decisions when a Critic review is false. Now I'm not blaming the Critics. In no way are they at fault for the reviews, but I do think they should be allowed to re-review the game in it's current live state.

    So what exactly is the games problem... almost everything. Since they decided to take the ALL online route, that seems be growing in popularity, the game needs the online component to even work. Including a OFFLINE mode option, was not even included for individuals who maybe wanted to just play the game the way SimCity was originally created to be as a giant open sandbox of city building amazement. Now before you say "well go play the original game! It's still there!", that doesn't excuse the fact that people spent anywhere from 40$ to 80$ depending on where and when you purchased the game and what edition you purchased.

    The game is almost completely un-playable. The server errors include everything from unable to connect/load to completely erasing everything you just did in the last few hours.

    Social features. The key component to the online only part, and these features don't work. It takes forever for anything to update. I spent over an hour last night attempting to invite an individual to the region I was playing in, since it took an entire hour for them to show up.

    Achievements and accomplishments are server specific. So if I take the publisher's advice and move to another less populated server then all my previous accomplishments are gone, and only exist on the previous server.

    The positives. The game actually has many, but sadly they don't work since the entire game has failed to launch properly. In a technological age where things like this could have been easily avoided (Hello worthless three public betas), it makes no sense as to how something like this could have happened. When the game does work though, it provides great entertainment and the region aspect (again when it works) is an exciting feature and brings a whole new dynamic to the game many of us grew up to love. (To bad they didn't really how many of us grew up loving this game)

    My review will stand on this game. I planned to call friends to play or go purchase the game, or encourage them to jump in, but now I won't even mention I wasted my time playing it or attempting to. On top of that why invite more friends? The game can't handle more players, in fact I hope all my friends stop playing just so a little more server space will remain for me.

    If you buy this game, actually if you even spend a penny on this game you wasted your money. If some one gives it to you for free... you will lose money since time is money and all this game does is waste time with you looking at error screens and loading screens.    … Expand
  11. Steinus
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    The game is defective. It's as simple as that. The servers are down or experiencing difficulties and it's not possible to play the game away from the servers. EA must be doing something right, though, as they managed thousands of players to buy an unplayable game that costs over 100$ or 70£. (600NOK)
  12. AxemBlack
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    First, I'm disgusted that EA gutted Maxis years ago and parades this unfinished product as the "return of Sim City. Pah!

    I bought this game two days ago and haven't been able to play it once because of server issues. This leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and a feeling that i should have known better than to buy another of EA's dung heaps. The worst part is, once EA gears up to release    First, I'm disgusted that EA gutted Maxis years ago and parades this unfinished product as the "return of Sim City. Pah!

    I bought this game two days ago and haven't been able to play it once because of server issues. This leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and a feeling that i should have known better than to buy another of EA's dung heaps. The worst part is, once EA gears up to release the next installment, they will likely shut down the SimCity5 servers, and you will have to buy the sequel, since this $60 purchase you are now making is tantamount to renting the game for a few years.

    EA, Blizzard, and Activision all need to go out of business, or break apart into smaller studios that were the source of their success. These colossi of corporate greed are so entrenched in the market that they don't think twice about rushing production and watering down the product in the name of shareholder profit.    … Expand
  13. tomandresen
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Have yet to be able to actually play. Servers down. This "game" should have been called "Sim Error 37". Stay away from this for the time being, and spend your money on something you can actually play.
  14. nowsacake4u
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    DO NOT BUY. Always online DRM, servers have been down for days now since released. Even if you do get in there's a 75% chance that a few hours into play your game data will be lost and everything you worked on will be wiped. Yes that's right your entire city put back to square one in a blink of an eye. Gee what a great online service, everything you have is wiped instantly. A completeDO NOT BUY. Always online DRM, servers have been down for days now since released. Even if you do get in there's a 75% chance that a few hours into play your game data will be lost and everything you worked on will be wiped. Yes that's right your entire city put back to square one in a blink of an eye. Gee what a great online service, everything you have is wiped instantly. A complete disappointment for SimCity from someone who has played and owned all others.… Expand
  15. bryno
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I knew it was not going to live up to any type of hype or expectations that I had but I love love the series and genre, little did I know just how bad it would be. I just don't see how I can ever trust EA ever again, maybe the game could be saved by modders but that will never happen just as long as EA can churn out the DLC which this game requires to function properly.
  16. omo
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    I can't believe the ~200 people who gave it positive reviews. You do not pay money for a game you can only play maybe half the time. That cannot be worth a 10. Granted hopefully things will improve over time but anyone thinking of paying money for this game should think twice about how EA will ultimately screw you and your playing experience, jar you awake from the addtive fun-ness thatI can't believe the ~200 people who gave it positive reviews. You do not pay money for a game you can only play maybe half the time. That cannot be worth a 10. Granted hopefully things will improve over time but anyone thinking of paying money for this game should think twice about how EA will ultimately screw you and your playing experience, jar you awake from the addtive fun-ness that Maxis has always put together. If they were even half as competent as Blizzard, they won't be getting this kind of thrashing.… Expand
  17. delar
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    There is NO WAY a true reviewer can ignore the always on DRM which requires you to log into EA's servers to play SimCity 2013 when they do their reviews. The overwhelming positive reviews from so called "reviewers" points to a very real issue with they way they are reviewing games. First reviewers should be required to review games they way they are on launch day 1, not a week or laterThere is NO WAY a true reviewer can ignore the always on DRM which requires you to log into EA's servers to play SimCity 2013 when they do their reviews. The overwhelming positive reviews from so called "reviewers" points to a very real issue with they way they are reviewing games. First reviewers should be required to review games they way they are on launch day 1, not a week or later after the game is out or patched 10+ times. Second reviewers can not separate game design from game service which from the reviews so far is obvious they are not. Now I'm not suggesting reviewers vote ONLY with their emotions and frustration but that reviews can not say that a game is 80%+ favorable when if they were honest the normal player can't even PLAY THE GAME AT ALL. The fact that I'm even having to say this in the first place shows how out of touch game reviewers are at this point. Might as well have game developers review their own games with A+ ratings and at least be honest about the deceit.… Expand
  18. industrialspark
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Don't waste your time buying this over hyped piece of crap. The DRM, always online requirement completely cripples the game. But if you, like me, have made this purchase on good faith, knowing how well the simcities have been done in the past. Then you are a sucker, like me, and EA does not care if they sell you functioning game or not, they have your money and are laughing all the way toDon't waste your time buying this over hyped piece of crap. The DRM, always online requirement completely cripples the game. But if you, like me, have made this purchase on good faith, knowing how well the simcities have been done in the past. Then you are a sucker, like me, and EA does not care if they sell you functioning game or not, they have your money and are laughing all the way to the bank. Good job EA! You have stained your name for a very loooong time for this customer of the past.… Expand
  19. ro8in
    Mar 9, 2013
    3
    Alert! This is not another whining review about the always on DRM. I can live with that. When I first heard about the glassbox engine. I was amazed. The last Sim City's the engine was just part of the game. DId not require a seperate name. This time tough we had Sim City running on Glassbox. Seeing the engine getting named seperatly I really had high hopes. In my inmagination I would thinkAlert! This is not another whining review about the always on DRM. I can live with that. When I first heard about the glassbox engine. I was amazed. The last Sim City's the engine was just part of the game. DId not require a seperate name. This time tough we had Sim City running on Glassbox. Seeing the engine getting named seperatly I really had high hopes. In my inmagination I would think this engine would create a whole new dimension of details not ever seen before in Sim City. Could we now follow each civillian individually? Could we see them get in their car, go shop or go to work and get home again? Could we see what their doing at home? I mean in the end of the day this is a humans behaviour simulator right? Unfortunatly none of this is actually the case. To make things worse this actually feels like a limited Sim City... Allot of things have been removed, but not much has been given in return.. Yes its true you can actually click a civilian and see its name and follow it down the street, but once it goes in a building its gone. Talking about going in buildings. Sometimes you see 10 to 12 cars to go inside a single house. They simply just dissapear. And this is not the only strange thing. Many behaviours by your sims is just strange.. One building is complaining by no shoppers, while the second building is telling you business is going fantastic. Theres all kind off odd things like these which makes you feel the game was maybe not finished? So what has been removed? Landscaping, Power lines, Waterlines, Big maps, What did we get in return? Well some online social stuff, which currently doesn't seem to work very well. After numberous login attemps I have not yet been able to succesfully use any of the social functions. For example selling power between city's has not worked for me once yet.. Overall I got the feeling of a very limited game which is in no way an advancement of the previous sim city's. Basically all you can do is build roads and then decide to either allow industry, housing or commercial to be build next to the road. Then on top you build some basic things like watertower, police and fireman but thats about it.. EA I'm very dissapointed. I just paid 60 bucks for this and its simply just not worth it. Sorry to say in its current state even Farmville has more depth then this.… Expand
  20. imilka
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I'm just wondering why the critic reviews are so positive. The game is very disappointing for me. I'd suggest not to buy it to anyone who has every played any city simulation games. It may be fun for you if you are playing with friends or don't like to spend some time planning your actions. The game looks like it's made for tablets and phones, it's very oversimplified. You can't controlI'm just wondering why the critic reviews are so positive. The game is very disappointing for me. I'd suggest not to buy it to anyone who has every played any city simulation games. It may be fun for you if you are playing with friends or don't like to spend some time planning your actions. The game looks like it's made for tablets and phones, it's very oversimplified. You can't control traffic, you can't build flexible transport networks, etc. The size limits are awful. There are no improvements over SC4 except graphics. But the worst thing here is that it requires you to be always online and it has HUGE problems with server availability. I was forced to wait FORTY MINUTES (40) before I could start the game to play with my city in my own private region! And EA doesn't care about their customers, refuses to give money back and threatens to BAN MY ACCOUNT if I open a dispute in my bank! EA go die please already, I didn't expect you to kill one of my favorite game franchises but you did.… Expand
  21. Mutin1981
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    This must be one of the worst game releases in the history of gaming. Only EA could take a game like Sim City and actually make people angry. Not just disappointed...but ANGRY.
  22. Infinitia
    Mar 7, 2013
    4
    The best summation of the anticipated SimCity is this: It has potential but its problems far outweigh its majesty.

    The SimCity franchise has taken some of its former elements and brought them into a more modernized environment. I was ecstatic to see that the cities influencing the demands of its surrounding neighbors stuck around. Unlike the previous installments the player is given    The best summation of the anticipated SimCity is this: It has potential but its problems far outweigh its majesty.

    The SimCity franchise has taken some of its former elements and brought them into a more modernized environment. I was ecstatic to see that the cities influencing the demands of its surrounding neighbors stuck around. Unlike the previous installments the player is given the opportunity to build roads that turn and work around the terrain as opposed to being pre-selected arraignments. While the terraform option had been removed the new layouts make it so that the challenge of working with the terrain offered is a more balanced challenge. Other benefits include not having to re-zone, and power lines, the staple that could make the ideal city a pile of garbage because there was not enough space to place power lines have been eliminated. While this simplifies construction it is one simplification that most would see as beneficial as opposed to detrimental.

    Unfortunately these few positives are the cushion for the detrimental amount of bugs, glitches, and server errors that come along with the game as is. As an individual I am adamant in stating that I am not a fan of 'Origin'. To me I feel that it is the equivalent of Zune to Steam. So learning that I needed to install Origin to play this game was a disappointment but one that I could handle. As with any game that requires the use of proxy installer (Rockstar Social Club) it is a means to ensure that the product can not easily be hacked and illegally downloaded. This leads to problems in that it forces the consumer to have an active internet connection at all times in order to play. The reason I consider this a problem is that it forces the consumer to agree to two conditions. The first being that the game is designed and strongly encourages multi-player to get the full benefit of the game. The second is that if, for any reason, there is a problem with the developer's servers, the game can not be played. The game has been released for two days and this solitary problem is what has led to this title to lose virtually all credibility and anticipation that it built up prior to its release. At certain points one could find themselves stuck on the loader loading screen waiting while it searches for updates. Other times it freezes while it tries to authenticate with the server. Occasionally a message will pop up saying that the server is unavailable and to choose another one. Unfortunately that message will sometimes appear when all servers are down yet the availability says that they are all open. If/when one can get past the loader itself and access the game then a new nightmare begins when the consumer tries to create or join a game. Even though the game loaded and they are in the game the server may be down in which case you can neither create nor join a game. Because all of this is running through Origin half the time the status that Origin and the game itself conflicts with each other. Want to switch to another server since the current one is not working? That requires shutting down the game and going back to the loader where it begins again. Even when playing a region if the server disconnects any progress made from then on out is lost unless a connection is re-established. The last major problem is that, when trying to locate any information regarding server downtime or attempt to find any resolution there is difficulty as to where to go. I have attempted to go to EA to find that a message explaining the current issue is not there. I have gone to the official facebook page to find thousands of people demanding a refund. Twitter seems to give the updates but they are so sparse and vague that the only thing the player can hope for is that the problem will be resolved before the day is over. EA says that they are doing everything possible to allow people to play the game but since its debut SimCity has gone from a long anticipated follow up to a long running franchise to one of the biggest failures and a testament to the fact that when companies are more interested in making sure that they can control the rights of their property that bad things typically follow in its wake. EA can make promises but unless they can manage to fix their connectivity issues and address their dwindling fan base promptly and constantly I fear that this game will be one where, for one that promotes a healthy online community, there will not be one when the game is finally ready for a proper release.    … Expand
  23. Hitmehard
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    The game is fun, refreshing and detailed. WHEN IT WORKS.
    It doesn't work, the servers are off-line 9 of out 10 times and when they go offline mid-session you get booted out of your game.

    0/10 for a extremely bad launch. Had this been a game without the need for "always online" it'd been A+ for sure.
  24. neophilus
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    EA disabling "non-criticcal gameplay features" to try to save their servers just proves they've sunk this game with useless crap that nobody asked for. No existing SimCity fans wanted an online-only multiplayer based city building game that has a fraction of the available building space as previous games in the franchise.

    Everyone loved SimCity 4 all they had to do was update the    EA disabling "non-criticcal gameplay features" to try to save their servers just proves they've sunk this game with useless crap that nobody asked for. No existing SimCity fans wanted an online-only multiplayer based city building game that has a fraction of the available building space as previous games in the franchise.

    Everyone loved SimCity 4 all they had to do was update the engine and reskin it and they would have had the perfect game. Instead the bloodsucking leeches at corporate forced this DRM-disguised-as-value online connectivity that they are obviously too incompetent to execute properly. It smells like some desperate bid to fight piracy but the only people who are going to suffer are paying customers while the pirates will probably crack some much better version of this dumbed down excuse for a city building simulator. SimCity 4 will never die, it will flourish long after the corpse of SimCity DRM 2013 "The Great EA Cashgrab" has decomposed into the rotten corporate hole it was spawned from.    … Expand
  25. Karybdis
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    As a Simcity player since the early 90's, it seriously pains me to write this review. I also helped develop much of the modding infrastructure for Simcity 4, so I thought this game was a no-brainer.

    Unfortunately, it's currently a paperweight. I don't know what to say. I bought two copies, so my wife and I could play the game together. Social city building with friends is touted as the    As a Simcity player since the early 90's, it seriously pains me to write this review. I also helped develop much of the modding infrastructure for Simcity 4, so I thought this game was a no-brainer.

    Unfortunately, it's currently a paperweight. I don't know what to say. I bought two copies, so my wife and I could play the game together. Social city building with friends is touted as the reason for the online component. Never have we been able to login at the same time, on the same server. There are constant bugs that crash you at some point during the login process regardless. I have been able to get into my first city 2 times after hours of trying, for about 10 minutes each.

    Not only this, but you can't switch servers without losing your cities BY DESIGN, and if you get disconnected from the internet, you lose all your work from that session.

    I can't even comment on the thing because I can't play it. It's too broken.

    To quote other people, what they should have done is made Simcity 4 with better graphics and some of the mods from the last 10 years included. It would have been a far better experience, and it would actually be playable.    … Expand
  26. CFZ
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    This game is very limited in scope and ability. Instead of focusing on what made SimCity great, they decided to focus on multiplayer only. Which gave them the "excuse" to implement online-only DRM. Small land sizes which turns what SHOULD be cities into towns, no terrain editing, no local saving, limited abilities services for your city (town), and no offline mode. The problems go on andThis game is very limited in scope and ability. Instead of focusing on what made SimCity great, they decided to focus on multiplayer only. Which gave them the "excuse" to implement online-only DRM. Small land sizes which turns what SHOULD be cities into towns, no terrain editing, no local saving, limited abilities services for your city (town), and no offline mode. The problems go on and on; filled with bugs and broken online systems. Please, do NOT buy this poor excuse of a game. This is NOT SimCity.… Expand
  27. CMDPrompt
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    Update: I was finally able to play for a couple of hours. I'm now really disappointed. Sim-Town is lame as hell. Retardedly small postage-sized "cities"? What a joke; more like towns or a nice summer hamlet. Can't even switch between these unimpressive stamp-sized villages without end-tasking the whole friggin game! No regional transportation? Transportation AI? AI in general?Update: I was finally able to play for a couple of hours. I'm now really disappointed. Sim-Town is lame as hell. Retardedly small postage-sized "cities"? What a joke; more like towns or a nice summer hamlet. Can't even switch between these unimpressive stamp-sized villages without end-tasking the whole friggin game! No regional transportation? Transportation AI? AI in general? WTH? This is getting returned tomorrow morning. Thank God I didn't buy this online. If BB won't take it back, I'm contesting the charges on my CC. If EA wants to ban my Origin account then screw em, let em. I'm thinking I'm about done with EA anyhow.… Expand
  28. Jetteseraph
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    SimCity is unfortunately plagued with problems both to it's infrastructure and gameplay. The always online DRM and abysmal server support have resulted in a net of 2 hours played this week for myself. Even then, my city was entirely lost due to a game freeze and a lack of architecture in when the game saves your progress. Regarding gameplay, the city size limitation is quite small, notSimCity is unfortunately plagued with problems both to it's infrastructure and gameplay. The always online DRM and abysmal server support have resulted in a net of 2 hours played this week for myself. Even then, my city was entirely lost due to a game freeze and a lack of architecture in when the game saves your progress. Regarding gameplay, the city size limitation is quite small, not allowing for a sprawling metropolis that covers the face of all digital creation. If you're interested in city building and management that's a bit more free form, go back to Sim City 4.… Expand
  29. lord222
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    I love SimCity series buying the game, I really thought long waiting behind but the trouble! Paying money for this game, all the time since its launch on the market, I have not played it it's why I put one ball.I no desire now even include it in the near vremya.EA undermined my confidence specifically! Agee first Dragon 2 then Medal of Honor 2012 Now SimCity
  30. ochemypie
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    map way too small, no farming, some sims complaning about shopping but other sims are happy with shopping. I think maxis just programmed sims to whine about it so we can keep building stuff and never end with the game itself. can't even play the game.
  31. Griffon
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    I'd love to actually play this game. Sadly... server says no. Pity. Will try again later, and may revise this opinion. In the meantime, the game deserves no better.
  32. cablv
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    Worst crash since the Challenger!!!! EA I would like my $78.00 back!!!!!! First time ever reviewing a game signed up just so I could post here. EA should refund everyone!!!!!!!
  33. Axepage
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    What a waste of time. Totally annoyed with this game so far. Why turn gold into fools' gold by making it online only with horrible servers. Hope they fix this.
  34. Matadorian
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    EA, you need to wake up.
  35. whereiwannab
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    Unable to connect. Why did I pay $59 again? I really hope EA gets their act together with this horrid experience. I am hoping for a some kind of action to alleviate any lost time trying to play a game. Maybe some free dlc? Either way, f* this game.
  36. MattDavBen
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    I haven't even gotten to play the game yet. It's a $60.00 clock that repeatedly counts down from 20 minutes...because you're not really waiting to get in, you're waiting to be denied again. Definitely ensures I will never purchase an EA product again, and likely has stopped me from ever preordering a video game again. After three days and dozens of attempts, I still haven't gotten to play.
  37. AProcrastinator
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    This game looks pretty good, but then there's the always online DRM. This means that when a new sim city is released, EA will start killing off the servers for this sim city, and the game will be dead and unable to play. The maps are also smaller than other sim city games, and even the 1980/1990's sim city was better, and had bigger maps. One more thing is that you can't save the game toThis game looks pretty good, but then there's the always online DRM. This means that when a new sim city is released, EA will start killing off the servers for this sim city, and the game will be dead and unable to play. The maps are also smaller than other sim city games, and even the 1980/1990's sim city was better, and had bigger maps. One more thing is that you can't save the game to your hardrive, it goes straight to EA's cloud. This means that you can't load up a save of one of your games. Say you have a city saved, and then it gets destroyed. You are unable to open it up and load the game, it goes straight to the cloud, where it is impossible to get. 3/10, gorgeous, seems pretty good, but then there's the drm and save/load items.… Expand
  38. Lutrogale
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    The Short: Save yourself the hassle and don't even buy this game. Don't tell yourself that enough time has passed and you will be able to get on the server much easier too, these same problems could crop up at any time and wreak havoc on your ability to play the game. I can't imagine how awful the servers will be after an expansion is launched. The Long: I feel like I'm just adding aThe Short: Save yourself the hassle and don't even buy this game. Don't tell yourself that enough time has passed and you will be able to get on the server much easier too, these same problems could crop up at any time and wreak havoc on your ability to play the game. I can't imagine how awful the servers will be after an expansion is launched. The Long: I feel like I'm just adding a bunch of poo to a pile of poo that already has entirely too much poo in it. I'm one of the unlucky customers that pre-ordered this game. I was eagerly looking forward to it as well as I have been a fan for nearly two decades and the game looked amazing in the beta and their Let's All Be Mayor campaign. Let's face it, this has all been said before and this poor review will boil down to server issues. It's a shame that this launch was handled so poorly. Not just that I couldn't log in to play the game, but that everyone from Maxis was so quiet about what was going on. When you have upset customers, the last thing you want to do as a company is remain silent. After trying this afternoon and evening to get on the servers once again, and still failing despite adding nearly twice as many servers as a couple days ago, I gave up.

    The silver lining in this whole thing is that Amazon stepped up to bat for me. They gave me a full refund, and apologized for my experience with this game. That's more than I've heard from people who have ordered this game from Origin. At best they get a customer service rep who is nice enough to refund them, most likely they get one who flat out refuses to refund the money and at worst they (supposedly) threaten a ban of the entire Origin account.

    It's a shame that such a big company cannot treat its customers better. Maxis has lost a loyal customer here, and EA has lost any business from a formerly neutral customer, now anti-fanboy.    … Expand
  39. cttc
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    This game is absolutely abysmal. Not only is SimCity a seriously dumbed down version of its predecessors, without terraforming, highways, subways, water tubes OR power lines, but the maps are TINY as well. One can only assume that this is a direct result of the always online DRM, and server side 'simulation' that this game comes packed with. This, in turn, also means that the small 'city'This game is absolutely abysmal. Not only is SimCity a seriously dumbed down version of its predecessors, without terraforming, highways, subways, water tubes OR power lines, but the maps are TINY as well. One can only assume that this is a direct result of the always online DRM, and server side 'simulation' that this game comes packed with. This, in turn, also means that the small 'city' limits we have now will be stuck with us for the foreseeable future due to hardware limitations on EAs side (which have been made very obvious over the past few days), despite what EA and their sockpuppet Maxis have constantly been promising. These limitations, coupled with the ongoing connectivity problems, have really ruined this game for me. I absolutely adored playing the older versions of SimCity, and all EA would've needed to do with this game for it to be good would've been using SimCity 4 mechanics and adding CityXL graphics, but they managed to screw it all up. This complete sack of crap is more worthy of the name 'The Sims 3 Build Your Neighbourhood' than the name it was given, and I beg anyone out there who is thinking of buying this game to NOT give it the benefit of the doubt, for I certainly did and I am now stuck trying to get a refund for my Origin purchase. Ugh.… Expand
  40. nundes
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    I would have preferred that put me in the queue to pay for and download the game and not for play it. EA scandalous. Too bad the game itself is very well done. Well done Maxis. Much worse EA games.
  41. RantMonkey
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    1. Terrible online concept, 2. the citysize should be three times larger, this is like kindergaren facebookgame-size.. my tip to EA, you should change your name from EA, because i see a huge decline in your name.
  42. Nowaczek
    Mar 9, 2013
    0
    It's a great game, but there is a one little problem with it, it doesn't work. Great job EA, the title of the worst company in the USA is fitting You great.
  43. Sydian
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    This online-only game was pretty much unplayable due to EA's servers and lack of testing. I was able to login for a total of 2 hours in the first four days. None of my progress or cities were ever saved on EA's servers. On top of this, EA is refusing refunds for online purchases. This lack of goodwill gives me little faith that the issues will be resolved. If the game was playable itThis online-only game was pretty much unplayable due to EA's servers and lack of testing. I was able to login for a total of 2 hours in the first four days. None of my progress or cities were ever saved on EA's servers. On top of this, EA is refusing refunds for online purchases. This lack of goodwill gives me little faith that the issues will be resolved. If the game was playable it might deserve a 5/10. It was certainly massively over-hyped by the critics. I won't be trusting any critic site reviews after this release.… Expand
  44. davejohanson
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    I am completely disappointed in what EA (Maxis) has developed for a game upgrade that I have waited almost 10 years for! I am shackled to a an overburden and sometime unavailable DRM server to even play this game in single play mode!! I cannot play the game if my Internet connection is down or if the EA servers are unavailable!! This seams to be the future of software "in the cloud".I am completely disappointed in what EA (Maxis) has developed for a game upgrade that I have waited almost 10 years for! I am shackled to a an overburden and sometime unavailable DRM server to even play this game in single play mode!! I cannot play the game if my Internet connection is down or if the EA servers are unavailable!! This seams to be the future of software "in the cloud". You do not have the ability to run it on your own PC when you want unless you are shackled to the EA servers. The size of the city you can create is also very limited and EA will probably take years to update it. Thank you EA for completely ruining my expectations for this new game release!!!… Expand
  45. fenderjaguar
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Hey EA, thanks for ripping me off. I couldn't even play my game, because you seem to think that paying customers need to be tied up by a dog leash connected directly to your iron grip, all to prove that we didn't steal the game. At least Ubisoft learned eventually that this kind of DRM will MAKE PEOPLE VERY VERY VERY ANGRY. You'd think that after the Spore debacle, EA would never haveHey EA, thanks for ripping me off. I couldn't even play my game, because you seem to think that paying customers need to be tied up by a dog leash connected directly to your iron grip, all to prove that we didn't steal the game. At least Ubisoft learned eventually that this kind of DRM will MAKE PEOPLE VERY VERY VERY ANGRY. You'd think that after the Spore debacle, EA would never have pulled this crap again. So yeah, boycott EA. Do not buy any of their games until this stupid DRM is truly stamped out for good. It might take a while, but they'll get the message if enough of us have the balls to do the right thing. I know I personally boycotted a lot of Ubisoft games, and Far Cry 3 is the first one I've bought off them in years (excellent game btw, and none of the stupid always online crap).… Expand
  46. Kicki2000
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Frustrated!
    Bought the game 4 days ago, have only got to the tutorial wich I played 3 times before the game lost connection. If i knew before what i know now i would never bought the game.Now i play simcity 4 instead.
  47. Joe_Dalton
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    After trying to connect for almost a week i could finally try the game. Created a city after the tutorial however when i tried to resume the game a hour later i again could not reconnect to my server. Tried another server and about 20 min i could reconnect to EA en start simcity.. however my previous game/city was lost in space.. 30min game and about 10u trying to get connected. I have noAfter trying to connect for almost a week i could finally try the game. Created a city after the tutorial however when i tried to resume the game a hour later i again could not reconnect to my server. Tried another server and about 20 min i could reconnect to EA en start simcity.. however my previous game/city was lost in space.. 30min game and about 10u trying to get connected. I have no words for this disaster.. and they still are selling the game while you cannot play it. A worldwide SCAM just to get money from users… Expand
  48. justindp86
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Have to login to play a private game... which is stupid. Have random zombie attacks which I cannot do anything about and the maps are pathetically small. Played for 6 hours over 2 days, lost all my progress twice due to server issues.... so I'm not playing anymore.

    EA, go f u c k off
  49. amelendez
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Nice promise, terrible deployment and planning! After managing to play about 3 days later from its launch, you get really dissapointed to see how your time and effort spent in building your cities is lost due to server problems. I don´t care about the online requirement to play, but EA, or Maxis, or Origin (I don't know who is responsible and don´t care) should have done a staged deployment to control all these mistakes. When you can actually play, the game is great although still has some bugs (overlaping homes and problems with borderline streets). I would not recommend this game, its just a general frustration, that is not worth the money payed for it. The EA support is terrible. I don´t get why my games end up saved on one server, and if I move to a different one I lose my progress done in the other server? What kind of implementation is that? Its a terrible design or terrible sync implementation. Overall, don´t buy this game... not yet! Its not worth your money.… Expand
  50. C_Arnoud
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Can't buy one of these always-online games. Couple this with it being a digital copy that you cannot resell and i dont think you really own this. Instead of charging an amount for people to BUY the game, they should rent it. because thats what it is.
  51. dmp19
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    The game requires that you play mutli-player online, which is awful idea in my opinion. Since when to mayors want go head to head. At least let those who desire play the single player version should be allowed to. There are tons of single player with online mutli-player mixed that are great. The server issued, although sometimes expected a little for a new game, but this is at ridiculousThe game requires that you play mutli-player online, which is awful idea in my opinion. Since when to mayors want go head to head. At least let those who desire play the single player version should be allowed to. There are tons of single player with online mutli-player mixed that are great. The server issued, although sometimes expected a little for a new game, but this is at ridiculous levels. I played a total of a couple hours and I prerecorded the game, so I started playing on release date. The servers would not be an issue if you cold just player the game not multi-player, and just sign in basically instantaneously via internet like all steam, etc. games. This games fails horribly on all aspects, except for ok graphics. As far as gameplay itself, it has clunky controls and no room to build or move.… Expand
  52. coolkev99
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Don't fool yourself. This is a $60 game rental. After an undetermined amount of time, EA will turn off the servers, meaning you can't play anymore. Forget about your future children enjoying this game. It won't be possible. Not only is it a rental, it is one that requires you to be on the internet ALL THE TIME. Forget taking this on vacation with you where you won't have internet. Have aDon't fool yourself. This is a $60 game rental. After an undetermined amount of time, EA will turn off the servers, meaning you can't play anymore. Forget about your future children enjoying this game. It won't be possible. Not only is it a rental, it is one that requires you to be on the internet ALL THE TIME. Forget taking this on vacation with you where you won't have internet. Have a lousy internet connection? Guess what, your game will drop. If you want a future where ALL video games are like this... and possibly where all music, TV, Movies... basically anything digital works like this, and where you HAD to be online ALWAYS... then by all means, be a fool and waste your money "buying" this game.… Expand
  53. Sionleo
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    El juego en si esta excelente (en el tiempo que pude jugar), pero los malditos servidores dejan de hacer su trabajo y adiós todo lo que hice en mas de 4 horas, en verdad eso si es muy frustrante.
    A ver si los de EA se ponen las pilas y ya resuelven este problema o de plano quiero mi dinero de vuelta.... y pues volver a Simcity 4 jajajaja
  54. ButtmadFred
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    As a HUGE SimCity fan, this game is an insult. No terraforming, 2km of space, (Which for a SimCity game, is really small.) FIRST DAY EXPANSIONS, and always online drm. If you want an online SimCity game, just go play SimCity 2000: Network edition. Don't wast money on this crap.
  55. ender732
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    Score of 2 is based on +8 for the game, -4 for EA/Origin (2 average). It's sad that a very good game has been greatly negatively impacted by technological problems on their end which should never have been an issue for a single-player game. What makes this worse is EA's response, which at one point fell to the level of blaming players for playing the game too much.

    In the end, it    Score of 2 is based on +8 for the game, -4 for EA/Origin (2 average). It's sad that a very good game has been greatly negatively impacted by technological problems on their end which should never have been an issue for a single-player game. What makes this worse is EA's response, which at one point fell to the level of blaming players for playing the game too much.

    In the end, it boils down to a few key points:
    1) DRM is anti-consumer. It works for games like MMOs that are inherently always online, but it does not work for games meant to be single player even if it has multi-player elements.
    2) Forcing customers to play a certain way (always online, forcing multi-player, etc) results in a poor experience.
    3) NEVER NEVER NEVER purchase an EA/Origin or any DRM game without waiting 2 weeks post-release so you can read reviews on metacritic/destructoid/kotaku/etc. Paying $60 for something that causes more stress/frustration than enjoyment is not a good thing.

    Remember the only way we can make our voices heard is through sites like this and our wallets. So voice your opinions and stop purchasing their products.    … Expand
  56. zerza
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    I knew this would be a hot mess, its EA after all. I play games for fun, and dont have the time nor the patience to be put out by shoddy developers. EA treats its paying customers like they are beta testers, when the game should be gold standard on the day it releases. Maybe the reason EA was so strict with the actual beta of this game is because they knew everyone would hate it andI knew this would be a hot mess, its EA after all. I play games for fun, and dont have the time nor the patience to be put out by shoddy developers. EA treats its paying customers like they are beta testers, when the game should be gold standard on the day it releases. Maybe the reason EA was so strict with the actual beta of this game is because they knew everyone would hate it and cancel their preorders. They played us as suckers again, I will just continue to play SimCity4.… Expand
  57. JasonTheLazy
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    Sim City sucks. Your city is very small. DLC on release day, EA just wants to molest your wallet. EA forces you to be online even though their servers cannot handle you. DRM sucks, single player requiring online connection sucks. Don't expect to play this on your laptop unless you have wifi. I hate you EA you are ruining gaming.
  58. nikkigrl19
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    So I had to give it at least a one on the score, but that is only because for the brief moments I have been able to play it was the Sim city game. Though this is not worth $60 and if I knew that I had to wait sometimes over an hour to just begin to play I would not have never bought this. My husband and I both bought it because we though we could play together but that has yet to happenSo I had to give it at least a one on the score, but that is only because for the brief moments I have been able to play it was the Sim city game. Though this is not worth $60 and if I knew that I had to wait sometimes over an hour to just begin to play I would not have never bought this. My husband and I both bought it because we though we could play together but that has yet to happen since the servers are constantly too busy and there is always an error in connection.

    Major Fail on EA's part. I get everyone wants to do the next big thing and on line is the next thing but it sucks to be forced to play only on line. If I am going to play solo than let me play and not make me connect. I want my money back and will never be buying any game that is on line only and will never buy another Sim City game again.

    I have heard rumors that to make up for the terrible experience that a free game will be given but I don't want some pre-picked game that is probably going to suck as well. Just give us a refund or at least a free game or games up to $40-$60 of our choice.

    Don't waste your money and if you really want it wait until they fix all the problems. Though that might be never cause the internet is not reliable and servers usually crash when so many people try to play something at once     … Expand
  59. Gobertron1
    Mar 10, 2013
    1
    the two biggest problems I found with this game that goes hand in hand is the forced Online connection need to support the DRM.
    the other factor is no bloody single player, sorry I don't want to play with others, I want to build a massive city and then make robots attack it like the old simcity.
    how hard is it to copy/clone the old version of the game and make it with a new engine and    the two biggest problems I found with this game that goes hand in hand is the forced Online connection need to support the DRM.
    the other factor is no bloody single player, sorry I don't want to play with others, I want to build a massive city and then make robots attack it like the old simcity.

    how hard is it to copy/clone the old version of the game and make it with a new engine and doll it up...

    the EA CEO needs to be fired or/and dragged into the street and horse whipped for this.

    thank god I didn't buy this game, I got it for free and I feel like EA should be paying me to play it.

    EA CEO needs be dragged out on the street and beaten with    … Expand
  60. thisjustsucks
    Mar 10, 2013
    0
    This game sucks. All of this complete about "this game is great if you get around the server connectivity" is 100% shill hype.

    1. The plots are too small. Bottom line. Specialization is required because you can't build everything. 2. player connectivity is vapid. The sharing of resources is stupid. Oh, wow, my friend is doing the garbage/electricity/water for me? Hooray. Who cares?    This game sucks. All of this complete about "this game is great if you get around the server connectivity" is 100% shill hype.

    1. The plots are too small. Bottom line. Specialization is required because you can't build everything.

    2. player connectivity is vapid. The sharing of resources is stupid. Oh, wow, my friend is doing the garbage/electricity/water for me? Hooray. Who cares?

    3. Zoning tool sucks. Maybe eventually you'd get used to the arbitrary sizes. Most cases you'll just build squares or arbitrary shapes. Most of the time this leads to random misused space. Or, you cram everything together and it doesn't expand enough. Hi, we liked original sim city because it was ON A GRID.

    3. Road placement is sketchy. Wow i'm holding shift but it doesn't connect for one of a few vague reasons. How hard would it be for the game to have ghost planning spaces so you don't build something that gets in the way?

    4. terrain is completely a roadblock. Want to waste space in an already small area? Get hills/cliffs jagged coast on your map. No you can't do things like tunnel, build bridges (sometimes you randomly can) blee blah.

    So whatever, I'm sick of reviews about how its so addicting, so awesome, great except for the server issues. Look at the shill "industry reviews." They're just inventing a game that's behind the broken server, that isn't really there.    … Expand
  61. srl
    Mar 11, 2013
    0
    I actually like the game, it is pretty addictive. The thing you should understand about SimCity is that is isn't a single-player game anymore (technically, you can play alone but it is much less fun than playing with other people).
    However, they way they have released the game is horrible, an epic fail. Basically, they didn't do any real load testing they are trying to cope with the    I actually like the game, it is pretty addictive. The thing you should understand about SimCity is that is isn't a single-player game anymore (technically, you can play alone but it is much less fun than playing with other people).
    However, they way they have released the game is horrible, an epic fail. Basically, they didn't do any real load testing they are trying to cope with the server load at this moment. As part of this, they have disabled some of the game fetures. Some features are simply bugged out like sharing resources between cities in the same region.
    So that's where we stand right now it's been a almost a week after the game was released, and it is still unplayable. Yes, you can at least join servers now, but you'd still get a very confuisng gaming experience.    … Expand
  62. Jproc
    Mar 13, 2013
    1
    I will be generous and give this game 1 point because it could possibly be a good game if it somehow happened to work properly. I seriously have had more issues with this game than any other game I've played in my 20+ years of gaming. In the beginning the servers were overcrowded to the point that you couldn't even play the game. And, even if you could play, all progress was sure to beI will be generous and give this game 1 point because it could possibly be a good game if it somehow happened to work properly. I seriously have had more issues with this game than any other game I've played in my 20+ years of gaming. In the beginning the servers were overcrowded to the point that you couldn't even play the game. And, even if you could play, all progress was sure to be lost because it would fail to upload your game to cloud. After they added more servers the game started working properly for about a day, then many more bugs started to pop up. As of now, out of all of the regions to choose from, I'm only able to find one region type to play on publicly and that is Titan Gorge. It's frustrated me so much that I've decided to return or hopefully sell the game to someone (for a loss of course) after all the problems I've been required to face. I recommend anyone out there that does not like being robbed or swindled out of their hard earned money to refrain from buying this game. You will literally feel nothing more than absolute disappointment if you choose to spend money on this pile of doo doo. Please recall that the score of 1 that I give this game is a very generous score considering all circumstances.… Expand
  63. malocite
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    With the name Simcity you would expect a quality gaming experience. Sadly this is not the case with Simcity 5. Simcity 4 is a far superior game. Always on DRM is a massive pain, and to anyone who's ever played an EA game that required servers to authenticate you'll know those servers only stay on for so long. Will your game continue to play 10 years later like Simcity 4 did? Nope.With the name Simcity you would expect a quality gaming experience. Sadly this is not the case with Simcity 5. Simcity 4 is a far superior game. Always on DRM is a massive pain, and to anyone who's ever played an EA game that required servers to authenticate you'll know those servers only stay on for so long. Will your game continue to play 10 years later like Simcity 4 did? Nope. Aside from the BS of their DRM the game is massively broken. Tiny building areas are one problem as well as the complete disaster that is the sims ability to pathfind. Build a road next to an avenue and watch the road get completely clogged while the avenue is ignored completely. I might take another peak at this in a years time if they release an offline playing mode since its been proven the 'glassbox engine' doesn't actually do anything online except run drm and a leader board.… Expand
  64. badman690275
    Mar 14, 2013
    0
    i have been able to play for 4 days. i have had to restart several times as my regions just disapear?? there are still many broken aspects of the game no grid guides, no city border guide, firetrucks all go to same house..... even with these expensive losses the city size is the bigest lame out. if u want to play a very limited few city blocks with enormous support buildings, Good Luck toi have been able to play for 4 days. i have had to restart several times as my regions just disapear?? there are still many broken aspects of the game no grid guides, no city border guide, firetrucks all go to same house..... even with these expensive losses the city size is the bigest lame out. if u want to play a very limited few city blocks with enormous support buildings, Good Luck to ya! i cannot get past 120k popualation with only 1 industry. Ive used half my city to have the ability to build an oil refinery and still cannot reach the daily income that will unlock the building that will unlock oil refineries. My city has full oil reserves & i have pumps on every inch. The city size isnt just small, its disproportionately small. The buildings are huge. This is not a fun game… Expand
  65. Dethslayer7
    Mar 14, 2013
    2
    This game was terrible. It was a bad write-off of the old (and good) SimCity. I am very disappointed, and the fact that it has DRM makes it even worse.
  66. Glychd
    Mar 15, 2013
    3
    Disregarding all of the bugs on release, this game still has problems. There are only really 4 hours of gameplay, and cities don't connect properly throughout the region. I found the longest it took (even in the most prime city locations) to cap out my city, to the point where I could no longer build anything (because of space) and every building was upgraded to a skyscraper, with maxDisregarding all of the bugs on release, this game still has problems. There are only really 4 hours of gameplay, and cities don't connect properly throughout the region. I found the longest it took (even in the most prime city locations) to cap out my city, to the point where I could no longer build anything (because of space) and every building was upgraded to a skyscraper, with max tech, was four hours. Within four hours I was generating millions of dollars every 20 minutes or so, and the only thing I could do is start over. Which may be fine for some people, but keep in mind that when you start over, you can either pick from one of the 3 cities connected to yours, or start over completely in a city that is not connected, but within the same zone. Here is the catch. Those three cities that are connected, will all be in terrible locations. They will either be riddled with mountains, minimizing your space. Or divided completely by Water, using up your space. The cities are just too small to really get in-depth, and sink hours into this game. That wouldn't be such a big problem if every city in the region connected, but they don't. And since this game focuses on multiplayer so much, the cities that are connected to you will likely be taken up by your friends. Thus this game gets a 3. It's fun, for four hours, then it sucks. Don't bother. This is nothing like Simcity 4, it is at least 4 steps in the wrong direction. Everything is oversimplified to the point where the bulk of your time is spent sitting, waiting for money to come in, and occasionally demolishing an abandoned building.… Expand
  67. PyroSA
    Mar 16, 2013
    1
    A game with great potential broken due to a flawed server implementation. A lot of the old SimCity features were removed, and you are left with a limited feature set that is hamstrung by the broken inter-city working.
    I've stopped playing out of pure frustration.
  68. Myplague13
    Mar 16, 2013
    1
    A good game is lurking in here somewhere, but the DRM and huge amount of bugs and flaws ruin the experience completely forcing people to play multiplayer online and not offering a single player solution is ludicrous.

    EA and maxis have been disproven a lot of times on what they said about the game having to connect to servers to do crucial computations to the games core, and still fail    A good game is lurking in here somewhere, but the DRM and huge amount of bugs and flaws ruin the experience completely forcing people to play multiplayer online and not offering a single player solution is ludicrous.

    EA and maxis have been disproven a lot of times on what they said about the game having to connect to servers to do crucial computations to the games core, and still fail to admit they have been lying and misleading consumers to cover there own backs. Do not waste your money on this tragic waste of what could of been a great game.    … Expand
  69. devinup
    Mar 16, 2013
    4
    This is my first Metacritic review. I'm giving the game a 4. I feel that's an honest score, and it will still raise the user score. The launch was terrible. Completely terrible. The DRM and the map size are two serious issues for anyone considering this game. The game is buggy and feels unfinished. It was a lot of fun for a few hours, but I have little desire to return to it now. It seemsThis is my first Metacritic review. I'm giving the game a 4. I feel that's an honest score, and it will still raise the user score. The launch was terrible. Completely terrible. The DRM and the map size are two serious issues for anyone considering this game. The game is buggy and feels unfinished. It was a lot of fun for a few hours, but I have little desire to return to it now. It seems more like a tech demo that they decided to get ready for public release. I expect a lot of DLC and future store items to buy. I guess spending $60 on the base game isn't quite enough. Luckily, I got a $20 credit with my pre-order, but I still wish I had just not purchased the game and saved the $40 for something better. Anyways, a warning to anyone thinking about purchasing the game: It's kind of fun, but it has a ton of issues. Maybe wait until it's in the bargain bin or wait for an expansion or future patch to iron out the kinks.… Expand
  70. OGKush
    Mar 17, 2013
    4
    Get rid of "origin" PLEASE!!!!!!!!

    Good game, but terrible install process. Long registration and massive file updates make playing the game the same day you bought it, damn near impossible. Confusing registration prompts you to download the game rather then use the actual CD I bought for $60? Why do we even need it then... Microsoft is slipping. You guys need to look at Blizzard    Get rid of "origin" PLEASE!!!!!!!!

    Good game, but terrible install process. Long registration and massive file updates make playing the game the same day you bought it, damn near impossible. Confusing registration prompts you to download the game rather then use the actual CD I bought for $60? Why do we even need it then... Microsoft is slipping. You guys need to look at Blizzard (starcraft, warcraft etc...) install and registration process and take notes.

    When buying the game at Game Stop, the guy behind the counter said, "Before you buy this I must tell you that a lot of customers are trying to return this game because they are having problems installing the product. We do not accept returns on PC games" I took the risk)

    FIX THE INSTALL AND LOAD TIMES. PUT MORE DATA ON THE ACTUAL DISK and stop trying to always "sell" me something of acquire my email for marketing (typical Microsoft sh**t)
    Get rid of "origin" PLEASE!!!!!!!!    … Expand
  71. blondie_mcgee
    Mar 19, 2013
    4
    I had high hopes for Simscity.. not only was there such a huge build up for it, but they made it look awesome. HOWEVER... I was hugely disappointed. Not only is it online based (annoyingly), but the server crashes all the time, the cities are tiny AND the game crashes.
    Okay the online issue. They should have made this optional. A lot of my time is spent on travelling, which has no    I had high hopes for Simscity.. not only was there such a huge build up for it, but they made it look awesome. HOWEVER... I was hugely disappointed. Not only is it online based (annoyingly), but the server crashes all the time, the cities are tiny AND the game crashes.
    Okay the online issue. They should have made this optional. A lot of my time is spent on travelling, which has no internet... so how am I supposed to keep track off my cities.
    Notice I said cities.. not only do you have to use internet, you have to put up with tiny cities which run out of spaced ridiculously fast and constantly give you bad reviews as you cant satisfy your cities need for expansion, you have to control numerous cities, or rent them to strangers.
    The only good factor about this is that you can share resources,
    SO yes.
    it has relatively good graphics; compared with the older simscity; but I much prefer simcity the older ones for the simple fact I can make them as large as I want, without having to worry about running out of space so quickly.
    DO NOT BUY!    … Expand
  72. alexatlanta
    Mar 25, 2013
    3
    Can't say the online-only bothers me. The $60 is a bit much for a self distributed game with no brick and mortar middleman. The worst is this is Sim-Region, not Sim-City. I miss the large open city spaces where you can make one nice city. The forcing of small cities working in a region (single player or online) is so distracting from the SimCity ancestry. The game simply is not thatCan't say the online-only bothers me. The $60 is a bit much for a self distributed game with no brick and mortar middleman. The worst is this is Sim-Region, not Sim-City. I miss the large open city spaces where you can make one nice city. The forcing of small cities working in a region (single player or online) is so distracting from the SimCity ancestry. The game simply is not that much fun to play as there is such a progression required, resources run thin if you just play one region, and the online time commitment is too much. I wish Maxis would supplement the single player experience, call the online only what it is (DRM), and lower the price to something in line with the experience.… Expand
  73. SergeantSoz
    Mar 31, 2013
    0
    Death to EA for releasing a broken product and refusing to give refunds. Constant online c'mon Sim City is a good single play game. What if my internet sucks. It lags out, I lose connection to EA's crappy servers and lose my progress. You can't make big cities either. I didn't buy this and I'm so glad. I'm boycotting EA. Microtransactions, online required, and all of that is a con artistDeath to EA for releasing a broken product and refusing to give refunds. Constant online c'mon Sim City is a good single play game. What if my internet sucks. It lags out, I lose connection to EA's crappy servers and lose my progress. You can't make big cities either. I didn't buy this and I'm so glad. I'm boycotting EA. Microtransactions, online required, and all of that is a con artist move against consumers.… Expand
  74. AbsoluFab
    Oct 28, 2014
    0
    This game should have never been called SimCity. Very tiny maps. They took off the game everything that can look like city items. Very disappointed. Support and management teams just keep denying they failed. Do not buy it.
  75. Arasine
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    EA have taken a deep, relaxing simulation and turned it into an iphone game for 12 year old girls (imagine "The Sims" with a option to 'plop' houses down).
    City size is laughable compared to every other city empire building game out there. Servers will eat your gamesave, never to be seen again and you never even own the game, you are renting until EA turn off the servers whenever they    EA have taken a deep, relaxing simulation and turned it into an iphone game for 12 year old girls (imagine "The Sims" with a option to 'plop' houses down).
    City size is laughable compared to every other city empire building game out there. Servers will eat your gamesave, never to be seen again and you never even own the game, you are renting until EA turn off the servers whenever they feel like it (read when it's not making them enough profit).
    Learn from others mistakes people, do not buy.    … Expand
  76. Red-Rocket
    Jun 23, 2013
    2
    Ok i really want to enjoy this game, it looks good, i like the mechanics BUT THE ALWAYS ONLINE DRM is not for SimCity. And EA being EA this game will go offline and be unplayable in a few years. Thats not worth it
  77. alfdib
    Jun 26, 2013
    2
    I cannot believe SC5 is this game. The cities are ridicoulous little, you'cant expand...there are not underground like in SC4...the traffic is not sustainable due to skycrapers in a little village...water, even close to the sea run out easily and people left city because of no water this is ridicolous, in real life this is never going to happen). If you put a nuclear power station thenI cannot believe SC5 is this game. The cities are ridicoulous little, you'cant expand...there are not underground like in SC4...the traffic is not sustainable due to skycrapers in a little village...water, even close to the sea run out easily and people left city because of no water this is ridicolous, in real life this is never going to happen). If you put a nuclear power station then radioactivity kills everyone in the sorrounding in few months... this is absolutely not real life!!!! Who was the diretor of this game? probably a kid of 4 years old could have done better job.… Expand
  78. Josefrodo
    Jul 23, 2013
    0
    This has got to be the worst game I have ever bought in my life. I am (was) a huge fan of SimCity, and was looking forward to this with a lot of anticipation. After seeing the launch fiasco, I decided to wait. After I saw the reviews... I decided to wait a little longer. When I finally purchased the game, I had to go through the horrid Origin experience, useless and annoying interface.This has got to be the worst game I have ever bought in my life. I am (was) a huge fan of SimCity, and was looking forward to this with a lot of anticipation. After seeing the launch fiasco, I decided to wait. After I saw the reviews... I decided to wait a little longer. When I finally purchased the game, I had to go through the horrid Origin experience, useless and annoying interface.
    When I FINALLY logged on I saw that EA had decided to put advertisements while the game loaded, gee thanks, I'll go buy a car while the game loads, I guess.
    When I finally could play, I saw first hand what everyone was complaining about: dumb AI, uselessly small maps, and the DRM is infuriating, I lost whatever progress my tiny city made because the game would not save or lost connection somehow.
    All in all, I uninstalled the program after playing it three times, and since EA does not give refunds on online downloads, I feel like a sucker for giving SimCity 5 the benefit of the doubt.
    (PS. I bought this game in April but someone just brought up the topic and the memories enraged me enough to write this review)    … Expand
  79. peekitup
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    The game is simply unplayable and is a complete waste of money. Even if you can log in, your city will often not save to the servers, all of the regional interaction between cities. In fact, everything done on the server end seems to be broken by bugs or lag. You will lost hours of gametime, will be unable to play with your friends, unable to build anything of reasonable size that isThe game is simply unplayable and is a complete waste of money. Even if you can log in, your city will often not save to the servers, all of the regional interaction between cities. In fact, everything done on the server end seems to be broken by bugs or lag. You will lost hours of gametime, will be unable to play with your friends, unable to build anything of reasonable size that is functioning. A complete crash and burn in regards to trusting some server to be reliable.

    Do not buy.

    The War Z was better about giving out refunds.    … Expand
  80. DangerDave
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    Origin required/ online always on required turd. I'm a huge fan of sim city, this however, is a mess of a release. Even if the origin virus/online requirement was dropped, the game would still have minuscule city sizes. This restricts from building a good sized metropolis, or megapolis and really limits the potential awesomeness of a city. Stick with Sim City 3000 or 2000 or the originalOrigin required/ online always on required turd. I'm a huge fan of sim city, this however, is a mess of a release. Even if the origin virus/online requirement was dropped, the game would still have minuscule city sizes. This restricts from building a good sized metropolis, or megapolis and really limits the potential awesomeness of a city. Stick with Sim City 3000 or 2000 or the original SNES classic.… Expand
  81. Ryster
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    I actually bought the Digital Deluxe version on Origin for over £60... what I fool I now feel.

    I haven't been able to play a single minute yet due to EA's completely inadequate server infrastructure, and the requirement to be online to even play the game single player. An absolute disgrace. As they have sold me a product that is clearly defective, do I not have rights to demand a    I actually bought the Digital Deluxe version on Origin for over £60... what I fool I now feel.

    I haven't been able to play a single minute yet due to EA's completely inadequate server infrastructure, and the requirement to be online to even play the game single player. An absolute disgrace.

    As they have sold me a product that is clearly defective, do I not have rights to demand a refund? So far they are refusing, and claim they will ban my account preventing me from playing every other game I ever bought for them if I get my credit card company to reverse the charge. Do they have a right to do that?    … Expand
  82. Yargdpirate
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    I can forgive all the internet connections and requirements. But they left out the most important feature of a SimCity game, the ability to use save states. Sandbox games need that so you can play around, and it's not there.
  83. RogerWilco2099
    Mar 7, 2013
    2
    The premise has been lost with this game, with a name like Sim City you want to create just that. A vibrant metropolis of large scale. Unfortunately this has been lost forever now it seems. Maps are smaller then ever and while it has many great features these are virtually the same as the four games before it. The innovation that was promised really isn't there. The game forces you moreThe premise has been lost with this game, with a name like Sim City you want to create just that. A vibrant metropolis of large scale. Unfortunately this has been lost forever now it seems. Maps are smaller then ever and while it has many great features these are virtually the same as the four games before it. The innovation that was promised really isn't there. The game forces you more so then ever to link your city to neighbors which I felt was the fundamental flaw in Sim City 4. Everything under one roof so to speak now doesn't work. The choice isn't even there and has been simply removed. The are bugs and I had to hard restart the game on two occasions due to crashes. These didn't seem linked either so two hard restart bugs on launch isn't good at all. The biggest issue so far is the constant connecting to server issues associated with the needlessly over the top DRM. This function shouldn't make a game non-playable but it does. It kind of shocking that EA are so over-protective now that they will willingly hamper a players experience. I hope this is quickly patched. If so my rating will be higher, but in its current state the game is verging on unplayable.… Expand
  84. upupandaway
    Mar 7, 2013
    2
    Content-wise it is a really nice game very engaging and motivating, despite the criticism regarding map size or similar issues. If however I pay 80€ for a digital download of a game which is not an MMO and I am absolutely unable to play the game, lose progress on cities because connections are extremely unstable even 24h after launch something is very wrong with the deal... The two betaContent-wise it is a really nice game very engaging and motivating, despite the criticism regarding map size or similar issues. If however I pay 80€ for a digital download of a game which is not an MMO and I am absolutely unable to play the game, lose progress on cities because connections are extremely unstable even 24h after launch something is very wrong with the deal... The two beta were meant to evaluate server load prior to the release did they act on that? It seems that no: In the server list there is a total of 4 servers dedicated for european users next to US and pacific servers. Since EA is apparently that cheap, they´ll get an appropriate score from me... Don´t buy the game (now). At least wait.… Expand
  85. Wilian
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    A game with great potential and vision, but as anyone soon finds out that potential is wasted on the fact you can not even enter the game. While I'd like to give a long meaningful review of this product and a score to reflect it, all that is possible right now, few days after the game hit the market, is to groan at the connection screen.
  86. Papa_Paul
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    Pre-Ordered the Digital Deluxe edition from origin. Used a vacation day for 3/5/2013 to play it could not log on a server. Now 3/8/2013 still unable to even log onto a server. This is the the government need to allow consumers to hold these companies accountable for their fraudulent sales and allow us refunds on software!
  87. sagor
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    Very small area for the actual city, comparing to previous versions of the game.
    Graphics is not as good as it was in the video (and I play on ultra high).
    And you cannot even play it right now, as all servers are down, even though official response is they are up and running. EA in all its glory!
  88. Chapy
    Mar 16, 2013
    1
    LISTEN, all these red reviews are for a reason, forget the server issues, read on! The game is riddled with bugs, gamebreaking bugs, and I don't even mean crashes or performance issues. Here is a reddit thread dedicated to listing some of these gamebreaking bugs. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a0taq/compiled_list_of_suggestions_and_bug_reports_to/ The AI of your utilityLISTEN, all these red reviews are for a reason, forget the server issues, read on! The game is riddled with bugs, gamebreaking bugs, and I don't even mean crashes or performance issues. Here is a reddit thread dedicated to listing some of these gamebreaking bugs. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a0taq/compiled_list_of_suggestions_and_bug_reports_to/ The AI of your utility workers are just broken, the pathfinding is atrocious. Just today I discovered a building that costs half a million dollars doesn't actually unlock things that it claims it unlocks in its description. A half a million is not change. These red reviews are acceptable based purely on gameplay bugs alone, but if you incorporate the legitimate server issues that STILL persist (3/16/2013) than this is a game that EA and Maxis should literally be ashamed of.… Expand
  89. Knurrli
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I think all of this DRM, forced online connection to disconnecting servers and even forced clouding and no local saving is all a bunch of crap. I've decided now to not buy this game. So far, I rather keep playing my Simcity 4. No server problems there.
  90. bearsdenred
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    bought this game 2 days ago from Greenmangaming on discount, really should have checked the forums before purchasing this game. Simcity is not like the old games from Maxis, this is a hybrid EA online DRM fools paradise of a system. Launch here in Europe just like America has been one big joke, a joke played by the DEVS from Maxis and EA buisness managers that must be laughing their headsbought this game 2 days ago from Greenmangaming on discount, really should have checked the forums before purchasing this game. Simcity is not like the old games from Maxis, this is a hybrid EA online DRM fools paradise of a system. Launch here in Europe just like America has been one big joke, a joke played by the DEVS from Maxis and EA buisness managers that must be laughing their heads off with all the coming in. Yet whats the problem with this game. First, because EA want you to be forced to logon to their servers for DRM checking you cant ACTUALLY logon. Why? Because EA didn't provide enough SERVERS for the game. they claim they are fixing the issue yet at 1940PM on launch day NOT ONE single apology has been provided by EA MAXIS to the gamers out here wanting to play! BE WARNED DO NOT BUY THIS GAME STOP BUYING EA GAMES PERIOD. Until us the gamers revolt and stop putting cash into EA will they stop treating us like this. Everyone demand refunds, if none provided start Suing them… Expand
  91. williamflipper
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    There is a big potential inside this wreck train but for the price asked is offensive toward any consumer.
    It feels like a Cityvile or any sim/facebook type of game pumped up by high budget, You can not avoid to play with other players and also YOU NEED other players to share their resources because the game design doesn't allow the player to be self-sufficient with resources and able to    There is a big potential inside this wreck train but for the price asked is offensive toward any consumer.
    It feels like a Cityvile or any sim/facebook type of game pumped up by high budget, You can not avoid to play with other players and also YOU NEED other players to share their resources because the game design doesn't allow the player to be self-sufficient with resources and able to covers the citizens needs    … Expand
  92. colonelpepper
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Don't RENT THIS GAME! When EA shuts down its servers for good, your game becomes unplayable. Also, EA has introduced a whole slew of unnecessary problems by trying to tie the game to "Always Online". *No Saves **Cities lost and hours of design destroyed by EA SERVER problems. ***Waiting in a QUE for single player game for HOURS AND HOURS. F' this
  93. f0lly
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    EA should have seen this coming from the D3 fiasco. Not sure what is so hard for publishers to understand GAMERS DON'T WANT YOUR ALWAYS ON DRM OR DUMBED DOWN VERSIONS OF GAMES.
  94. NoAssociation
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    The game is currently un-playable. Even if it was playable, you can't build a modern city. No bicycle infrastructure, no subways, the streetcar can only be built on a 6 lane highway, etc. The plot you build your city on is also quite small. You will end up with skyscrapers next to grassy plots of land you can't build on for some odd reason.
  95. CornerBoy
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    So the game's been out for 2 days now, and I still haven't been able to play due to the ridiculous online only feature. It actually seems like people pirating the game are the only ones able to play.
  96. ramha
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    Pay and do not play by EA is the height of arrogance!
    Ubisoft has also had an experience on hard DRM protection, but EA did not listen to other people's mistakes and have started to do the same. It's a shame when good projects EA spoils And it is not the first time
  97. zugu
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    This game is unplayable. I have spent my hard earned money on it and I just can't play it, because EA is incompetent and greedy. Don't be mistaken, it is only greed that has created this monster.
  98. Bump
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I spent $80.00 for a game I can't even play the single player. So disappointing. You would have thought EA had done something like this before....how can you possibly use DRM that doesn't even allow single player? And the issue of the two price options, either buy half a game or how it was intended to be played at $80.00!! They're losing gamers every minute because of so many poor choices.
  99. roguenealer
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Do not buy this game you can only play it if your signed up online and half the time it doesnt work. Its like diablo II but without the bugs being fixed Im sooo furious I bought this game and do not support these greedy people!!!!!
  100. Lagweed
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    All servers around the world are overloaded and can't be logged into without a wait, and when I do get in it can't load my city. Maxis robbed us all blind and proceeded to shove a proverbial wire brush into the rectums of all it's fans. Even when I do manage to play the game seems broken, certain types of buildings like casinos stop working and the only way to fix it is to restart the gameAll servers around the world are overloaded and can't be logged into without a wait, and when I do get in it can't load my city. Maxis robbed us all blind and proceeded to shove a proverbial wire brush into the rectums of all it's fans. Even when I do manage to play the game seems broken, certain types of buildings like casinos stop working and the only way to fix it is to restart the game and go through the horrid login/loading process again. Thanks for nothing Maxis, I am no longer a fan… Expand
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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 »