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. XhAPPYSLApX
    Mar 20, 2014
    7
    (After the "Offline Update" was released.) Before I start... I get why everyone hates this game. But dang it I just can't hate it, it looks nice, plays nice, and it just is a good game. The interface is really well made, I like the idea of roads being what controls the density, and I love how the city looks, and it is much faster to create a big city than it is in Simcity 4, and yet it(After the "Offline Update" was released.) Before I start... I get why everyone hates this game. But dang it I just can't hate it, it looks nice, plays nice, and it just is a good game. The interface is really well made, I like the idea of roads being what controls the density, and I love how the city looks, and it is much faster to create a big city than it is in Simcity 4, and yet it made a single mistake, a mistake that ALMOST ruined it for me. The city sizes, or should I say the lack there of. They should not have done this, but the reason why is so that they could force multiplayer on us, but now that the offline update is out, why not make new regions with much bigger cities for singleplayer play only? but even then I still get much enjoyment out of seeing my city grow, only if I could see it grow even more. If I were to compare this to SimCity 4 I would rate it a 6/10, but on its own, it is a pretty good game imo.… Expand
  2. Loler13gr
    Apr 3, 2013
    7
    Althought the first few days were horrible with lots of problems I must say the game is pretty good... I had a lot of fun playing it and I can say that I will play this for a long time to come.. The graphics are great and the fact that you can zoom in and be able to see what your sims do and what they think is amazing.. The only problem is that the maps are a little small which means thatAlthought the first few days were horrible with lots of problems I must say the game is pretty good... I had a lot of fun playing it and I can say that I will play this for a long time to come.. The graphics are great and the fact that you can zoom in and be able to see what your sims do and what they think is amazing.. The only problem is that the maps are a little small which means that in order to do everything you have to expand and build more cities in the region and the always-online DRM... This last one is the biggest mistake of the company and if the company doesn't do something about it then they might have a problem...… Expand
  3. McFungus
    Mar 7, 2013
    5
    After attempting to connect to Simcity for over an hour today I feel I can comfortably say that the server connection screen is not crash hot. I've seen worse, but I've also seen sexier.
    As for the game I am sure it will be a great deal of fun once I am able to play it.
    But as the old proverb goes, "don't steal from your own rice bowl". Some food for thought in these trying times.
  4. Babaganoush
    Mar 7, 2013
    5
    The game itself is fun. You have a limited space... really limited space compared to previous SimCities, but it's actually pretty challenging. Besides, what city was ever self sufficient? Multicity play is great even with playing with friends, but joining a public server might get you griefed. Such examples as your neighboring city constantly streaming criminals down your path or cuttingThe game itself is fun. You have a limited space... really limited space compared to previous SimCities, but it's actually pretty challenging. Besides, what city was ever self sufficient? Multicity play is great even with playing with friends, but joining a public server might get you griefed. Such examples as your neighboring city constantly streaming criminals down your path or cutting off your bought power. All in all, Maxis' reboot of SimCity is pretty decent.

    Except one thing. Electronic Arts. Their publisher dropped the ball on this game. As usual. The Online DRM has led to problems such as cities not saving, THIRTY MINUTE SERVER QUEUES, and even cities being rolled back. That's enough to dock five points off. We can't even play the game in the meantime. Thanks to EA. Again. I think they just took back the most hated gaming publisher award from Activision.    … Expand
  5. Spacerogue
    Mar 17, 2013
    5
    I rather like the game, but after a few hours of working I have not been able to play anymore, it simply will not start up and I'v tried EVERYTHING by now. Sadly enough I live in a place where PC games can't be refunded so I'm screwed once again. I'm guessing its the draconian DRM locking me out for no reason. I'm giving it a 5 because I feel sorry for the artists working on this game. I'mI rather like the game, but after a few hours of working I have not been able to play anymore, it simply will not start up and I'v tried EVERYTHING by now. Sadly enough I live in a place where PC games can't be refunded so I'm screwed once again. I'm guessing its the draconian DRM locking me out for no reason. I'm giving it a 5 because I feel sorry for the artists working on this game. I'm guessing the coders where playing Plants VS Zombies and everyone seemed to be fine with this as the PR made up wonderful stories of a game that people wanted but won't exists.… Expand
  6. Father_death
    Jun 1, 2013
    7
    The score needs to be reset... This is kinda total I don't like EA but still this game is good people judged it by the starter not the actual game! people are idiots... this game should have a 8-10!
  7. Annoymous1
    May 3, 2013
    5
    It is shocking to see such a good series become terrible within 2 hours of playing it. Seriously, EA forces you to use internet in this game, despite great internet, it repeatedly says 'NO INTERNET' and then after at least a few seconds it crashes. The only good things were the graphics and the rioting but it still doesn't develop realistic characteristics
  8. rocketsatdawn
    Mar 23, 2013
    7
    The game was a nightmare to access at launch, but they've since resolved most of the issues by adding more servers and regular updates. There are still some problems that need addressing including contradictory information in game and instances where the server is not syncing with the cities, so you end up having to roll back to a previous state essentially losing all your recent progress.The game was a nightmare to access at launch, but they've since resolved most of the issues by adding more servers and regular updates. There are still some problems that need addressing including contradictory information in game and instances where the server is not syncing with the cities, so you end up having to roll back to a previous state essentially losing all your recent progress. But apart from that its a really good game that is incredibly fun to play. It would be nice to have an offline mode but I have found the multilayer aspect extremely rewarding as I share my region with a couple of my buddies. It's great building different types of cities and either sabotaging your citizens lives or building lots of parks and keeping them happy. Of course its seriously entertaining when you get a zombie outbreak and you can watch them annihilate your population. One real problem with the game play itself is how small the cities are. It's great building multiple cities that work together, but It can be frustrating running out of space especially when nearly all of your buildings are already high density. Its a shame considering how you could make enormous cities in Simcity 4. This is something that should be amended because it really does put a limit on how long you can play the game for. It gets to a point that all you can do is leave your old city and start a new one.… Expand
  9. hellrazr99
    Mar 6, 2013
    5
    This game is simpler than ever! Great UI and much easier to get off the ground running than previous versions. The always online aspect of this game is horrible at this point. For the digital copy I had to download, install which only took around an hour. Then the headache came and the game had to download more; four hours later the game was finally ready to play. When I say ready to playThis game is simpler than ever! Great UI and much easier to get off the ground running than previous versions. The always online aspect of this game is horrible at this point. For the digital copy I had to download, install which only took around an hour. Then the headache came and the game had to download more; four hours later the game was finally ready to play. When I say ready to play I mean ready to open, not actually play. Game has crashed several times on me already, the tutorial doesn't run, and now the servers are down so I can't even play a private game. EA needs a shakeup and maybe we can get one game to have proper server support at launch.… Expand
  10. Skyrik
    Mar 6, 2013
    5
    The game is great... if you can ever get to play. Mandatory server access is really stupid for those who want to play alone and really just screws this game over.
  11. Rybolt
    Mar 7, 2013
    5
    I cannot fathom the reasons for the online-only gameplay forced upon players of this game. After playing for 4 hours; (server issues aside), my city has disappeared. All of it. The server ate it, despite having started a private region in which only I was playing. This is, and should be a single player game; as its predecessors have always been. The game itself is actually very good, onceI cannot fathom the reasons for the online-only gameplay forced upon players of this game. After playing for 4 hours; (server issues aside), my city has disappeared. All of it. The server ate it, despite having started a private region in which only I was playing. This is, and should be a single player game; as its predecessors have always been. The game itself is actually very good, once you are able to log in of course. It's a very enjoyable simulation that could live up to its expectations. The new grid-less approach to organizing your city is simply amazing, as are the new features that the game has to offer. The only significant irk I have despite the ridiculous online connectivity requirement is that they should have named it Simtown, as you cannot actually create a city; the size constraints are simply too strict. Why can't I choose to build cities 4 or even 16 times the size of the football field that is provided?

    In short: It's a very good game; that has been destroyed by online connectivity requirements. Admittedly, the situation regarding the overflowing servers should be rectified, but as it stands it is unplayable. A game costing as much as this shouldn't suffer from these kind of launch issues; not after the debacle that was Diablo 3's launch.    … Expand
  12. Emprah
    Mar 7, 2013
    5
    Well, here it is. Although, I'm not that upset that I cannot play the game at the moment (and likely for a few more days).

    What ticks me off the most is what has ticked me off since I found out about it: the transformation of this http://www.wuphonsreach.org/Games/SimCity4/Negishi/Negishi-East.jpg into this http://i.imgur.com/Q74s5.jpg But I'll get to that. Graphically, the    Well, here it is. Although, I'm not that upset that I cannot play the game at the moment (and likely for a few more days).

    What ticks me off the most is what has ticked me off since I found out about it: the transformation of this http://www.wuphonsreach.org/Games/SimCity4/Negishi/Negishi-East.jpg

    into this
    http://i.imgur.com/Q74s5.jpg

    But I'll get to that.

    Graphically, the game is beautiful. While I prefer a more realistic look, the visuals of this SimCity are definitely a turn to a more simplistic and toy box-like world. The effects and movements of all the tiny pieces on the ground are ultimately satisfying and fun to look at.

    In terms of sound, apart from being a siren simulator, the game is not much of an improvement over SimCity 4, but that is fine.

    Now I hear a lot of people saying that this SimCity is much harder than the older ones. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a false flag. I've been able to make nearly 100k population cities in under an hour while maintaining over a 10k profit (that's including simoleons from specializations) to the point where I have nearly millions...and not really all that much to spend it on. In previous SimCity titles, your job never really felt complete. Now, you eventually build yourself up to the point where continuing is pointless and you are forced to move on to another small square. But this is where my biggest complaint lies.

    Ultimately, this SimCity is a simplified version of previous titles. There are no mass complicated regions and each square is its own independent city, although sims will commute to other cities to shop, work, etc. I also feel like I am having cooperation forced down my throat. I understand that they had a multiplayer vision for this game, but I think that vision is in no way true to that of SimCity. Not that SimCity cannot be multiplayer and even cooperative, but I think it should never have been dumbed down to the point of baby's first sim game while not even focusing on what made SimCity so captivating: that it was hard, expansive, and that it offered you huge options. Did you like thermoforming? Well, too bad, because that's gone...or did you like creating your own mass transit highways? Well...yeah, that's gone.

    Personally, I enjoyed being not a mayor of one square, but being a bunch of mayors and even God of the entire region. I could build entire regions by hand using terraforming tools and then start building small, huge, and everything in between cities.

    In terms of the always online feature, I have no qualms. I lived through the Diablo III launch and have come to expect this I suppose. But it is unfortunate that such a launch was, once again, handled so poorly. Not only that, but while Blizzard has probably the best forum service and PR I have seen, EA and Maxis have next to no PR and a poor forum system. Apart of what kept people on DIII is that Blizzard took a proactive stance in communicating to its buyers and still continues to work with players in order to deliver a better product, even after nearly almost a whole year. Ultimately, I believe SimCity has fallen victim to a type of mixing the complicated structure of SimCity with the simple and easy-to-access world of the Sims; to appearing hostile to long-time fans of SimCity; to over simplification; and to a poor launch, which it seems has solidified the opinions of many.

    Will Maxis and EA work together with fans to deliver the best SimCity they can, or will they fall short due to their poor PR or unwillingness to give fans what they want?    … Expand
  13. Makeelee
    Mar 8, 2013
    5
    I haven't purchased the game (yet), but I've honestly gotten more entertainment from watching EA getting scorched than I have had in a long time. So I give the game a 5.
  14. User_Critic
    Mar 16, 2013
    5
    The GlassBox thing is obviously raw. AI is dumb. Etc, etc. But most of these things can be patched. Yet there is 1 serious issue that cannot be, most likely. It is the plot's size. At present it looks like a small town. And by the sounds of it the GB just cannot handle big and huge maps well. So, if one wants to build a City, Cities XL Platinum is a safer bet. In terms of complexity theyThe GlassBox thing is obviously raw. AI is dumb. Etc, etc. But most of these things can be patched. Yet there is 1 serious issue that cannot be, most likely. It is the plot's size. At present it looks like a small town. And by the sounds of it the GB just cannot handle big and huge maps well. So, if one wants to build a City, Cities XL Platinum is a safer bet. In terms of complexity they are about equally easy (Cities just try to simulate the city in more depth, while SimCity tries to simulate the sims). But Citites looks like a City when you zoom out, while SC looks like a shiny town.… Expand
  15. Deliriouskiller
    Mar 17, 2013
    7
    Although the release of this game has been somewhat of a failure- the in-game aspect of the game is nothing less than superb. The city building game offers thousands of possible scenarios that you could put (or not put) your citizens through. You can use a large region to fashion a sprawling urban empire- or select a somewhat smaller region and create a suburban haven- with one or twoAlthough the release of this game has been somewhat of a failure- the in-game aspect of the game is nothing less than superb. The city building game offers thousands of possible scenarios that you could put (or not put) your citizens through. You can use a large region to fashion a sprawling urban empire- or select a somewhat smaller region and create a suburban haven- with one or two 'city slots'. Crime, fire protection, education, health care, sewage, power, water- are the key aspects that need to be managed when creating a small or large city, and with many types of addons, you can have them function or look exactly how you want them to. Having said all of this, the game is hindered by its omnipresent bugs, errors, crashes and connection issues- leaving it with a positive, yet relatively low score of seven from me.… Expand
  16. Darkcrusader8
    Mar 17, 2013
    6
    I feel that the game has a low survivability, as this is on the cloud and server based. This means that if a hacker decides to screw around with the servers and delete all the datas, you'll possible not get your cities that you painfully made back.

    However the guides stuff and the NPCs are good.

    I won't play this game for a long period of time though, prob once a week or so when I'm bored.
  17. scruffycavetrol
    Mar 27, 2013
    7
    Everyone is aware of the disasterous release. The server issues have been corrected and playability is stable now. Online DRM is still a bad idea, and even moreso for a traditionally single player game. Although, I do like the idea of having actual people in a region making cities and trading with other players, it's a very interesting part of it, but playing with friends seems to beEveryone is aware of the disasterous release. The server issues have been corrected and playability is stable now. Online DRM is still a bad idea, and even moreso for a traditionally single player game. Although, I do like the idea of having actual people in a region making cities and trading with other players, it's a very interesting part of it, but playing with friends seems to be troublesome as you all have to be on the same servers, and finding an open game just to join is also a chore....but always online drm isn't needed for that. The game is fun, but it does have its problems. Traffic seems to be a constant problem, how they handle ground water seems to be unrealistic, and some other general oddness. It does seem though they really wanted people to make specialized cities as opposed to the mish-mosh of RCI that we'd normally see. You can still do the traditional cities, but the specializations do make it interesting and are really how to get those high tech buildings people want. Visually the game is nice, and being able to zoom to street level and see sims and thoughts is cool. There are texture problems here and there with building flickering in and out of existance. Play areas are fairly small compared to the old titles, but you will run into the same issues regardless of map size (overcrowding, homeless, etc), and in some ways makes the player focus more on making the areas more desirable. you can however make multiple cities in a region and have them work with each other. So I guess being mayor of 3 or 4 small cities is like being the mayor of a big one. The game is not terrible, although probably had one of the worse releases I have seen in 20+ years of playing video games. It does have its issues, and falling retail prices reflect that. So, if you can get the game on sale at Target, go for it.… Expand
  18. krovosos111
    Mar 27, 2013
    5
    регионе.

    All regions are clogged, filter by region, and there is no possibility of finding an empty area, too, the whole line launched in the toilet if you do not have any friends with this game you'll play alone in the region. Google Translate
  19. lok1999
    Apr 20, 2013
    7
    when I first reviewed this I was disappointed about the fact that I HAD to play online all the time but when I actually started playing this game to give it a proper score I was really surprised about the gameplay it is so good I've never really played SimCity before but have seen other people play it before and they were really good but the fact that u have to play online all the time Iwhen I first reviewed this I was disappointed about the fact that I HAD to play online all the time but when I actually started playing this game to give it a proper score I was really surprised about the gameplay it is so good I've never really played SimCity before but have seen other people play it before and they were really good but the fact that u have to play online all the time I would give it a higher score but I have to stick with a score of 7/10… Expand
  20. TheHof125
    Apr 6, 2013
    7
    Despite everything that has been said about SimCity, it is an incredibly addictive game. It may cost a lot more than it's worth and you can be disconnected instantly, but the fact that I've put 25 hours into this game already has to say something. A good buy, that at time's will frustrate you, but still is worth a great time.
  21. Geracritic
    Apr 7, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sim City is a great game where you learn a lot of cities, the acting is good management, but has many problems on maps and graphs that present technical difficulties in large scale.… Expand
  22. QuimbyDownUnder
    Apr 10, 2013
    7
    I'm writing this after playing for the past few weeks. I was initially flabbergasted and dismayed by the server issues, but that has "mostly" been resolved. No one likes DRM either, but I doubt we can do anything about it so I'll leave that beast lie. I have played EVERY SimCity since 1994. I consider myself a city-building connoisseur. This new game has many great features that fans likeI'm writing this after playing for the past few weeks. I was initially flabbergasted and dismayed by the server issues, but that has "mostly" been resolved. No one likes DRM either, but I doubt we can do anything about it so I'll leave that beast lie. I have played EVERY SimCity since 1994. I consider myself a city-building connoisseur. This new game has many great features that fans like me have been waiting decades for. Curved roads, upgrade-able buildings, specialized industry, actual tourism. Under-road utilities removes the headache of power-lines and pipes. I have had an enjoyable time learning the system and playing. If you are a true SimCity fan you'll find plenty to enjoy here. That being said.... you will also be frustrated by some of the limitations. City size is a major draw back for me. I always feel boxed in and forced to "go big or go home" so to speak. No room for low density neighborhoods in advanced towns. The size also makes large scale mass-transit impossible, so no highways or subways, which I loved in SC4. Traffic bugs and simulation quirks are also present some areas of improvement but it looks like Maxis is working on updates. This is not a perfect game by any means. It is better in mechanics than anything since SC4. If you like city builders you should try it... maybe once the price comes down...… Expand
  23. CobraCarl
    Apr 28, 2013
    6
    First of all, i have to say that the games is very fun to play.

    BUT i has some problems:
    -Streets are always clogged up, because Sims don't drive around traffic jams.
    -Some of my cities cant be loaded anymore since the last patch.
    -Cities are way to small.

    When maxis is improving on some of the games problems it could be an awesome game.
  24. HaloFreak78
    May 8, 2013
    7
    Now, while the game-breaking bugs and server crashes are fairly annoying, the gameplay itself is fun and nicely balanced. The data maps are cool, the simulation flows nicely, and the graphics have the whole model train set feel which I find charming. The bugs are the real let-down though. I feel as though if EA and Maxis took more time to fix out the kinks, this would be the best strategyNow, while the game-breaking bugs and server crashes are fairly annoying, the gameplay itself is fun and nicely balanced. The data maps are cool, the simulation flows nicely, and the graphics have the whole model train set feel which I find charming. The bugs are the real let-down though. I feel as though if EA and Maxis took more time to fix out the kinks, this would be the best strategy game on PC now. The multiplayer is also a huge letdown and a waste of time. If you can handle the bugs and crashes, you will find a gameplay experience both challenging and fun.… Expand
  25. Azorax
    Jun 27, 2013
    7
    To really review this game as it is now, you might think that most of the bad reviews are just because people are biased because of server problems. However I am going to compare this game to its predecessors with reference to its supposed 'cloud processing'.
    - It was fun playing with a friend, this was not due to the supposed multiplayer, but it was fun because we could see each other's    To really review this game as it is now, you might think that most of the bad reviews are just because people are biased because of server problems. However I am going to compare this game to its predecessors with reference to its supposed 'cloud processing'.
    - It was fun playing with a friend, this was not due to the supposed multiplayer, but it was fun because we could see each other's development and we strived to make a sustainable and still a good looking city.
    - Cities feel so so very small when we think about what the older simcities were like. My friend and I both agreed that cities should be bigger as it felt very crowded when we made high rises and large buildings and landmarks.
    - More maps and links. We see these maps are even more of an unnecessary restriction, why are we unable to connect every city and great work via road/railways, this would encourage us to play more in order to get every great work and create more cities since they are connected.
    - Ferries are so useless (imo)
    - I believe that they have attempted to (i forgot the word for it) re-make/re-publish this franchise a bit, however they should definitely remove the oh-so many restrictions this game has. Whether it be offline play, or large cities, or amount of cities on one map. I see simcity as a sandbox where I can create whatever I like and how many I want to make, and if you restrict me in this way, I really can't enjoy it to the fullest. While I do take into account that they may or may not be telling the truth that they require cloud processing and if restrictions were not placed then it might be too much, then they could spend more time seeing if they can utilise multi-core properly.
    - I feel that it was rushed and ruined by EA being their publisher. I feel for maxim.
    - Saying that, I have enjoyed the game for most of the 77+ hours (the is because origin booted me out and didn't save more of my hours) that I've played
    - 7/10 for me. I still put more hours into this game than most, though I don't know if the enjoyment factor was as much. I recommend picking this up if you are/were into simcity when it gets discounted/down to a low price    … Expand
  26. DrPepperPhD
    Jun 30, 2013
    7
    Most of the server issues have been resolved, and it seems the devs still haven't abandoned ship (yet), updates are slowly being released, mostly focused on fixing the incompetent agents and traffic AI. While not the best game in the world right now, it defiantly shows potential to becoming the game it should have been at release.
  27. Uncivil_Servant
    Jul 30, 2013
    7
    It seems like most of the technical serer problems have been resolved at this point in time. I have been playing the game for several months without problems. It is a fun game but considerably than earlier incarnations. being able to play and interact with others is interesting. I miss the terra-form and don't like the way cities are limited. Still addicting and worth having.
  28. DanteV
    May 23, 2014
    6
    Not the worst but its not the best SimCity neither. The game contains too many bugs and glitches like Maxis trying to launch this game on deadline. I would say the new expansions like Cities of Tomorrow and other more did made the game a little more interesting, but bugs and glitches ruined it. Also the city size is a little dumb-down, limiting the player's creativity.
  29. Qutory
    Sep 23, 2014
    5
    Fun game overall. However i found it having a lot of bugs or dead end situations. A tunnel blocked in a mountain without being able to remove it, exit to main menu without reason, stuck in a mini tutorial because lacking some prerequisite or the fact that i am unable to reset a city are just a few things that ruin the overall experience.
  30. Supat97
    Nov 20, 2014
    7
    Did You Guy Remember The Sim City DRM Disasters In Last Year In This Year They Have Patch That You Can Play Offline But The Maps Is So Small and Few Bugs However This Is Good Way To Go Check It Out
  31. Izoeros
    May 10, 2022
    5
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  32. vXxo0oxXv
    Jun 16, 2014
    7
    I think this game is great. I've owned it for a few days now, and for those few days I have not stopped playing. I haven't had this much fun with a city builder in a long time.

    I understand some of the hatred here. Firstly, the maps are pretty small. This can seem like an annoyance at first, but it really makes you think a lot more about how you layout everything. Megatowers also let    I think this game is great. I've owned it for a few days now, and for those few days I have not stopped playing. I haven't had this much fun with a city builder in a long time.

    I understand some of the hatred here. Firstly, the maps are pretty small. This can seem like an annoyance at first, but it really makes you think a lot more about how you layout everything. Megatowers also let you build your city up, instead of out, so you can still have high populations, without taking up so much surface area.

    It it's current state, the game has no bugs, no server problems, and the option of offline play. So you can flush 99% of the complaints here down the drain.

    EA/Maxis took a pretty big risk changing the game as much as they did, but I appreicate that. Most sequels these days just regurgitate the same game and put a 60$ tag on it. The new presentation and UI is very nice, and I think it's awesome they added trading, and commodity resources. It really adds a new appeal to the classic SimCity theme.

    Not to mention multiplayer! Playing with friends is a lot of fun, and it's cool coordinating city roles with your buddies online, and filling in for each other's gaps.

    Picked it up with the expansion on sale. Great buy.    … Expand
  33. Diosys
    Apr 14, 2013
    5
    This was by far the worst thing EA and Maxis could have ever done to the Legendary city simulator. The small, focused cities allow no freedom to build the cities the player wants and instead determines that players need to work hard to maximize their populations. Their achievement system even reinforces this. Their non-working game mechanics allow rather dumb strategies to work in a city,This was by far the worst thing EA and Maxis could have ever done to the Legendary city simulator. The small, focused cities allow no freedom to build the cities the player wants and instead determines that players need to work hard to maximize their populations. Their achievement system even reinforces this. Their non-working game mechanics allow rather dumb strategies to work in a city, where a real city could never function.

    City Simulation should not be based around a social experience. I liked the idea of a neighbouring city being built by another player, but they should have adopted a similar region concept to their previous titles, the fact that they used this is asinine. EA games needs to pull their heads out of the ground and start listening to gamers about always online DRM. Plenty of other companies show healthy profits. Maximizing profits does not earn you my dollar, respect does. It sucks that this company has ruined so many great and legendary gaming franchises. Hopefully Cities XL will pick up on all the problems of SimCity and never repeat them.    … Expand
  34. Jessrond
    Jun 19, 2013
    5
    Before SimCity came out, I was hyped for it. The idea of working with friends (and even strangers) to build a region was something I've wanted to do for a long time. I knew going in that the game would not be quite as detailed as SimCity 4. But at launch, and even a few months later, hardly any of the "online play" features have come to pass.

    You have to sign in to Origin to play, yet    Before SimCity came out, I was hyped for it. The idea of working with friends (and even strangers) to build a region was something I've wanted to do for a long time. I knew going in that the game would not be quite as detailed as SimCity 4. But at launch, and even a few months later, hardly any of the "online play" features have come to pass.

    You have to sign in to Origin to play, yet the region rankings and other leaderboards hardly seem to work at all. Disappointing. The game itself isn't terrible. The missions are enjoyable and the game maintains its sense of humor and excellent music that have been with the series for its entirety.

    But overall, it's just not what I was hoping for, and I still play SimCity 4 more than I play this.    … Expand
  35. zGeneral
    Jun 16, 2013
    5
    This is not Simcity
    The maps are tooooo small
    very limited road options.

    I am not playing the game until they make larger maps and fix the roads it is a joke.
  36. djferris
    Nov 19, 2013
    5
    Simcity is the best bad game ever. When you first get into it, the happy go lucky nature of it coupled with its bubbly and user friendly UI and graphics will have you smiling ear to ear. As you start to "complete" your first city or two the flaws really come to surface and they really take away a lot of the fun.

    It's lost the charm of the Simcity series but you can still find a good few    Simcity is the best bad game ever. When you first get into it, the happy go lucky nature of it coupled with its bubbly and user friendly UI and graphics will have you smiling ear to ear. As you start to "complete" your first city or two the flaws really come to surface and they really take away a lot of the fun.

    It's lost the charm of the Simcity series but you can still find a good few hours of entertainment here. Hopefully the next installation will get rid of the "dumbing down" and back into actual city building like Simcity 4.    … Expand
  37. Waclaw
    Aug 1, 2013
    5
    After a while since the official game launch, I thought to review the game and I don't really know where to start...

    The game has some design flaws that make it really hard to enjoy once you finally accept the fact that you no longer control a city but need to take care of a bunch of them in order to reach the upper levels of development or cooperate with friends or random people.    After a while since the official game launch, I thought to review the game and I don't really know where to start...

    The game has some design flaws that make it really hard to enjoy once you finally accept the fact that you no longer control a city but need to take care of a bunch of them in order to reach the upper levels of development or cooperate with friends or random people. Still, the difficulty level is so low (with limited options in terms of finance or policies that were present in past SImCity games), that people looking for a challenge should steer away from this product as the problems you may get come from faulty game mechanics, not the level of proficiency needed to design and maintain a city. There are still major problems with connectivity after so many months and it's more than just a nuisance when you can't even play singleplayer because servers are full... Plus, you can loose a city you built! Regions just disappear from the servers or they are there but you won't be able to access them getting an error message frustrating at best.

    Given the franchise history, the developer of the game and the publisher, this should have been at least a 8/10 game. At the moment, after a countless number of patches focused on resolving issues with people being able to play at all, not addressing real issues like malfunctioning game design (horrible transportation aspect for instance and constant problems with that no matter what you try to do with it), this game is a 5/10 for me and that's only because I still hope that major problems will be resolved and that this game will be playable.

    If you're new to the genre, go play something else. Veterans you have been warned.    … Expand
  38. Gageracer
    Apr 17, 2013
    5
    I loved Simcity 4 and i was expecting all in 4 more with better graphics in new SC.That's not what i get at all.First of all forget getting the huge sizes in 4, and forget that you are actually building a city.This is Sim Town but i can live with this for now.All those patches server issues, wtf? Is this an MMO or a Simulation game?Ok i get it you want to make sure nobody plays it as aI loved Simcity 4 and i was expecting all in 4 more with better graphics in new SC.That's not what i get at all.First of all forget getting the huge sizes in 4, and forget that you are actually building a city.This is Sim Town but i can live with this for now.All those patches server issues, wtf? Is this an MMO or a Simulation game?Ok i get it you want to make sure nobody plays it as a non-original copy.You want your money.But why in the hell i cannot select whatever server i want and continue my fckn game?I open a space with my friends than that server becomes non-playable.Great lets start again...Secondly, game is clearly not finished at all.It is still a beta game.I don't know how cities this game "forced" me to destroy just because it cannot merge my actions to servers.When that happens game just tells you to remove the city or go back and when you say go back it goes too back.The server is pointless cause it cannot save your game, it is just a DRM! I've stopped playing SC cause i am sick of loosing all my data and this game completely destroyed my ambition for a Simcity game.Yes it has graphs and music etc. but it is not finished, still a beta game.Finally i don't know why you can't get an item when your friends send you at the same time.It tooks for ages and you forgot that you send/get anything.… Expand
  39. PaulJazz24
    Feb 8, 2019
    5
    Graphics are wonderful with those pastel colors: everything seems a plastic model seen through camera lens: Stunning.
    The gameplay is completely different from SimCity 4, but very fun and addictive.
    It has many big bugs, never fixed, the game was abandoned 1 year after the release. What a pity! Otherwise it deserves 10.
  40. level5dwarf
    Jun 29, 2013
    5
    The game now, a few months after release, is good and quite enjoyable. The game alone i'd rate as good as any other simcity, about an 8 rating. The downside of the game now is that despite best efforts it didn't bring anything new to the table with the multiplayer aspect. That said... at release it was awful as the negative reviews show, and it really would make me think again beforeThe game now, a few months after release, is good and quite enjoyable. The game alone i'd rate as good as any other simcity, about an 8 rating. The downside of the game now is that despite best efforts it didn't bring anything new to the table with the multiplayer aspect. That said... at release it was awful as the negative reviews show, and it really would make me think again before buying anything with DRM such as this or any EA/Maxis product again as they were caught lying and time after time refused to refund a completely unplayable (at the time) game.… Expand
  41. Jake_
    Oct 29, 2013
    5
    I have begun to really hate EA and Origin recently, too many bad decisions have resulted in SimCity being unplayable most of the time, due to servers being full or not having a good enough internet connection. The Game is good, you just can't get on there 50% of the time. EA It's in the game (of you can actually get on it in the first place).
  42. Arco
    Jun 2, 2013
    5
    Sim City is a nice game, however, it's had a rough start. The maps are too small and sometimes it's just not enjoyable to play.
    Servers are unstable sometimes, game crashes.
  43. Luckistas97
    Jul 30, 2013
    5
    I honestly have to say that Simcity 5 disappointed me very much. All of us where waiting for the return of the Simcity saga with a stunning performance of Maxis, but instead of having a master game and they gave us just a simplified version of the previous game Simcity 4, but we must say that the graphical advances of this game are a huge advance.

    Talking about the negatives points,, as    I honestly have to say that Simcity 5 disappointed me very much. All of us where waiting for the return of the Simcity saga with a stunning performance of Maxis, but instead of having a master game and they gave us just a simplified version of the previous game Simcity 4, but we must say that the graphical advances of this game are a huge advance.

    Talking about the negatives points,, as I said at the beginning: this is a simplified version ,I mean that the lots o transports that were in SC4 like highways (that are already there by the game), monorail, subway, train, etc. were all removed. Another thing that has get the most of the critics is the fact that you must be online to play a single player game, that's something incredible, in this game is well know by the users that if the server reached its maximum capacity you can play and you will have to wait until you are allowed to play and the server has a little space four you game, another thing that captured our attention us that the space for the city is too small, you can't rise a metropolis in that tiny space. And finishing the negative points, we see that the buildings for every tools or service is limited to 3 or 4 compared to SC4 where in police you could have like 5 or 6 buildings, but that's obvious, isn't it? a few things for a little space.

    In the other hand, this game has some positive things. Starting from the 3d camera that allows you to see every corner of the city and the extraordinary graphics that it has. For me there are two important things that wasn´t in the previous games of the franchise:
    1) The multiplayer mode: it allows you to play with other people in the world if you have an Internet or LAN connection, it's based in a region where the players have a city and they interact with the other ones for better or worse, and every city has a role.
    2) The city role: in CS4, the cities interact with each other but It wasn´t like now, in Simcity 5 the cities perform a specific role, for example: you have a tourist city, an industrial city, a casino city, a city based on minery and other kinds.
    Others things like, the add-ons in the buildings is another advance and the realistic geographic conditions, like the places were is water under the ground, the way the wind blows or the mineral that are in the ground.

    In conclusion. I can say that the users expected more of this game, and for now we will go on using Simcity 4, almost we must admit that correcting this negatives things and we combine this with SC4 I can ensure you that this will be the best urban simulator ever, but by now we will have to wait until EA and Maxis decide to take this franchise more seriously and take it back to the place it must be.    … Expand
  44. COLOAGNT1
    Oct 29, 2013
    6
    I'm relatively new to the game so far and have the following to say:

    PROS Beautiful graphics Nice new features (ie adding features to existing structures) Streamlining of "monotonous" tasks (ie power lines/water pipes) CONS Small build sites Some say this is unimportant, definitely not true. Hopefully since this game is an "online" game that can theoretically "evolve", this can    I'm relatively new to the game so far and have the following to say:

    PROS
    Beautiful graphics
    Nice new features (ie adding features to existing structures)
    Streamlining of "monotonous" tasks (ie power lines/water pipes)

    CONS
    Small build sites Some say this is unimportant, definitely not true. Hopefully since this game is an "online" game that can theoretically "evolve", this can eventually be expanded. If city sites are to be small, they should also show some variation instead of just being same sized square boxes.

    Some reviewers state that a city in real life "cannot have all things"... simply not true. New York City for instance is not "buildable" in the games current form. The game really does need the ability to "expand" beyond a square box borders.

    Elimination of some items (ie subways)

    Fact that you're "buying" a game that may someday be no longer supported, in a sense you're "buying" a game that's in some ways being treated as a rental.

    While a good start (I hope they don't stand pat), the regions concept is just not realistic in the sense that you have multiple "squares" for cities... while the land separating these squares are never "develop-able".

    In the end, I'm not sure if I had it to do all over again, I would spend $60. The online feature of the game is not that big a deal however the unrealistic nature of the game (in the name of multi-player) is pretty disappointing when compared to past versions. I'm open to something "new" but not if it only "limits" your "powers", so to speak.

    Right now, I'd advise people to wait to see if the developers improve the game. In some ways it's an improvement but in too many others, it's a regression.

    Looking forward to playing it but overall, fairly disappointed.

    One last thought Similar to EA Sims franchise, they tend to "nickel and dime" you for every new minor feature... that seems to be where they're headed with this as well. Before offering all these new "bells and whistles" for a price, they really need to expand the space on which you are able to build.

    It's interesting they did not name it SimCity 5... Truth be told, it's more like SimCity 2.8 3.2...

    Sim City 4 is still superior to this new effort.    … Expand
  45. AAHK360
    Jun 20, 2014
    7
    I played this game for around 29 hours, and I can say that SimCity 4 was a lot better.
    Now what I hate about it that there is no "blocks" meaning that you can build even stuff, It's so random so you will have some empty places that you can't build anything on, which I hate, in SimCity 4 you could see the actual blocks in the ground and when you put a building you knew exactly how many    I played this game for around 29 hours, and I can say that SimCity 4 was a lot better.
    Now what I hate about it that there is no "blocks" meaning that you can build even stuff, It's so random so you will have some empty places that you can't build anything on, which I hate, in SimCity 4 you could see the actual blocks in the ground and when you put a building you knew exactly how many blocks it's going to take.
    also, you can't longer modify terrain, and you only have what they gave you, small cities which I also hate.
    I really can't find words to describe, but I prefer to play SimCity 4, and it could've been better for them to add the new stuff and increase the graphics to the older SimCity and call it a new SimCity!
    It's still playable though, and there is some nice stuff here and there, but the way that you build and the small cities just kills every thing.    … Expand
  46. rrafemi
    Jan 15, 2017
    5
    Estoy realmente decepcionado. Es muy frustrante que el juego directamente no te permita hacer NADA de nada. A cada paso das te dice que "no es posible esto o colocar lo otro"

    Habiendo espacio de sobra para colocar un parque o un monumento el juego te lo impide porque "se superpone con una casa" cuando hay espacio mas que de sobra y ni toca la línea marcada de la casa. El juego no da    Estoy realmente decepcionado. Es muy frustrante que el juego directamente no te permita hacer NADA de nada. A cada paso das te dice que "no es posible esto o colocar lo otro"

    Habiendo espacio de sobra para colocar un parque o un monumento el juego te lo impide porque "se superpone con una casa" cuando hay espacio mas que de sobra y ni toca la línea marcada de la casa. El juego no da lugar a la imaginación. Es realmente frustrante no poder hacer nada porque el juego siempre te lo impide.

    Las versiones anteriores de la saga no ponen tantos impedimentos a la hora de construir y poner incluso cosas simétricas. Ni siquiera el juego para móviles te pone tantos impedimentos.

    Un despropósito y una enorme decepción.    … Expand
  47. newalu
    Jan 17, 2015
    7
    I've owned this game on 17 Dec 2014 and im writing this based on the build of that day.the copy i have was the complete edition with all the DLCs included.
    I've been a huge fan of simcity4 and played it for a very long time, i can see why ppl are upset about this game, it had lost of problems when it first started and it had DRM up the ass, however i think EA realized that and they (with    I've owned this game on 17 Dec 2014 and im writing this based on the build of that day.the copy i have was the complete edition with all the DLCs included.
    I've been a huge fan of simcity4 and played it for a very long time, i can see why ppl are upset about this game, it had lost of problems when it first started and it had DRM up the ass, however i think EA realized that and they (with time) worked around it.

    you can actually play offline now and you can port maps form online to offline.

    now the game it self is pretty fun and gets you what you expect out of a simcity game, it is a bit easier and less challenging that simcity4, however this is not the biggest problem with this game, the biggest problem is that the map size is WAaaay too small. you can fill it up in 1 hour or 2 Max. this is a huge let down as the game is beautiful and form what i seen lots of thoughts went to it.this leads up to you filling up the landscape before you can build most of its buildings.

    if you get this game its a very beautiful game with lots of things that you can try, i recommend getting the complete edition because of the content it ships with it.however as i said before this space which you can build on is really small and you wont be able to build a huge metropolis as you could on simcity4 or other games.

    this games is not bad on its own but its not any better than other games ether in the same series or other competitors.    … Expand
  48. eddroos
    Feb 21, 2015
    6
    THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONLY ONE: Maps size!

    The game is perfect until you can't edit the map, trees, lakes and more. Also until the public transport and more things has changed, the game and graphics are really, really good! But the main problem is that the map size is so small, so when you are starting, like 2 hours you have constructed in the half of the map and in 4 hours your map is    THE REAL PROBLEM IS ONLY ONE: Maps size!

    The game is perfect until you can't edit the map, trees, lakes and more. Also until the public transport and more things has changed, the game and graphics are really, really good!

    But the main problem is that the map size is so small, so when you are starting, like 2 hours you have constructed in the half of the map and in 4 hours your map is full. So you start to boring as you don't have anything to do, you only can see your city and after some hours your city crashes and is the end of it.

    So is a good game at the beginning, after some hours, no days, it's boring and you feel frustrated as you have to do the same ALWAYS!
    You can do different things, but always the map is full after some hours and the city collapses!

    Good graphics, new things, etc., but you don't have the correct map size.    … Expand
  49. JakGLaDOS29
    Dec 30, 2016
    7
    I still havent come across a computer powerful enough to give a decent experience. The graphics require a horrendous amount of energy and GPU strength. But when in game, its an amazing experience. In single player, building a city in sandbox mode will forever be one of the best game experiences I've had. The game would have been a great success. Its gameplay is incomparable, and I reallyI still havent come across a computer powerful enough to give a decent experience. The graphics require a horrendous amount of energy and GPU strength. But when in game, its an amazing experience. In single player, building a city in sandbox mode will forever be one of the best game experiences I've had. The game would have been a great success. Its gameplay is incomparable, and I really love it. Maxis decided to do so many things wrong, it turned into a nightmare. Online only, unforgivable tech requirements for us people running old business pc's that have fans louder than a hairdryer, or MacBooks which do run the game, but don't give you the experience it advertises. I mean maybe it is 2016, but I'm a casual gamer and I'm not looking to blow so much money on a computer to play one goddarn game. At its core, Simcity is epic, but all the faults came together at once and spoiled it for everyone. I mean even the price was ludicrous. It is worth playing now if you have the means, but at release it was an utter flop.… Expand
  50. JulienFizzy
    Oct 22, 2017
    5
    At any given time the game system becomes tediously boring. It was quite unusual that agricultural sectors and more diversity in the transport system were not included. There was also no possibility of expanding the land. Looking back, you can see that they stayed halfway despite innovating with GlassBox game engine.
  51. Review123
    Feb 18, 2018
    7
    simcity review 2, oh yeah now thats better, they fixed a lot of bugs, but i still feel that something is needed.
  52. Jim74656
    Dec 2, 2021
    6
    REVIEW EDITED: I originally had given this game a 0/10 due to a glaring issue where you could not start multiple cities, however since the last review this issue seems to have been resolved, so I am changing my score to reflect the changes, I just hope EA would continue to improve the game like making city build areas larger, much larger, as this game had potential!!
  53. Miotke
    Dec 1, 2019
    5
    Meh                                                                                      
  54. Fallconex
    Dec 17, 2020
    5
    Did not live up to expectations. Weak mechanics, boring gameplay. Don't even try it
  55. reviewslol
    Sep 18, 2021
    7
    Is it a good simcity game? No, but it's a decent online game. If you didn't play simcity, you should get this game.
  56. Keron_Heruman
    Aug 28, 2023
    5
    Not good, not fun... It looks pretty and includes some good new concepts to city builders, but the obligation to specialize your city and the tiny space for build your city, kills the possibility to play as sandbox
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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 »