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. JinShepard
    Apr 7, 2013
    3
    The bad;

    Always on DRM It is bad, as gaming goes, you should always be allowed to choose online or offline, it is a form of entertainement you choose, not forced. Regions They are far to small, some of the specialised buildings are so big, it takes a large portion of your map and people end up with only square city's, not very sim like to me. Traffic Doesn't work with the    The bad;

    Always on DRM It is bad, as gaming goes, you should always be allowed to choose online or offline, it is a form of entertainement you choose, not forced.

    Regions They are far to small, some of the specialised buildings are so big, it takes a large portion of your map and people end up with only square city's, not very sim like to me.

    Traffic Doesn't work with the agents system, jams, buses, street-carts, cars, police, fire-trucks even people who walk walk as if they all hold hands, it looks incredible ugly, buggy and completely unrealistic.

    Region relations Having tried multiply times to build 1 residential, 1 commercial and 1 industry region, it doesn't work one bit, people don't migrate enough to keep any of the three regions working.

    The good;
    Graphics It looks good and feels good.
    Music The music is nice and relaxing

    Overall score and suggestion 3, and don't buy it for a long long time. I started playing this game at patch 1.7, I can fully understand everyone everyone giving this a 0 before that patch. The game is broken to its core, and is far from a Simulated City as the name suggests on the box, no, this game is destroyed by EA and Maxis and once more another franchise is ruined.    … Expand
  2. CritiqueFreak
    Apr 6, 2013
    3
    I'm not even going to say anything about the servers, because everyone already knows about those pieces of crap. The gameplay was fun for a while, but the game does seem to get boring after a while. You try to build a new city, but you end up with an extremely high deficit. The game is full of bugs. The people of your city ask for something, you plop it down, and they still ask for it.I'm not even going to say anything about the servers, because everyone already knows about those pieces of crap. The gameplay was fun for a while, but the game does seem to get boring after a while. You try to build a new city, but you end up with an extremely high deficit. The game is full of bugs. The people of your city ask for something, you plop it down, and they still ask for it. When on sandbox mode and you disable things like fires, crime, sewage, etc. some if it doesn't go away. And even if it does, when you restart the game, SOME of your restrictions you toggled are gone. For instance, say you toggled everything off, you quit the game, and the next day you came back on. Some things will stay toggled off and others would be on. Very very frustrating. There are many other bugs, but I don't want to spend this whole thing talking about them. I am rating this a 3 because the gameplay IS fun for a bit, but it does get boring, there are many glitches, and the servers, of course.… Expand
  3. 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.
  4. GuardianQ
    Apr 6, 2013
    7
    In this review I will ignore any issues with the servers or saving mechanics.

    I wasn't excited about receiving SimCity, I bought it as something to do in those long, endless holidays, but that is always what it has been. I have briefly played other SimCity games, but not to a great extent or particularly recently. In reality, I was going in blind. Initially, the menus feel a bit    In this review I will ignore any issues with the servers or saving mechanics.

    I wasn't excited about receiving SimCity, I bought it as something to do in those long, endless holidays, but that is always what it has been. I have briefly played other SimCity games, but not to a great extent or particularly recently. In reality, I was going in blind.

    Initially, the menus feel a bit clunky despite their beauty and this is a truth throughout. I was disappointed by the lack of choice of regions (eight in all from memory), and then even more so by the lack of space to develop a city. I guess it's a 50-50 as it encourages you to be efficient in your planning but in reality the most efficient design is rows and rows of city blocks which look ugly. The small cities really limit the ability of the designer player to build the city of their dreams and still achieve the same successes as was possible in older games.

    The actual game is executed well but not superbly. I like the 'modular' style buildings that you can spring up and all the individual animations of every building and every sim are mesmerising. The specialisation possible in this game is fairly well thought out and the city constraints mean that once you specialise, you don't really have room for a lot else.

    The depth of animation is spectacular and there are many layers which you have to consider in order to get your city running well. That said, there are numerous different approaches to doing that and there's always something you can tweak to work that little bit better, which is always very satisfying. Furthermore, despite the small cities, you can always go out and claim another in the same region and use it to bolster your main one, be that as a commuter hub or power station and they all interlink very well and that is something I feel a lot of players forget.

    I'll be brief with the problems. There are numerous graphical glitches when on certain zoom levels which shouldn't be, I don't feel there is a great selection of buildings to place yourself (there are verging on a million parks, but little else), and I don't feel the AI systems particularly controlling traffic flow are very intelligent. Coupled to this, the way in which your city develops when density starts increasing isn't always smart and I feel as though when starting with a cosy suburb with wavy roads, it starts to upgrade and you get this big, rectangular apartments all of the same size which in turn make half your roads obsolete. I think there are ways in which high density buildings can have small footprints and this should be explored.

    This game is good and well made, but there are problems here and there which can drive you away after a couple of hours. By all means buy it, but don't expect to be blown away.    … Expand
  5. m0rphastic
    Apr 6, 2013
    9
    This game doesn't deserve a 0-4 because there is one mistake with online DRM. This game is actually very fun. I played it now 1 hour and didn't got one kick and I enjoyed it very much. There's too much hate around this game what I don't understand.
  6. Broadnick
    Apr 5, 2013
    2
    I played all SimCity versions from the first one and SimCity 5 is nothing else than a piece of garbage. I don't care about the DRM; that is something that don't bothered me. But, the game himself is a big deception in many ways. First, the size of the map is ridiculous. Imagine... you have to think two times before adding a single football field because it take too space on the map!!I played all SimCity versions from the first one and SimCity 5 is nothing else than a piece of garbage. I don't care about the DRM; that is something that don't bothered me. But, the game himself is a big deception in many ways. First, the size of the map is ridiculous. Imagine... you have to think two times before adding a single football field because it take too space on the map!! Other disaster is the very strict link between road and building, park, etc. Nothing can be build freely in the map because everything have to connect to a road... and you cannot turn objects to fit in a particular orientation. This result in most space lost (so precious space) is you want curve roads in your city.

    There is no beach stuff, no marina-harbor or ship industry, no tree, very limited choice of building.
    I already write enough about this game. Please, do not give your money to EA; keep it for another more serious developper.    … Expand
  7. provo44
    Apr 5, 2013
    0
    this game! it. Do not buy it. It is a worthless piece of I cannot even access the game because I have to download a ****ing million ****ing things that all ****ing glitch out. I bought the CD version so I wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of downloading, but noooo,.. u still have to ****ing download a million ****ing things even with the CD version. EA and anyone else who had a this game! it. Do not buy it. It is a worthless piece of I cannot even access the game because I have to download a ****ing million ****ing things that all ****ing glitch out. I bought the CD version so I wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of downloading, but noooo,.. u still have to ****ing download a million ****ing things even with the CD version. EA and anyone else who had a hand in creating this game. You are all worthless pieces of ****ing … Expand
  8. Singgihsatch
    Apr 5, 2013
    0
    never buy this game,, just waste money and time im really disappointed with this game,, and hope EA will give my money back..

    and the online feature it really suck,,
    just annoying
  9. ZZtop
    Apr 5, 2013
    0
    Terrible game, full of game breaking bugs, not worth paying for this game. Yet another game that EA has rushed to release to make a quick buck. They are poised to win America's Worst Company yet again as voted on Consumerist and for good reason.
  10. Bibilitz
    Apr 4, 2013
    1
    I have played almost every simcity released. I have also put in over 100 hours playing this version, this version is beyond a buggy let down, to fans of the original game it can be seen as an insult. SimCity is about Simulating a City, although the graphics are nice the game uses nothing but smoke and mirrors initially to capture players into thinking there's "a lot going on" behind theI have played almost every simcity released. I have also put in over 100 hours playing this version, this version is beyond a buggy let down, to fans of the original game it can be seen as an insult. SimCity is about Simulating a City, although the graphics are nice the game uses nothing but smoke and mirrors initially to capture players into thinking there's "a lot going on" behind the scenes, when this is absolutely not the case.

    RCI has almost no usage in this version. Entire cities have been built using nothing but residential lots.
    The muti-player "features" advertised do not function. Players are losing hours of work when disconnects happen. This game was clearly rushed out the door, and by rushed I mean by months and months, not just a few bugs here and there.

    EA had bought the recipe for SimCity's success from Will Wright/Maxis and failed to even use it when producing this version.

    The only upside to this game are the graphics(which do glitch out as well from time to time) Even the music cuts in and out with building/layer sounds getting stuck in infinite loops. The EA forums are on fire with angry users who want refunds, fixes and updates on the situation.

    A month after launch, the game launcher "Recent News" post is dated March 8th. It seems EA is determined to further Alienate their fanbase.

    This game truly deserves a 1/10 1 for fancy dance graphics and a slick interface which even fooled me initially for a few hours.    … Expand
  11. Tropicantroll
    Apr 4, 2013
    6
    I were too kind to Simcity in the first place.. Theres still Huge Problems, Like Online RDM.. Seriously? The servers aren't atleast full anymore.. but also.. the Cities feel too "American" i mean of course most of the players are mostly american.. But, i mean.. School buses? Seriously?? But well, Forget that.. But what about the London, French and the german Expansion? Well.. They are someI were too kind to Simcity in the first place.. Theres still Huge Problems, Like Online RDM.. Seriously? The servers aren't atleast full anymore.. but also.. the Cities feel too "American" i mean of course most of the players are mostly american.. But, i mean.. School buses? Seriously?? But well, Forget that.. But what about the London, French and the german Expansion? Well.. They are some waste of money.. i didn't see anything change in the city! It feels like i wasted 100 NOK (norwegian Crowns) for the Packs! Why they do that?

    Well i haven't given up the hope yet, hopefully they might do something to fix alot of the stuff' they have alleredy fixed the servers.. But theres still a chunk of Problems they have to fix:

    1. More realistic Traffic.. i mean.. They only take the shortest way.. Seriously?
    2. Less Limit for the city to Grow.. I mean.. I can't even make wonders in the Normal Mode.. AT ALL..
    3. Why is there only hotels in Casinos? They shud had made Hotels outside of that.. I mean Only Hotels in Casinos? What were they thinking??
    4. I know theres some bugs with people going into wrong houses.. But i don't really mind about that..
    5. Horrible to search for a game with an Empety place.. I mean.. You can't SEARCH?? YOU CAN'T?? They should had fixed that..

    Now, i will try to update this review if theres stuff they fix.. But the game won't probaly go up in ratings so much.. Cos of the fact that the game had a horrible release.. but they have got people more Happier now.. cos before there were 1.6 in user score.. now there is 1.9.. Now that isen't so horrible..
    And there were alot of things that were good at the game.. I mean the game is actuly fun in the beginning.. The Citizens make a nice view.. And you can see them talking.. theres some humor in it too.. But still The Building limit is the WORST monster.. I mean.. With that, you will just rage to the end.. Please Remove some of the limits atleast..    … Expand
  12. MasterRanger
    Apr 4, 2013
    0
    Launchtime was, of course, a nightmare for anyone who wanted to actually play. By the time it became available, I had quit caring. Too bad really, the beta was ok. However: the map sizes were too small, the documentation for more advanced things and concepts was non-existent. All in all, what should have been a very detailed, powerhouse of an updated retro-game has become aLaunchtime was, of course, a nightmare for anyone who wanted to actually play. By the time it became available, I had quit caring. Too bad really, the beta was ok. However: the map sizes were too small, the documentation for more advanced things and concepts was non-existent. All in all, what should have been a very detailed, powerhouse of an updated retro-game has become a demonstration in how frustrated you as a gamer can become..… Expand
  13. topender
    Apr 4, 2013
    2
    Maybe i will rerate when its finished in a year or so. but at present, a month after release its still an unfinished mess with small city zones, crippling traffic issues and limited playability. Online only is a pita
  14. Ramlosa
    Apr 4, 2013
    0
    Simcity is a SINGEL-PLAYER GAME so why in hell do I always need to be connected??
    Simcity is one of those games you play at the airport or on the train, so the time will past a little bit faster.

    Even if didnt always needed to be connected Simcity is still the worst game in the series,
    Looks a bit better but the maps are small as hell and everything is dumbed down.

    EA you!!!!!
  15. rovaira
    Apr 3, 2013
    10
    Don't get me wrong the launch was rough with lots of server issues, but since then I've been playing non-stop. Between my daughter and I (mostly myself) we have put in 185 hours and I work full time.. The cities are smaller yes, and yes you need to be online. The fun comes from watching the city grow, watching the people go places, the multiplayer play interacting and chatting with peopleDon't get me wrong the launch was rough with lots of server issues, but since then I've been playing non-stop. Between my daughter and I (mostly myself) we have put in 185 hours and I work full time.. The cities are smaller yes, and yes you need to be online. The fun comes from watching the city grow, watching the people go places, the multiplayer play interacting and chatting with people as you play and work together, the trading is VERY fun (this cannot be overstated. They've added a new dimension to this game that makes it very fun to play and requires strategy.), the resources and specializations are all fun, and I could keep going on.. If you thing you shouldn't buy the game because of the score you'll be missing out big time.. All of the sim city games are great, but this one retains what made previous Sim City games fun and adds more.… Expand
  16. 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
  17. holton0289
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    Been a simcity fan since back when it was on super nintendo, over 2 decades. All creativity is gone with this version. No uniqueness is allowed. Small city sizes. No mods like simcity 4. Oh and the always online drm just doesnt work. regret buying this game. Why would i play a sity simulator with other people? I dont need anyone else messing up my region. Server problems, lostBeen a simcity fan since back when it was on super nintendo, over 2 decades. All creativity is gone with this version. No uniqueness is allowed. Small city sizes. No mods like simcity 4. Oh and the always online drm just doesnt work. regret buying this game. Why would i play a sity simulator with other people? I dont need anyone else messing up my region. Server problems, lost cities. Cities bound to the server it was created on. Dont buy this game… Expand
  18. Agorash
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    EA don't waste this saga EA with this damn DRM. EA don't waste this saga EA with this damn DRM. EA don't waste this saga EA with this damn DRM. Don't do it!
  19. koinsky
    Apr 3, 2013
    1
    The game is a complete failure from my point of view. Simulation is broken or faked. Towns are small and often erased by the server. Allways-on connexion depends on servers ability to hold the charge, which was also a failure. Multiplayer is unimpressive and not interesting to me. To conclude, the game is pricey and some bad dlc is already coming out (publicitary dlc for car brands comeThe game is a complete failure from my point of view. Simulation is broken or faked. Towns are small and often erased by the server. Allways-on connexion depends on servers ability to hold the charge, which was also a failure. Multiplayer is unimpressive and not interesting to me. To conclude, the game is pricey and some bad dlc is already coming out (publicitary dlc for car brands come on EA.... after all this mess you do that To be avoided.… Expand
  20. DGR52
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    Want to thank all you guys for the sharp reviews, It truly saddens me that so much potential has been wasted by EA games with the SimCity franchise. While I'm still a fan of this company for the Sims 2 and Sims 3 games, I always had a special place in my heart for Sim City. Anyway, because I fortunately didn't have time to open Sim City 5 (plus a $14 gameplay book) I bought a fewWant to thank all you guys for the sharp reviews, It truly saddens me that so much potential has been wasted by EA games with the SimCity franchise. While I'm still a fan of this company for the Sims 2 and Sims 3 games, I always had a special place in my heart for Sim City. Anyway, because I fortunately didn't have time to open Sim City 5 (plus a $14 gameplay book) I bought a few weeks ago, I was able to return them to Target this morning. Some of the $70 I just saved will be going to Sim Pegasus and Sim Devotion for all the great downloads they've provided Sim City players all these years. (Already gave to Simtropolis!)… Expand
  21. EA_Sucks
    Apr 3, 2013
    2
    "DO NOT BUY THIS GAME." That's what I told everyone who would listen a couple of weeks ago. I have now cooled down, and will now say this: This game is worth 10£. Not more. One user here said it was a 80£ Facebook game, which is pretty much the most accurate description of the latest Sim City I have seen.

    I am not an EA hater (please disregard my nickname). I don't even mind Origin, or    "DO NOT BUY THIS GAME." That's what I told everyone who would listen a couple of weeks ago. I have now cooled down, and will now say this: This game is worth 10£. Not more. One user here said it was a 80£ Facebook game, which is pretty much the most accurate description of the latest Sim City I have seen.

    I am not an EA hater (please disregard my nickname). I don't even mind Origin, or the insanely annoying always-on DRM system. Hell, I can even accept overpriced digital downloads if they're for a decent game such as Mass Effect or Star Wars: The Old Republic. I'm a grown man, I can afford a fiver here and a fiver there. The number one problem with this game is that is completely, utterly dull. Replayability: Zero. I had been looking forward to this game since it was announced, but started to worry when I was bored in the beta even before the mind numbingly stupid one-hour time limit was up.

    When the game was released, my worst fears came true. Nevermind the fact that I couldn't play for two days because EA didn't want to spend money on server capacity. Maxis, hopefully bullied around by the suits in EA, had utterly ruined one of my favorite franchise. The list of reasons why this game completely fails to live up to its predecessor is long. Very long. Here are a few game-breakers.

    - City size. You -will- use all the available land within an hour or three. After that, it's all about understanding how the game's traffic system works. Or doesn't, depending on how you see it.

    - Traffic. As mentioned, it is horrible. The agent system in Sandbox (Sim City's engine) simply does not work for traffic. Emergency vehicles get stuck in traffic, city services (garbage trucks, school buses etc.). Google "Sim City traffic" and you will see just how realistic looking cities that "work" in this game are.

    - AI is non existent. The PR people at EA bragged much about how each sim would have his or her own job, personality, home etc. That was a lie. Every morning, every sim goes out looking for a job, stopping at the first available job for his or her education level. It is impossible to feel attached to your citizens, because the only thing their zombielike behaviour does is messing up traffic even more.

    - Multiplayer is worthless, there is very little (if any) cooperation and interaction between cities in a region.

    - No terraforming. Your territory acts like a plot from one of the Sims games. Just more static.

    - It is impossible to build a realistic city. All the reasons above contribute to that fact, and if you ever hoped you could simulate your home town like you did in Sim City 4 or one of the earlier games, forget it. This game won't do it.

    - City specialization is far from deep enough, and stops being interesting after a few hours.

    I'm going to be generous and give this game a score of 2. I might have given it 3 points if it didn't break such an amazing franchise. The dumbed down graphics look nice, in a model landscape sort of way, which was supposedly what the devs were going for, and the game will keep you entertained for a few hours. Oh, and there's a color blind mode.

    If you see this game on a 10£ sale I have no doubt that we will see very soon) go for it, but don't believe for a second that the critic reviews aren't biased. This is a terrible, terrible game.

    Buy any of the Tropico games, Cities XL, Cities in Motion or any of the other city sims out there. They are much better. Sim City 4 is still the king.    … Expand
  22. 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
  23. Chucklestein
    Apr 2, 2013
    0
    I decided to come back to update my previous review score of 3, to make it more in line with my feelings on the game. My new score is an unfortunate 0, as that is what the game is worth. While the game offers a glimmer of the greatness that SimCity used to be; crippling bugs make the game all but unplayable. Most of the advertised features are still stripped from the game, with emptyI decided to come back to update my previous review score of 3, to make it more in line with my feelings on the game. My new score is an unfortunate 0, as that is what the game is worth. While the game offers a glimmer of the greatness that SimCity used to be; crippling bugs make the game all but unplayable. Most of the advertised features are still stripped from the game, with empty promises that things will be better "Soon" (TM). For the diehard fans who pre-ordered, many are stuck with a single region filter on; almost a month after the game was released. Traffic issues can only be solved by finding ways to exploit bugs in the way pathfinding works. Water does not replenish, unless you give your citizens sewage water to drink. Don't bother with commercial or industrial; just residential, and your city will flourish with no work on your part. Perhaps if the game is ever fixed, I will update my review; but a month in with still not fix in sight, I cannot endorse this game to anyone.… Expand
  24. ChinamanUK89
    Apr 2, 2013
    10
    Yes OK, so there was a little bit of teething problem on EA/Masix's end, BUT now they are fixed, and the game is running well! The game its self is absolutely incredible. The detail of the glassbox engine are brilliant, and allow for a much more realistic simulation. The graphics are also truly beautiful!!

    In my opinion though, the game seems a little basic for the amount of work that    Yes OK, so there was a little bit of teething problem on EA/Masix's end, BUT now they are fixed, and the game is running well! The game its self is absolutely incredible. The detail of the glassbox engine are brilliant, and allow for a much more realistic simulation. The graphics are also truly beautiful!!

    In my opinion though, the game seems a little basic for the amount of work that must have gone into it, which can only mean one thing..... In true EA/Maxis style..... Expansion packs!!!
    I can just see it now! SimCity Transport, SimCity University, SimCity Resort :-)
    I am looking forward to the mods and custom content that are inevitability going to be created!

    Personally, I didn't really have too many problems connecting here in the UK, but thank for the free game anyways!    … Expand
  25. aliegursoy
    Apr 2, 2013
    1
    New Sim City game is a real disappointment for me. Sim City 4 was one of my favorite games, I bought it in 2013 and I am still continuing to play it. I bought it yesterday and downloaded it. I was expecting a wonderful game, bigger maps, realistic graphics and deep strategy. But when I started the game I was shocked. Where was the single player mode?! I learned that there is no offlineNew Sim City game is a real disappointment for me. Sim City 4 was one of my favorite games, I bought it in 2013 and I am still continuing to play it. I bought it yesterday and downloaded it. I was expecting a wonderful game, bigger maps, realistic graphics and deep strategy. But when I started the game I was shocked. Where was the single player mode?! I learned that there is no offline mode. And, it is a real trouble for me because in Turkey we use the slowest and the most expensive internet in the world. I started a private server and I was shocked again. Old region system and terraforming were gone! When I started to build my city I started to stop hating the game, I started to dislike the game and after that I had one problem. In population bar there was something says "amount:number" and all of the numbers were gone there was only "amount:number"s. I closed the game I thought that the problem will be solved when I restart the game, but it didn't because I couldn't save my game. Graphics are very bad, it really looks like Sims 3 or a cartoon. I can say that I spent 120 Turkish Lira ($67-70) for nothing.… Expand
  26. MasterBeta
    Apr 2, 2013
    0
    I have never seen such a poorly developed game in my life. There are so many bugs, crashes, rollbacks, City not responding error's, that it is literally impossible to play for one night with out smashing your keyboard. What's even more pathetic is the lack of any patches to address all the issues.
  27. Violett
    Apr 2, 2013
    0
    Ok now I've changed my mind. I voted 5 of 10 for this game. Yes, I know launch was awful, but the game itself isnt so bad. That was until I built one big city. The bugwave overwhelmed me. So many bugs and not a single solution, not a single patch, now I cant play my city due to bugs. What I payed money for Its 0 of 10, complete fail. Thank you EA, thank you Maxis, this was the lastOk now I've changed my mind. I voted 5 of 10 for this game. Yes, I know launch was awful, but the game itself isnt so bad. That was until I built one big city. The bugwave overwhelmed me. So many bugs and not a single solution, not a single patch, now I cant play my city due to bugs. What I payed money for Its 0 of 10, complete fail. Thank you EA, thank you Maxis, this was the last product I bought from you.… Expand
  28. scschwarz
    Apr 1, 2013
    0
    Terrible, buggy, unplayable game. Crashes my modern, up-to-date gaming computer on startup every time. Maxis tech support is useless and even though they can't make it work they won't do a refund. Don't buy downloadable games and DON"T BUY THIS GAME.
  29. theSCARAYone
    Apr 1, 2013
    7
    This game really deserves 2 separate reviews: One reviewing the actual game when it works, and one talking about the horrible decision of always online DRM. But alas, I can't do 2 reviews so I'm stuck with 1. Starting with the game when it works; it's wonderful. I personally feel that when it comes to the game play aspects of this game in one city, they were almost perfect. I love buildingThis game really deserves 2 separate reviews: One reviewing the actual game when it works, and one talking about the horrible decision of always online DRM. But alas, I can't do 2 reviews so I'm stuck with 1. Starting with the game when it works; it's wonderful. I personally feel that when it comes to the game play aspects of this game in one city, they were almost perfect. I love building a city and watching it grow. They simplified the way water and electricity works, you no longer requires power lines or pipes. Building and maintaining your economy is easy and long as you don't do anything stupid. It's just overall a lot of fun. In my book these aspects of the game deserve an 8.5/10.

    Now we'll talk about the negative things. DRM is never the solution to any single player game, ever. All the arguments that it "stops piracy" or "enhances your game play experience" are total bull shiest. DRM is limiting the people that pay for your game and only slows down those who would steal it. Take a look at Diablo 3, there are more than 10 torrents online that include server emulators. It doesn't stop piracy, it only slows it down. I also can't stand how small the area is that they give you to build your city's. City's in SC4 or SC3000 could be up to 15 times bigger. The excuse that "it won't run on dad's computer" is also bull shiest. I don't have "dad's computer" I have my computer that I spent a good amount of money on so that I could run things like that, stop limiting the people with the better machines to what the people with the lowest machines can handle. These aspects deserve a 2/10.

    Also, anyone who re-reviews this game after giving it a negative one at launch shouldn't. Don't excuse the current game for the failings at launch. I didn't have the game at launch, but if I pay $60 for anything, I expect it to work whenever I want to use it.

    So overall I think the game is a 7. All the right ideas are there when it comes to game play, but they are severely hindered by the Always on DRM.    … Expand
  30. Voodoo311er
    Apr 1, 2013
    0
    Takes everything you loved about Simcity 4 and replaces it with EA. The always on DRM, lack of a single player game, and ridiculous prefab region setup ruin what this game should have been. You would think EA would learn lessons from each franchise that it gobbles up and destroys, but they doggedly stay focused on the dollar bills at the expense of gamers everywhere. Reinstall Simcity 4Takes everything you loved about Simcity 4 and replaces it with EA. The always on DRM, lack of a single player game, and ridiculous prefab region setup ruin what this game should have been. You would think EA would learn lessons from each franchise that it gobbles up and destroys, but they doggedly stay focused on the dollar bills at the expense of gamers everywhere. Reinstall Simcity 4 and remember from now on to skip anything with an EA logo on it.… Expand
  31. kuehnau
    Apr 1, 2013
    8
    SimCity AKA SimCity 5 is the latest installment of SimCity from EA. It approaches the game in an new, interesting, stream lined manner that any fan of the franchise should appreciate. It adds new content by adding in a "quest" system of sorts, as you try to fulfill Sim's wants, needs and desires while balancing the town.

    They added in a new online co-op style game play in which you can    SimCity AKA SimCity 5 is the latest installment of SimCity from EA. It approaches the game in an new, interesting, stream lined manner that any fan of the franchise should appreciate. It adds new content by adding in a "quest" system of sorts, as you try to fulfill Sim's wants, needs and desires while balancing the town.

    They added in a new online co-op style game play in which you can trade with other local cities, something that should have been added in ages ago, something that the Sims 3 game should have had from the start.

    The game looks good, plays good and handles well.. When you can play it. When the servers are down, you cannot play the game, much like a standard MMO.

    I have two major complaints, the first being that you must always be online to play SimCity, I feel this is one of the worst possible ways to handle DRM. The second complaint is the fact I cannot access this game on STEAM. While this are kind of annoying, they are by no means deal breakers.

    Unfortunately, due to EA's reputation, the always on DRM and several other aspects, a very polished, fun, worthy titles is getting a massive amount of bad feedback from immature children who cannot understand that things can and will change with time. The same thing happened with Diablo 3. Due to some DRM issues and a bad launch day, a triple A title got horrible ratings. Do yourself a favor and try it out for yourself, don't believe all the negative hype surrounding an otherwise fantastic game.    … Expand
  32. 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
  33. Airaindust
    Mar 31, 2013
    0
    The 'simulation' is a lie. The fact that sims switch job and homes everyday screams of laziness and an inability to comprehend what a simulator is. I grew up on SNES Simcity and SC 2000 both those games still get played on occasion but I don't see myself ever re-installing this game to play again. It was a waste of 60 and If you really want it I just say wait for a sale. This game is aThe 'simulation' is a lie. The fact that sims switch job and homes everyday screams of laziness and an inability to comprehend what a simulator is. I grew up on SNES Simcity and SC 2000 both those games still get played on occasion but I don't see myself ever re-installing this game to play again. It was a waste of 60 and If you really want it I just say wait for a sale. This game is a travesty and a black eye to the memory of Simciy. I have lost my faith in MAXIS.… Expand
  34. ozmox
    Mar 31, 2013
    4
    Origin and EA's DRM scheme is horrible. That aside, the game itself doesn't deliver on its promise. Total city size is *very* small. Traffic is badly bugged (police patrols, buses, and garbage trucks all move in a giant cluster rather than dispersed throughout your city). Simulation depth just isn't there after you build a high school, elementary schools no longer needed; after you buildOrigin and EA's DRM scheme is horrible. That aside, the game itself doesn't deliver on its promise. Total city size is *very* small. Traffic is badly bugged (police patrols, buses, and garbage trucks all move in a giant cluster rather than dispersed throughout your city). Simulation depth just isn't there after you build a high school, elementary schools no longer needed; after you build a university no other type of school required, period. Transportation options limited: no highway over/under-passes and no subways. And because it's multi-player mayors in neighboring towns can grief the entire region by building a high-crime, high-pollution town and there is nothing you can do about it. Watch as your budget dives into the red because you are forced to build tons of police services to manage the criminals coming in from the other town. If you want to build huge cities go with CitiesXL or SimCity 4. If you like depth of simulation go with Tropico 4. This product just doesn't deliver on either level, imho.… Expand
  35. Master_V
    Mar 30, 2013
    1
    EA broke SimCity.
    EA requires you to be online to play this game. Not that it is needed by the game itself, hackers have shown that to be unneccessary; The game can be hacked to work locally. Of course this DRM breaks the game in many senses. To ease the load off the servers they have restricted the speeds you can set for your cities. They have restricted map sizes to tiny areas and in    EA broke SimCity.
    EA requires you to be online to play this game. Not that it is needed by the game itself, hackers have shown that to be unneccessary; The game can be hacked to work locally. Of course this DRM breaks the game in many senses. To ease the load off the servers they have restricted the speeds you can set for your cities. They have restricted map sizes to tiny areas and in addition the servers are quite unstable, so you'll be kicked out from time to time. Randomly.

    Sadly, it's not only the demand for internet connectivity. The game itself has problems. You can experience that your ambulances drive in circles instead of ever getting to patients or the hospital, whichever is the case. All of your fire trucks may respond to the same fire at the same time, even if there are multiple fires. Police cars respond poorly too. And all of them stop on red lights.
    Furthermore the economics must have been made by a republican and a tea party member with a libertarian boss who all decided that hey, expensive public services are cool, but no-one should pay a dime for it. By which I mean the tax system is nonsensical. The taxation is normally flat, unless you build a special attachment to your city hall, but raise taxes above 9 or 10% and the people go bananas. The price of public services you MUST have though is so high you can't easily manage to provide the services the public demands.
    Mind you these are just a few of many issues. I cannot possibly cover them all in this review. Therefore, in conclusion:

    Avoid this game. It is not worth it. I know the graphics are worse in SimCity 2000, but despite being made in the mid nineties it is a much much better game.    … Expand
  36. Ozelot
    Mar 30, 2013
    0
    Its not worth to play. You are not able to connect to a server and if you lose connection because the server crashed (which happens a lot) you'll will lose your work of hours. The glassbox engine is a fail and the game is not realistic. The map is way to small and you will finish this game in 2 hours because your map is full. In 1-2 years EA shuts down the servers and you wil not be ableIts not worth to play. You are not able to connect to a server and if you lose connection because the server crashed (which happens a lot) you'll will lose your work of hours. The glassbox engine is a fail and the game is not realistic. The map is way to small and you will finish this game in 2 hours because your map is full. In 1-2 years EA shuts down the servers and you wil not be able to play anymore because of the DRM. Do not buy this game!… Expand
  37. douchette
    Mar 29, 2013
    0
    I'm going to ignore the big and obvious issues. Once I was able to log in and actually play the game for a few consistent hours, I start to notice a few major flaws. The cities are tiny, and the AI is HORRIBLE. Compared to the last title in the series, the city boundaries you are given in this game is tiny. It's done to convince players to use their broken online play and attempt toI'm going to ignore the big and obvious issues. Once I was able to log in and actually play the game for a few consistent hours, I start to notice a few major flaws. The cities are tiny, and the AI is HORRIBLE. Compared to the last title in the series, the city boundaries you are given in this game is tiny. It's done to convince players to use their broken online play and attempt to cooperate with your griefer neighbors in your public region. The AI in this game is completely stupid. Your citizens will ALL take a tiny dirt road over a 6-lane avenue if it means the path is shorter by ANY distance. My city with 4 fire halls managed to have a whole block burn down because all 6 of my firetrucks were doing a Congo line clogged up responding to the SAME fire on the other end of the city. Why does the game send all my firetrucks to the same fire? I don't know. This is the same for all emergency services. The citizens going to work all behave the same way too! They wake up in the morning, and head to the CLOSEST workplace to them! Not the one they've worked the day before, but just the closest. If one work place is closer to your residential area than the rest of all your workplaces, then that place is going to have a massive traffic jam every morning. Same thing applies for the evening commute. Online reviews can claim that you just have to plan and build your city with those AI restrictions in mind, and I ask them, why do I have to build a city that only functions properly given some weird AI programming made by a supposed city simulation game? Should be called "SimAlternateuniversewithweirdrulescity". Avoid this game at all costs. These problems can't even be fixed one year past release, stick with the last Simcity, which should be $20 DRM-free.… Expand
  38. JohnnyPark
    Mar 29, 2013
    4
    Don't bother purchasing this game. It's been over 3 weeks, and core features of the game (filters for joining multiplayer, cheetah speed, global trading) are either disabled or not working properly. As a supposed "multiplayer" game, there is very little, if any opportunity to play with others outside your own friends list. Beyond the launch problems (which were immensely frustrating), theDon't bother purchasing this game. It's been over 3 weeks, and core features of the game (filters for joining multiplayer, cheetah speed, global trading) are either disabled or not working properly. As a supposed "multiplayer" game, there is very little, if any opportunity to play with others outside your own friends list. Beyond the launch problems (which were immensely frustrating), the game feels too simple to have any longevity. Small city spaces fill up quick, and populations stop growing either because of the small space, or the broken traffic. The only redeeming quality of the game is that it looks beautiful. But again, a game that looks nice and plays like dirt, is not a game you should play.… Expand
  39. TheUnbeholden
    Mar 29, 2013
    1
    it requires a constant internet connection AND origin. Nuff said.
    I don't care if a million critics hail as game of the year or game of the god damn universe. The day draconian DRM gets this entangled into my computer is the day I pretty much put CCTV camera's into my house, bend over and accept minimum wage back breaking work for the rest of my natural born life. Or more realistically    it requires a constant internet connection AND origin. Nuff said.
    I don't care if a million critics hail as game of the year or game of the god damn universe. The day draconian DRM gets this entangled into my computer is the day I pretty much put CCTV camera's into my house, bend over and accept minimum wage back breaking work for the rest of my natural born life. Or more realistically HAVE A STABLE CONSTANT INTERNET CONNECTION which only 30% of the population of America has. I'm not going to argue against EA because they can probably buy out or black mail anyone who speaks against it in the professional review world & I haven't said anything has already been said by millions of other people. To hell with EA & their stupid logic for treating everyone like criminals & hurting only their customers.    … Expand
  40. PanzerBabe
    Mar 28, 2013
    0
    Lets get one thing straight about this game-- you're not actually "buying" it. You are paying 60-40 dollars to "lease" it. 40-60 dollars for the right to use it when EA sees fit. Hopefully you will not get banned by EA for trying to mod it, and hopefully the servers are up from now until kingdom come --otherwise once those servers are down you will never be able to play this game everLets get one thing straight about this game-- you're not actually "buying" it. You are paying 60-40 dollars to "lease" it. 40-60 dollars for the right to use it when EA sees fit. Hopefully you will not get banned by EA for trying to mod it, and hopefully the servers are up from now until kingdom come --otherwise once those servers are down you will never be able to play this game ever again.

    "Please EA, oh pretty please, can I play the game I paid you 60 dollars for, please! I'm sorry my internet connection isn't stable, but I promise you it's not my fault, honest!" ---DONT LET THIS BE YOU. JUST SAY NO TO INVASIVE DRM    … Expand
  41. oshaylinux
    Mar 28, 2013
    0
    Forced Origin always online cant mod it. Too many DRM requirnments. This game is a prime example of what happens when the pub/dev think it's more important than those who buy it.
  42. Areyon
    Mar 28, 2013
    10
    A great game. I love the graphics and the play style. I don't know why people are saying the servers are always down when I've had no trouble with them. Plus you get a free EA game.
  43. Nexus2132
    Mar 27, 2013
    8
    Alright I'm not someone who is going to say "This is the best game ever, and all you people who dislike it are idiots!" However this latest SimCity title is what I would consider to be a fantastic game. Yes it is more of a business game rather than what some would call the "true" SimCity, but there is so much game behind this that its worth every penny. The fact that your Sims actuallyAlright I'm not someone who is going to say "This is the best game ever, and all you people who dislike it are idiots!" However this latest SimCity title is what I would consider to be a fantastic game. Yes it is more of a business game rather than what some would call the "true" SimCity, but there is so much game behind this that its worth every penny. The fact that your Sims actually have their own desires, wants, and needs makes the world live and breathe. This is one of the single best simulation games available to date, regardless of whether or not Hardcore fans agree with that statement. Its defiantly worth buying and with the updates in place its hard to find reasons not to. Don't listen to the hate train, this is a great game. Do yourself a favour and pick this one up.… Expand
  44. X0R
    Mar 27, 2013
    3
    Lots of negative reviews here, so I won't go through this with a new microscope. Overall, it's been a very disappointing experience so far. Previous Simcity versions were great for the times they were developed in IMHO I really thought they were going to release something very special and amazing for 2013. Outside of the lame reasons to use server DRM instead of something similar butLots of negative reviews here, so I won't go through this with a new microscope. Overall, it's been a very disappointing experience so far. Previous Simcity versions were great for the times they were developed in IMHO I really thought they were going to release something very special and amazing for 2013. Outside of the lame reasons to use server DRM instead of something similar but more functional. The frequent downtime and overall bugginess is awful. I read that one of the developers said something to the effect that this has MMO components. Where? For example, I created an instance but you can't find it when browsing player cities. After a day or two, the game is now boring to me.… Expand
  45. kevtheobald
    Mar 27, 2013
    1
    I had a nice long review written, but their servers had an error and it was lost. Here is the short version. EA is using a DRM which requires you to always be online to play. You cannot save a game locally on your computer. That means if you drop your connection, you lost your city. They do not allow you to turn off disaster mode and the game has little to no challenge to it. The only goodI had a nice long review written, but their servers had an error and it was lost. Here is the short version. EA is using a DRM which requires you to always be online to play. You cannot save a game locally on your computer. That means if you drop your connection, you lost your city. They do not allow you to turn off disaster mode and the game has little to no challenge to it. The only good thing is the game is pretty. Avoid this game and you will avoid many headaches.… Expand
  46. 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
  47. 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
  48. BakaGamer
    Mar 26, 2013
    1
    I for one do not condone pirating or anything but for this game it is a great idea. Why? The hackers have actually made an offline version of it! So after purchasing this game and unable to play it and finding out hackers have made an offline version of it I went and pirated the damn thing. Yeah that's right I bought a game and had to go pirate it... makes ****ing sense! There is nothingI for one do not condone pirating or anything but for this game it is a great idea. Why? The hackers have actually made an offline version of it! So after purchasing this game and unable to play it and finding out hackers have made an offline version of it I went and pirated the damn thing. Yeah that's right I bought a game and had to go pirate it... makes ****ing sense! There is nothing in this game that truly stands out. Honestly it feels like a repolish of the old Sim City games. The cities are smaller, the servers are broken, and the gameplay is unchanged. This game is not worth your time or money. I can't think of one good thing in this game that isn't already in the other Sim City games. This gets a 1 out of 10 because the graphics are improved. Otherwise without that it's a damn 0. Avoid this at all cost. If you must play it pirate it. In fact even if you do want to buy it I'd suggest you pirate it after to get the damn offline version so you can ****ing play it.… Expand
  49. ccwalpha
    Mar 26, 2013
    1
    So, i`m rewriting my review.
    After the server issues get fixed, i finally find the real problems with the game:
    Traffic problem cannot be solved after your city gets really big. The map size is awful (about 5 miles x 5 miles). There is no terraform tool Not only the map size is small but some terrains have another waste of space with rivers, sea and mountains. From time to time your    So, i`m rewriting my review.
    After the server issues get fixed, i finally find the real problems with the game:
    Traffic problem cannot be solved after your city gets really big.
    The map size is awful (about 5 miles x 5 miles).
    There is no terraform tool
    Not only the map size is small but some terrains have another waste of space with rivers, sea and mountains.
    From time to time your city is striked with disasters, and every town that i create a nuclear plant, the giant monster always attack and strikes right on my plant, wasting half my city.
    The zombies occupies almost all residencies, and you start losing money quick, because you have do demolish everything they infected, and you lost works, and your power plant stop working, and the caos begins....

    In other words: this is no simulation game, this is a very frustrate, small neighborhood simulator...    … Expand
  50. Sedwick
    Mar 26, 2013
    10
    Despite everyone complaining about server ques and such I have been able to log on instantly every time. I don not find the criticisms of this being a "single player game" because it's not; the game has been built around the concept of people in a region building cities and sharing (novel concept) their resources to complete challenges or construct great works. Everything about this gameDespite everyone complaining about server ques and such I have been able to log on instantly every time. I don not find the criticisms of this being a "single player game" because it's not; the game has been built around the concept of people in a region building cities and sharing (novel concept) their resources to complete challenges or construct great works. Everything about this game suggests a multiplayer game. When you set up your city in a region you rely on other cities for quicker city growth, electricity, water, supplies and in some cases, workers. I have played for about 10 hours so far and have had so much fun playing this. Yes, there is the odd graphical glitch and technical oddities but nothing worth me not buying this game. I think this game challenges the world to cooperate instead of competing to expand your city to the maximum which obviously the population is not able to cope with.

    10/10 EA! I also like the free copy of MOH:W That I got with the purchase!     … Expand
  51. Gayfish
    Mar 26, 2013
    0
    This game is terrible I don't recommend it to anyone. Any game with always-online DRM should be avoided at all costs, it never works out and just frustrates the customers. I shouldn't be forced to be online to play a SINGLE player game!!! And the max size of the city is way too small. Go play SimCity 4 or 3000 they're much better than this steaming pile.
  52. canie
    Mar 26, 2013
    1
    I bought this game about 1½ week after launch, I've not had many server issues, but I have had other issues. My city with 100.000 citizens only has about 10.000 workers and about 3000 students, what do the other 87.000 do all day? The lack of workers means that big cities don't generate much income compared to the cost of having hospitals, public transport etc. for 100.000 people.
    The    I bought this game about 1½ week after launch, I've not had many server issues, but I have had other issues. My city with 100.000 citizens only has about 10.000 workers and about 3000 students, what do the other 87.000 do all day? The lack of workers means that big cities don't generate much income compared to the cost of having hospitals, public transport etc. for 100.000 people.
    The traffic is terrible, really terrible, I can't get it flowing in spite of having many buses and streetcars.    … Expand
  53. DDKain
    Mar 26, 2013
    2
    Many bugs, crashed savegames 'cause of server issues, a non-balanced gameplay. Less functions, options building space and buildings than you have sim city 4.
  54. smk123
    Mar 26, 2013
    6
    I'm not going to bother talking about DRM if you don't like DRM, don't buy it, simple as that. The game is very enjoyable for the first couple of hours, things move at a steady pace, it is challenging finding a perfect balance within all the different functions. Hell I even like the region system, I think necessitating trade between cities within a region is a fantastic idea, I know it'sI'm not going to bother talking about DRM if you don't like DRM, don't buy it, simple as that. The game is very enjoyable for the first couple of hours, things move at a steady pace, it is challenging finding a perfect balance within all the different functions. Hell I even like the region system, I think necessitating trade between cities within a region is a fantastic idea, I know it's not meant to replicate real life but logically one city can't be the jack of all trades, and this reliance on trade adds a layer of realism that I admire. The art style is also very easy on the eyes and I much prefer it to the previous simcity games. However my major gripe; the city size. You max out your city size a LOT quicker than would be expected, and until this issue is addressed I can't give the game more than a 6. If city size was expanded to similar levels from previous entries in the series I could easily give this game an 8, it's a lot of fun, but due to the size limitations you'll find yourself making new city after new city as opposed to nurturing one city you can truly be proud of.… Expand
  55. t847275
    Mar 26, 2013
    4
    Keep loosing my cities.. files corrupt or can't find the city The game is ok but i'm tired to restart city again and again because they can't save it correctly. Last one was a city with 53 mil and 24hr of work... seriously that not supose to happen with a game from EA and for a nice 80$ game.
  56. Jaypanwan
    Mar 26, 2013
    0
    Games is buggy in so many ways. No motivation to play this game after a few hours. when you realise all the bugs there is no more fun to play. Lost money.
  57. violentj
    Mar 26, 2013
    0
    Wow, I'm so glad that I decided not to buy this game. I pre-ordered it from Amazon and tried out the beta, but after my test run, I was not compelled to keep my order. My initial impressions were the same as all those highlighted by most reviewers here. That is...

    1) Small city size and severely decreased regional flexibility, 2) Forced online play for a single player game, and 3) A    Wow, I'm so glad that I decided not to buy this game. I pre-ordered it from Amazon and tried out the beta, but after my test run, I was not compelled to keep my order. My initial impressions were the same as all those highlighted by most reviewers here. That is...

    1) Small city size and severely decreased regional flexibility, 2) Forced online play for a single player game, and
    3) A dumbed down experience overall.

    I guess not much has changed from the beta. The funny thing is that I saw tons of reviews echoing these complaints in the beta forums, yet EA has completely ignored feedback from their customers. How stupid can you be? And look at the difference between the user reviews and the critic reviews! It just goes to show that all these "critics" are completely worthless and full of crap. I truly mourn for all those who suffered the loss of $60 for this game. It's nothing short of a tragedy.    … Expand
  58. BigTex
    Mar 25, 2013
    9
    I think most of the negative reviews are from: A) people complaining about the DRM because they can't steal the game; B) people who were very disappointed by the initial release server problems; C) people who are disappointed that the game isn't the same as previous releases of the franchise and D) people who hate EA, it's corporate model, and everything else about the big distributors.I think most of the negative reviews are from: A) people complaining about the DRM because they can't steal the game; B) people who were very disappointed by the initial release server problems; C) people who are disappointed that the game isn't the same as previous releases of the franchise and D) people who hate EA, it's corporate model, and everything else about the big distributors. Pirates, too bad it's much harder to get for free. The server problems are being fixed. It's a new game which you should have recognized from all of the pre-release information available. EA is EA, like them or hate them it's your prerogative. The game is beautiful and fun. The multi-player experience adds an entirely new depth of dealing with other people for materials and goods. Being older than the average poster here, I have played the entire franchise since the original Sim City. I think this version, while not perfect, is a worthy successor to the lineage. And that's my two cents.… Expand
  59. Pozz
    Mar 25, 2013
    4
    Not taking into accounts the server issues at launch SimCity has a number of gameplay issues. Fans of the prior series might discover the entire base upon which the simulation is created suffers from design issues. Entire cities can be created without the need of anything but residential areas and the most basic of needs covered. While most of us wouldn't find enjoyment in merely plantingNot taking into accounts the server issues at launch SimCity has a number of gameplay issues. Fans of the prior series might discover the entire base upon which the simulation is created suffers from design issues. Entire cities can be created without the need of anything but residential areas and the most basic of needs covered. While most of us wouldn't find enjoyment in merely planting residences and let time go, this shows a game broken in the very core. The fact the simulation design allows people to move in, be happy and improve their houses in cities with no jobs and no shopping ripples throughout the game experience. The areas of which you can build your cities is pre-made and compared to earlier SimCitys the area is very limited in size. This is a part of the multiplayer aspect Maxis invisioned. The option for a multiplayer in a SimCity game is in this reader's eyes a great evolution, if not for a few things: The multiplayer part is not really an 'option'. To get the maximum efficiency from your city, it needs to co-operate with other cities. Sure enough you can build multiple cities yourself, but as each is paused when you leave it, there'll never be a feel of a real flow between the cities. Another issue is the interaction between the cities is unimaginary, limited in such ways you can't even decide how much, if or at which price you want to sell the goods you got in excess. It happens at a preset price as soon as someone clicks "buy" in regional view. This is if it even works through the seemingly limitless amounts of bugs with inter-city relations. Perhaps the worst part about the multiplayer 'option' is the way it was used as an excuse of forcing you to be constantly logged in to their game servers. Not only does this force you to be connected to the internet constantly, which most of us are anyways, but it forces us to rely on servers being available. 'A small server crash is not an issue, go do something else' you might say, and yes, I can do that now, but what happens in a number of year's time when SimCity isn't worth keeping around any more? If servers then get shut down, we're left with a product we can't even use any more. When through with all these issues and bugs you're left with a beautyful game and at times a good amount of humor. Who here wouldn't love to shop at "Lead Paint and Baby Oil" for instance? There seems to be a little Maxis soul left in there in the details, but overall the game feels rushed, the old fans forgotten and most of all give you the sense of being 'victim' to a quick moneygrab based on old feelings toward the brand. For experienced and long term SimCity players, the issues in the basic design will most likely come as a huge problem, same would most likely go for the restricted space offered. Personally I wouldn't advice anyone to buy the game till it's on sale at half off, the quality of the game is simply closer to a $30 game, if even that. The most frustrating thing is that I'm not only giving SimCity a low score, I am giving the future of the brand the same low score. Based on a broken design, a bugged game, visions that might've been good but where the execution failed and a raped brand, which only redeeming qualities are the humor and the beautyful graphics I'll give it a 4. Pozz...… Expand
  60. 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
  61. omgitsphil
    Mar 25, 2013
    0
    This game has about a 4hour max play time. Once you get your city up and running it will come crashing to a hault from glitches/bugs or as Maxis calls it 'by design' errors. Traffic jams up. Which effects everything from Firetrucks responding to fires, trucks delivering goods, people going to work. You don't even need to try to play the game. Just build a city with only low wealth highThis game has about a 4hour max play time. Once you get your city up and running it will come crashing to a hault from glitches/bugs or as Maxis calls it 'by design' errors. Traffic jams up. Which effects everything from Firetrucks responding to fires, trucks delivering goods, people going to work. You don't even need to try to play the game. Just build a city with only low wealth high density residential. You don't even need to provide them with power or water. They will just keep moving in. I for one will never purchase another EA product or online only game for that matter.… Expand
  62. aMaG1CaLmAnG1Na
    Mar 25, 2013
    1
    There were initial server issues which to me were made up for by getting a free copy of Dead Space 3 (or one of the other options). The only issue is after a few days of being able to get on and actually play the game got boring, and fast. There are so many glitches and issues (multiple trading depots too close keeps them from working, poor traffic flow, etc,) it makes the gameThere were initial server issues which to me were made up for by getting a free copy of Dead Space 3 (or one of the other options). The only issue is after a few days of being able to get on and actually play the game got boring, and fast. There are so many glitches and issues (multiple trading depots too close keeps them from working, poor traffic flow, etc,) it makes the game frustrating. Add on top of that the fact that the city areas are so small by the time you have your power plant, sewage, water, garbage, city hall, police, fire, hospital, elementary, high school, college and residential you have used 70% of the space. Now try to build enough mining, refining, smelting, trade depots etc. and you are completely out of room. The game FORCES you to have multiple cities and rely on the region, which seriously takes a lot of the fun out of it. I bought the game with 3 friends on release day to all play together, we are all over it already and regret the purchase.… Expand
  63. sturmtiger
    Mar 25, 2013
    0
    I was very excited when I saw that SimCity was going to be made. After my purchase I am yet another that will not spend another dollar for E.A. games. This game is little more than a screensaver. There are so many bugs I couldn't begin to list them all here. This is the only game I have ever felt warranted warning others NOT to spend money on. It is simply the worst game I have everI was very excited when I saw that SimCity was going to be made. After my purchase I am yet another that will not spend another dollar for E.A. games. This game is little more than a screensaver. There are so many bugs I couldn't begin to list them all here. This is the only game I have ever felt warranted warning others NOT to spend money on. It is simply the worst game I have ever purchased. Save your money this thing is a real turd.… Expand
  64. beeper917
    Mar 25, 2013
    0
    I preordered the game direct from Origin. What a mistake! Never preordering again.

    The always online and server issues have been harped on to death. That aside: This game is ridiculously bad!!! To call it a game is being generous. The core of a SimCity game isn't even here. RCI doesn't function at all. You can build a city with no water, power, police, etc., zone ONLY RESIDENTIAL and    I preordered the game direct from Origin. What a mistake! Never preordering again.

    The always online and server issues have been harped on to death. That aside:

    This game is ridiculously bad!!! To call it a game is being generous. The core of a SimCity game isn't even here. RCI doesn't function at all. You can build a city with no water, power, police, etc., zone ONLY RESIDENTIAL and as long as taxes are low you'll have a 500k city with top approval ratings. This isn't the only issue the game has. There's a metric ton of bugs, but I thought this was most relevant as the bugs may get fixed but this seems to be a bad design decision.

    This isn't a game, it's a screensaver. Don't waste your money. Biggest gaming flop since E.T.    … Expand
  65. netpunkradio
    Mar 25, 2013
    0
    This game is nowhere near what was advertised. Even with all the launch issues and DRM issues aside, it's just not what was advertised. The connectivity of the cities (the whole reason they used for DRM) just doesn't exist, the interaction is not noticeable at all.

    On a purely simulation standpoint... there is no simulation... zoning purely residential still results in your city    This game is nowhere near what was advertised. Even with all the launch issues and DRM issues aside, it's just not what was advertised. The connectivity of the cities (the whole reason they used for DRM) just doesn't exist, the interaction is not noticeable at all.

    On a purely simulation standpoint... there is no simulation... zoning purely residential still results in your city flourishing. You can build 5-6 medical clinics and still only cure 23 out of 50 sick people... the same as if you had just a single clinic.

    The specialty buildings are just as limited if not more limited than they were in prior titles. The buildings that had unique pro's and con's to them that dramatically altered your city. Now they are dumbed down into categories that don't even work.

    In the end I should've known better, EA keeps putting out unfinished or unpolished products and people still buy them. I'm really disappointed and if I could get my money back I would.    … Expand
  66. RazgrizG
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    For a game that suppose to be primary SP playing game, it has to be consistently online. The result of such idiotic method is that whenever the sever the game connected to becomes unstable or overload, (which it had happen within hours of the lunch of the game,) you will be completely locked out from playing the game. Maxis has claim that DRM is needed because that every single Sims in theFor a game that suppose to be primary SP playing game, it has to be consistently online. The result of such idiotic method is that whenever the sever the game connected to becomes unstable or overload, (which it had happen within hours of the lunch of the game,) you will be completely locked out from playing the game. Maxis has claim that DRM is needed because that every single Sims in the game has its individual goal and movement, and as a result, it needs not only your computer but also cloud sever to share the processing power. Now as we all know that reason is completely rubbish. What EA and Maxis did is they wanted to protect its game from being hack, at all cost, at player's cost. And within few weeks of the release of the game, the game got hacked regardless of such self-fish measure. So what does all it mean? Well, in short, it means that when you buy this game, which I stupidly did, you bought a game that suppose to be SP but can't really because you need to go online to play it even if you just want to play it alone. it means you have to rely that Maxis or EA to keep those sever go on as time goes by. And that means if EA wants to cheap out( which they always do) they might shut off the sever and you end up paying 90 bucks for a game that might only last few years. In a more detail, the city size is limited, in your map, you are force to choose the reset areas, which is unheard of for a sandbox creative game. And on top of that, the boarder between city is idiotic, simply because it left so much space you can see but you couldn't use. Transport system is totally junk, All bus go into the same direction, same as street cart. On top of that, you only have few choice for transportation system, unlike in simcity 4. No highway, you only have one exit point toward the rest of the region because every map is reset. No highway. You can't really play SP on this game because if you don't have another player playing within the region, you can't do trades. You can have two city building at the same time in the same region, but they don't update, so you can't send support between two city. So basically they turn a suppose primary SP game into a MP game. For 90 bucks to buy a broken game, I think I am very kind to give it a 0. If I have a choice, I would give it a minus 10… Expand
  67. CatinHat
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    Not a sim nor a city building game. They dropped the ball on this game. Way too many bugs and server issues. They devs even tweeted they have no idea how their own game works. http://i.imgur.com/0Qbreq3.jpg

    This was my first SimCity game and last SimCity game.
  68. MtaWrldPc
    Mar 24, 2013
    3
    I have enjoyed several of the previous SimCity games (original SimCity, 2K& 3K). I downloaded the game this weekend, hoping the server startup issues had passed. I spent 24 hours with it this weekend, so I have a pretty good feel for it. I will list the major problems I feel are still there at this time.

    (1) The first thing that hit me was the horrible user interface to select a    I have enjoyed several of the previous SimCity games (original SimCity, 2K& 3K). I downloaded the game this weekend, hoping the server startup issues had passed. I spent 24 hours with it this weekend, so I have a pretty good feel for it. I will list the major problems I feel are still there at this time.

    (1) The first thing that hit me was the horrible user interface to select a server. Selecting a server (East 1, etc., is not based on any actual information). Once in the game menu, it is very difficult to find a game. (2) The second and most major issue I have is that I couldn't get a multiplayer game to work. I am not sure if they disconnected the multiplayer functionality, but I was not able to find any active games to join, despite trying for quite a while. (Sorry, I don't have friends who were up for a weekend of SimCity, and I certainly wouldn't recommend that anyone else purchase the game.) (3) So, I just played solo and built multiple cities, switching back and forth which is my next issue with the game, also not a significant. The regional interactions are not very smooth, which I would say is my next issue with the game. This is necessary b/c the maps are to small to have a complete city in one. I think having smaller, specialized cities could be fun, (e.g. one city has as powerplant, the next city has sewer/water, mining, oil, etc.) except the interactions are messy and quite frankly don't seem to work. i.e. I have one city with ample sewage treatement for 4 cities and it doesn't work for the neighboring 2 cities. I was unclear if any of the statistics or trade options are accurate or beneficial. (4) A MAJOR problem: the in-game crashes. In 24 hrs of play I had about a 15 lock ups, error messages, and even a couple "blue screens." Most of these issues resulted in loss of my progress. I have a pretty nice desktop, and I have not had issues with any other games.

    (5) There are a lot of little bugs and annoyences within the game. It is hard to figure out how to plot things out, as just a fraction of a box can cause you to redo expensive building. The budget doesn't account for the trade income, for some reason, making it very unpredictable to budget. Some of the improvements that are costly (e.g. trade buildings) seem to not help at all.

    I would say the graphics are the best of any SimCity game and are pretty impressive. If nothing else, the engine has promise to create a good game in the future. None of the previous SimCities were perfect, but this one has way too many bugs. YOU MAY HEAR PEOPLE SUGGESTING THE PROBLEMES WILL BE PATCHED, BUT I DOUBT IT. If there was a good solution for the server issues I think they would have found it by now. As far as the user interface and in-game issues, it seems like most of the issues would take tons of man hours troubleshooting and rewriting the code. I would not recommend buying it unless you really want to see for yourself. I would at least wait until the price drops to less than $30.    … Expand
  69. myhooha
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    They should renamed this as SimTampa, since that's the closest you'll get to creating a city. Shame on you EA and Maxis, for allowing this to happen.
  70. Adhikm
    Mar 24, 2013
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It ridiculous that EA dont want to hear us as their customer. The original habits of Simcity are offline, easy to safe the games, user can act as god who able to create their own land contour and the city should large or huge. But this Simcity 2013 is far from those features.
    1. I always have to connect to internet (and the server sometimes are full)
    2. The server cannot synch our files to other alternative servers they offer (It so shame)
    3. The synch between the games and server only when we out from the games (imagine if it crash after we play for 4 hours, which is always happened)
    4. The city is so small, dont event thinking to have Hi way surround the city... the area more like a village rather than a city.
    5. Crash while gameplay, and after that... even though have a feature Roll Back but still the city cannot be open. I have report this to EA and no solution until now.
    6. The AI of traffic, dump truck route and bus are even worse

    Plus point of this games is only graphics.    … Expand
  71. Limonka
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    Too bad they sold (and released) an alpha with a broken DRM system.

    Even if you ignore the overly stupid, useless and idiotic DRM, the game doesn't stand on its own: they haven't made a proper AI for each element of the game, many parts of the game logic/mechanisms aren't even fully implemented and finished. That product needed 6 to 12 more months (at least) to be finished, but    Too bad they sold (and released) an alpha with a broken DRM system.

    Even if you ignore the overly stupid, useless and idiotic DRM, the game doesn't stand on its own: they haven't made a proper AI for each element of the game, many parts of the game logic/mechanisms aren't even fully implemented and finished.

    That product needed 6 to 12 more months (at least) to be finished, but apparently EA just doesn't care.    … Expand
  72. N8_2
    Mar 24, 2013
    6
    Bought the game last week after patch #6 was released, so I wasn't exposed to the bugs people are talking about. Day 1 network issues are always expected with multiplayer games, but actual gameplay issues can't be ignored.

    This game is fun and addicting. It exercises your brain's creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking muscles. Lacks some of Sim City 4's functionality and    Bought the game last week after patch #6 was released, so I wasn't exposed to the bugs people are talking about. Day 1 network issues are always expected with multiplayer games, but actual gameplay issues can't be ignored.

    This game is fun and addicting. It exercises your brain's creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking muscles. Lacks some of Sim City 4's functionality and content (subways and city ordinances in particular) but trades it for nice graphics and multiplayer gameplay. The multiplayer is amazing, trading resources and services is actually meaningful. Makes the game worth it. The programming for traffic still needs a lot of work but is really only a problem in large, badly planned tourist cities. The current DLCs are worth $2 each, not $30. Lowered score for typical EA DRM/greed and beta status on game release from 8 to 6.    … Expand
  73. c0dem0nkey
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    It takes Ubisoft to learn that it just not worth having persistently connected games and deal with the potential customer backlash afterward. I've since wary of buying anything coming out of Ubisoft. I will stay out of EA too if this persist and vote with my money, until they learn
  74. luquinhass12
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    The size of the city is awful! It destroyed the entire game, not sure what was going on in the minds of developers to make that decision. Crazy? Who knows!!
  75. scradam
    Mar 24, 2013
    5
    At first, I gave it a 1 because it was unplayable. Then, I gave it an 8 once they gave me an extra free game and I was able to play for a day. Now, i can't play a single city for more than a day or two because of the recycling bug. This game is basically in the alpha or early beta stage of development. I doubt they will ever actually improve it enough to be an actual release worthyAt first, I gave it a 1 because it was unplayable. Then, I gave it an 8 once they gave me an extra free game and I was able to play for a day. Now, i can't play a single city for more than a day or two because of the recycling bug. This game is basically in the alpha or early beta stage of development. I doubt they will ever actually improve it enough to be an actual release worthy game. EA really really botched this game. It's botched so badly, it's impressive. … Expand
  76. Gandal13579
    Mar 24, 2013
    6
    I have a big problem with this EA Server for 2 weeks but now I downloaded free crack for Offline Mode so it's working great but other negative item is a small map of the city. If you want crack here it is http://penguinhackz.blogspot.com
  77. Tibster
    Mar 24, 2013
    1
    Another game that could have been sooo good, but ended up boring and lame......and its EA to blame !!

    I really wanted to like this game, but after som hours playing i dont feel like playing it anymore.

    Last game i'll ever preorder ever again
  78. sl5581
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    promised online features don't work until now (no rankings, region play full of errors)
    - tiny map sizes
    - dumped down difficulty (only problem is the fight against bugs) - no logic simulation recognizable (traffic ui terrible, sim behavior terrible, satisfaction system terrible) - less complexity than in sim city 4 (no water, electricity lines, no orders) - much less buildings     promised online features don't work until now (no rankings, region play full of errors)
    - tiny map sizes
    - dumped down difficulty (only problem is the fight against bugs)
    - no logic simulation recognizable (traffic ui terrible, sim behavior terrible, satisfaction system terrible)
    - less complexity than in sim city 4 (no water, electricity lines, no orders)
    - much less buildings diversity (no highways, trails, monorail, fusion power, toll system, one way street, metro, military base)
    - few statistics

    everything i liked in sc 2000/3000/4 has been canceled/dumped down DONT BUY    … Expand
  79. jwayner
    Mar 23, 2013
    5
    I've played SimCity for countless hours, a few of those hours where in beta. Of course, within the allotted beta time there wasn't a great ability to build a very large city that would have traffic problems. The game seamed great in beta but now that the full game is out, my entire opinion of this game has changed. Below are some areas of the game that I have a problem with. 1. TrafficI've played SimCity for countless hours, a few of those hours where in beta. Of course, within the allotted beta time there wasn't a great ability to build a very large city that would have traffic problems. The game seamed great in beta but now that the full game is out, my entire opinion of this game has changed. Below are some areas of the game that I have a problem with. 1. Traffic
    This is the biggest problem because it translates into many more problems, such as fires not being extinguished and criminals not being arrested. It also negatively effects tourist attractions and trade, garbage collection and other issues. Try plopping an airport and watch the masses of taxis pile up on your roads. Adding mass transit only seems to worsen the traffic problem and while the recent game update did help lighten traffic some, it wasn't enough to thoroughly enjoy the game more. Previous versions of SimCity offered one way streets, subway travel and the ability to connect cities with each other via highway and other methods. Can you think of many real cities that only has one road connecting it to the outside world? The game needs a complete do-over when it comes to transportation and regional connectivity. 2. City Size
    When it comes to the size of the city I would much rather be playing CityVille (a free Facebook game) which allows you to expand your city boundaries as you meet certain achievements. I spent $79 on my copy of SimCity (as did many of you) and I most certainly do not appreciate the relatively small city boundaries that are present in this game. Plop a municipal airport and expand a few wind or solar farms and then see how much space you have left.

    3. Others
    There are numerous bugs throughout the game and the only real way to bring it to Maxis's attention is to post in a forum, I'm not a big fan of forums, the game needs a built in form to submit bugs.
    The game doesn't have enough depth to it to keep me entertained for long, to be honest, if it weren't for the traffic problems I probably would have already got bored with it and quit anyways. For example, what is the most used utility besides electric and water (maybe even as much as those)? Cell phones! It looks like this neighborhood could use a cell tower! It looks like the city needs to contract with a cable provider. Simple additions like this would continue to make the game more entertaining.
    What happened to the ordinances? These little city laws that you could activate in SC4 made a world of difference on traffic, pollution, education, health and many other aspects of the game.
    Server issues appear to be a thing of the past and that's great but now it's time to focus on the overall game. I didn't want my review and thoughts of the game to be based on server issues so with those aside, I give the game a 5/10 rating. Since the game is fully a connected experience (which I'm perfectly okay with) I hope to see many improvements made but I think I'll wait awhile before I hop on the game again.    … Expand
  80. a9249
    Mar 23, 2013
    3
    -5 points for botching the launch. I couldn't play it for a week. That's just pathetic. It deserves an 8. I would give it a 10 [-5] but it feels like half the game is missing of which im sure will show up in 6 months for another 80 dollars and called an expansion pack.... which no-one will buy. good job EA. Also the clear attempt at micro-transactions is a giant FU to customers who dropped-5 points for botching the launch. I couldn't play it for a week. That's just pathetic. It deserves an 8. I would give it a 10 [-5] but it feels like half the game is missing of which im sure will show up in 6 months for another 80 dollars and called an expansion pack.... which no-one will buy. good job EA. Also the clear attempt at micro-transactions is a giant FU to customers who dropped huge amounts of money on this thing.… Expand
  81. Ripoz4200
    Mar 23, 2013
    0
    Please let this be a lesson to single player game devs. The marketplace does not want DRM. Please do not support Game Companies that are forcing us to have access to the internet to play a game. I love my ISP but I dont want to have to be connected to play a game I paid $60 for. EA sucks and so does DRM... Avoid both...
  82. hwextreme
    Mar 23, 2013
    3
    Too many bugs that frustrate you to make this game enjoyable. I have buildings that regularly close reporting they are without power even with 100MW of excess generation.
    Traffic chaos, car get stuck for days at junctions.
    Lack of workers seems to be a common issue above 200k population causing power stations, oil pumps and fire stations to close. Doesn't matter how many schools you    Too many bugs that frustrate you to make this game enjoyable. I have buildings that regularly close reporting they are without power even with 100MW of excess generation.
    Traffic chaos, car get stuck for days at junctions.
    Lack of workers seems to be a common issue above 200k population causing power stations, oil pumps and fire stations to close. Doesn't matter how many schools you have, even they sometimes close due to lack of workers     … Expand
  83. 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
  84. Nine
    Mar 23, 2013
    0
    My original review was 10, despite the huge problems at launch, the way DRM kill your cities one by one (unable to load, blank cities, and so on), the 1000000 bugs, and sooooo many others problems. You can't except a such work even with an alpha version. But well, the game looks to be a very good one. After 150 hours of play, I see now how there is no game at all. Just make a city full ofMy original review was 10, despite the huge problems at launch, the way DRM kill your cities one by one (unable to load, blank cities, and so on), the 1000000 bugs, and sooooo many others problems. You can't except a such work even with an alpha version. But well, the game looks to be a very good one. After 150 hours of play, I see now how there is no game at all. Just make a city full of residential zone and park and you win. This is the new SimCity, and this is definitly without me. THIS WHOLE GAME IS A SCAM, FROM START TO THE END.… Expand
  85. truckersanon
    Mar 23, 2013
    9
    Simcity is a great game, the city size is okay because you can control 5 or more regions, all linked up.
    The graphics are a bit simple and outdated, but the gameplay is awesome Simcity classicness with a network function for more fun.
    I do not like always online, costly dlc and drm, but hey, the game itself is 9 out of 10. Compared to other recent games in the genre, Simcity is clean    Simcity is a great game, the city size is okay because you can control 5 or more regions, all linked up.
    The graphics are a bit simple and outdated, but the gameplay is awesome Simcity classicness with a network function for more fun.

    I do not like always online, costly dlc and drm, but hey, the game itself is 9 out of 10.
    Compared to other recent games in the genre, Simcity is clean and works well.    … Expand
  86. HolyMackinaw
    Mar 22, 2013
    9
    This game is one that got me excited in the few months leading up to the release. I did not preorder the game because I only had a mac and found out the mac version was to come out later. I then got windows 8 the week the game came out and heard of the terrible launch issues. I still had faith in EA that they would solve the issues and the game would AT LEAST play as planned the day beforeThis game is one that got me excited in the few months leading up to the release. I did not preorder the game because I only had a mac and found out the mac version was to come out later. I then got windows 8 the week the game came out and heard of the terrible launch issues. I still had faith in EA that they would solve the issues and the game would AT LEAST play as planned the day before launch. I bought it the week after and ever since that day, its played just as I had expected it to play in the months leading up to launch. The game is great... period. What I don't like is that the size of the cities at first isn't a big deal but the more you play in your city, the more you wish you could expand it. DRM is something I don't mind AS LONG AS IT WORKS AND RUNS. That being said I give this game a 9...take my word for it, you will enjoy it. Its easy to hate on a game when you haven't tried it on your own.… Expand
  87. BobLennon
    Mar 22, 2013
    6
    I really do not understand all these people who are giving this game 0's 1's and 2's. Ok, the game has problems: Servers that malfunction, no subway, small maps (this decreased my grade of this game by 1).
    But the rest, is, Awesome. Wether your city is bad or really good you are, in the end, really proud of your result. Seeing huge buildings pop up in your city is just great. The game is    I really do not understand all these people who are giving this game 0's 1's and 2's. Ok, the game has problems: Servers that malfunction, no subway, small maps (this decreased my grade of this game by 1).
    But the rest, is, Awesome. Wether your city is bad or really good you are, in the end, really proud of your result. Seeing huge buildings pop up in your city is just great. The game is beautiful (eats up resources though), the road system is almost flawless and the new module concept is enjoyable (sometimes annoying though when you have allot of money and you have to put the modules 1 by 1 instead of having some button that makes that building automatically go at max), the game is challenging and finally it is NOT buggy at all. Depending on how much you are a fan of the series, you will probably, like me, get 20 hours of super fun on this game (for myself 27 with the beta). The problem here is that after that 20 hours, the game will start being boring, even when you take your time. The biggest reason for this is the repetitiveness of the cities. They really will look similar. A 6/10 seems like a justifiable result for this game. Simcity 4 is definitely better but this game is fresh anyway. and thanks Maxis for the free game.    … Expand
  88. usrevenge
    Mar 22, 2013
    0
    always online DRM means no servers no playing game didn't need it, they put it in there for no reason.

    can't share saves and you HAVE to save to their servers city sizes are terribly small, in fact you can probably build a bigger city in sim city 2000 which came out in like the 90's the AI is terrible, you will have fire fighters drive in circles or wait in traffic. it's stupid.    always online DRM means no servers no playing game didn't need it, they put it in there for no reason.

    can't share saves and you HAVE to save to their servers

    city sizes are terribly small, in fact you can probably build a bigger city in sim city 2000 which came out in like the 90's

    the AI is terrible, you will have fire fighters drive in circles or wait in traffic. it's stupid.

    if you want a real city builder, get cities XL, tropico 4, or go back and play sim city 4, if you support this game you don't support gaming.

    the 0 score is for not working, and the few times it lets you play, the gameplay is terrible.    … Expand
  89. dogshtally
    Mar 22, 2013
    0
    I'm a software tester by trade and an avid fan of Sim City games over the years. I feel deeply insulted by this game. It's clearly not fit for purpose. Even after patching up to the latest updates, performance is dreadful, there's zero resilience in the game it crashes. I've had to kill it twice from the task menu and both times my City's have ended up corrupted and lost. It runs like aI'm a software tester by trade and an avid fan of Sim City games over the years. I feel deeply insulted by this game. It's clearly not fit for purpose. Even after patching up to the latest updates, performance is dreadful, there's zero resilience in the game it crashes. I've had to kill it twice from the task menu and both times my City's have ended up corrupted and lost. It runs like a dog. Hype about the graphics and look and feel of the game is pathetic. I will NEVER buy an EA games again… Expand
  90. AFCA_FLORIS
    Mar 22, 2013
    5
    The detail and expandability of buildings are really cool in simcity. But, (in addition to the horrible servers,) I think that in the squares you can build your city in, there's nit enough space to build a big city. For example, in all of the cities i've build so far, there was a point where ididn't have enough space to expand my garbage dump, which results in all the citicens beingThe detail and expandability of buildings are really cool in simcity. But, (in addition to the horrible servers,) I think that in the squares you can build your city in, there's nit enough space to build a big city. For example, in all of the cities i've build so far, there was a point where ididn't have enough space to expand my garbage dump, which results in all the citicens being unhappy and complaining.… Expand
  91. PlatinumFlyTrap
    Mar 22, 2013
    7
    This would be a 7.5 if I could rate that.The cities are very small but depending on the region you choose can have multiple cities. These cities can interact but not as much as I expected. Disasters have to be unlocked in regular mode and all... well everything has to be built along roads. Online DRM was a problem at first but it's perfectly fine now except on very few occasions. CityThis would be a 7.5 if I could rate that.The cities are very small but depending on the region you choose can have multiple cities. These cities can interact but not as much as I expected. Disasters have to be unlocked in regular mode and all... well everything has to be built along roads. Online DRM was a problem at first but it's perfectly fine now except on very few occasions. City specialization is vague but it makes you need to make a decision. Pro stadiums and expo centers can make TONS of money and are really "overpowered" in a sense. It is fun and beautiful but has it's flaws game-play wise. I am sure mods will allow for larger cities but until then, have fun in your village.… Expand
  92. mp3774
    Mar 22, 2013
    10
    BEST GAME EVER MADE!!!
    I not just liked this game
    I LOVED IT
    The Servers work perfect nad the game is the best SimCity ever made since Sim City Societies (The Second best SimCity ever made)
  93. tk421storm
    Mar 22, 2013
    3
    When drm and server problems fade, the real weakness of the game shines through. Region lag is a continuing issue, and individual plots are way too small to accommodate any reasonably sized city. The AI is a joke, with traffic patterns driving you crazy. It'll take them a year or so to release the game they promised; if they don't give it to you for free, don't bother.
  94. Stumblebee
    Mar 22, 2013
    1
    The obviously glaring issue here is the forced DRM, which I'm sure you've realized by now that it's not even required. The whole "The game is multiplayer" excuse EA are giving is a lie, seeing as how many other multiplayer games show that a constant internet connection isn't needed.

    It's as simple as this EA want to force people to use Origin, simply to claim that people ACTUALLY use    The obviously glaring issue here is the forced DRM, which I'm sure you've realized by now that it's not even required. The whole "The game is multiplayer" excuse EA are giving is a lie, seeing as how many other multiplayer games show that a constant internet connection isn't needed.

    It's as simple as this EA want to force people to use Origin, simply to claim that people ACTUALLY use Origin, to use in their snazzy advertising campaigns that "Oh, 10 million people use Origin" when those 10 million people are forced to use Origin and more tha likely just use it to install their game and never buy anything from Origin at all.

    Honestly, you'd think with all the crap that EA have been getting, even to the fact that it forced the CEO to resign, that they'd stop stuff like DRM, DLC-mania and Microtransactions. What ever happened to make game, release game, get money? Rather than make game, try to grab more money, end up having lackluster sales, blame the developers?

    Anyways, rant aside and launch problems aside, this is essentially a $60 facebook game, it's SimCity Societies with snazzier graphics. I'd honestly recommend SimCity 4 to you guys anyways, better music, around the same graphics, more stuff to do, you can actually launch the game, plus it's like $14.00 on steam or something.

    Despite what people are saying, I don't think gaming is dead, I don't even think EA is dead, there's SOME glimmer now that the CEO's resigned and they got their largest kick in the ass so far, but I DO think gaming journalism is dead. Paid reviewers everywhere! Subjective journalism feuled by opinions everywhere!    … Expand
  95. childofmaxis
    Mar 22, 2013
    0
    I have played every Sim game since Sim Ant, except for all the Sims expansions and sequels. The main reason i have stopped playing these games is this; Will Wright no longer has any creative input on the Sim Anything franchise. It is a glom of the conglomerate of EA. This game advertised itself as the "winner of 27 awards" In the pre-release trailer. Winner of 27 awards? For what?I have played every Sim game since Sim Ant, except for all the Sims expansions and sequels. The main reason i have stopped playing these games is this; Will Wright no longer has any creative input on the Sim Anything franchise. It is a glom of the conglomerate of EA. This game advertised itself as the "winner of 27 awards" In the pre-release trailer. Winner of 27 awards? For what? Creating a tilt shift city viewer? This game is a dumbed down version of Sim City, think of it as a garden, where you can't actually kill anything, but you can make it look reeeal bad. I am going to play my copy of SimCity 2000, still the best one.… Expand
  96. jdh5153
    Mar 22, 2013
    10
    Don't believe the hate. This game works fine at this point, it looks great and is an absolute blast to play. If you like sim games, there's no reason you won't love the new Sim City. Interacting with a region is great fun and watching your city grow is just as fun as ever.

    Sim City is a must buy.
  97. Sarnokh
    Mar 22, 2013
    2
    The game is broken is almost every important aspect. Sure, I can imagine IF one day everything works, it could be a 8/10 candidate. But as it is, on two fronts the game is entirely broken. In the Agent System, and in the server/online feature.

    There have been plenty of reports how and why the agent system and the other ingame systems don't work. There is little I could add to what has    The game is broken is almost every important aspect. Sure, I can imagine IF one day everything works, it could be a 8/10 candidate. But as it is, on two fronts the game is entirely broken. In the Agent System, and in the server/online feature.

    There have been plenty of reports how and why the agent system and the other ingame systems don't work. There is little I could add to what has been said a 1000 times by now. Simply too many subsystems of the game do not work at all.

    But I could live with traffic issues, simlulation disparities, trash gathering... all of it, if the game would actually, physically work. Just it doesn't. I invested 2 days in a region, and suddenly the game went to the main screen, out of the blue, "Server crashed" and the entire savegame of the region was broken and I could never load it again. Then I started a new region, two specialized cities, I put DAYS of long, hard work into the cities and was proud to finally got them them running. Them BAM, the game forced me to the main menu, the city was RESET, and the hard work of DAYS was lost to me.

    I contacted EA support, but they could do nothing to reset my savegames, which were lost entirely due to their fault. So they have no backups, and they have no system to save the savegames on MY OWN computer for safety backup. I can really live with a lot of issues, but when days of work into a game are ruined, it is beyond any excuse. And for weeks this is so, and EA simply refuses to communicate with it's customers.

    I give 2 honorary points for the idea behind the game, but the game is at the moment ENTIRELY broken, unplayable and as it looks, the issues run so deep it will take months to enable a halfway working status.    … Expand
  98. Ahazy
    Mar 21, 2013
    0
    This is a very poor attempt at a simcity game. Not only can this game not be played offline, but it's riddled with bugs, design errors, and nazi style DRM. It looks like EA managed to destroy SimCity too, but I'm sure they will fix it with overpriced DLC. Count on it.
  99. marcolevo
    Mar 21, 2013
    0
    I'm very sad... I just want to play this game in single player whenever i want and I don't want to be always online. The size of the cities is very too small, this is frustrating and boring! Nice the simulation but not worth the price of the game. This is not the SimCity i knew...
  100. Zeusbot48
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    Seems like quite a fun game. However, after a night of play, the game informed me that my city was 'not processing properly' booted me back to the main menu and rolled my city back to the last good save, removing hours of work. The game will now not save any progress. If you are going to force cloud saving in the name of piracy prevention (let's not kid ourselves, what other possibleSeems like quite a fun game. However, after a night of play, the game informed me that my city was 'not processing properly' booted me back to the main menu and rolled my city back to the last good save, removing hours of work. The game will now not save any progress. If you are going to force cloud saving in the name of piracy prevention (let's not kid ourselves, what other possible reason could they have for this inconvenience) AT LEAST MAKE IT WORK PROPERLY.… Expand
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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]
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