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. 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.
  2. Gallant000
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    The game is great.

    The servers are however constantly down, rendering the game completely unplayable. Until that issue is rectified, then this is the best I can do. Had they actually taken the time to properly speculate on how much server space they would actually need, this game would be getting an 8 from me right now.
  3. PL3
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    critic review is just bullsh*t. DO NOT SPEND 60$ on this. The city is just TOO DAMN SMALL. Server always busy. Feel exaclty like the diablo syndrom. ANd the game just tell you what to do. you do it and that sit. We need more police car!! do it. done. We need more classroom!! do it. done. over and over again.
  4. montana
    Apr 9, 2013
    3
    MAP SIZE WTF!!!???

    The "always online" feature is painfull, but not as painfull as the map sizes. Gameplay is now extremely limited. What happened to sprawling cities where you build and manage big areas and you get to chose exactly where in this big area housing, industry, skyscrapers etc. goes?? Now you are confined to a bunch of small towns and freedom to design your dream city is    MAP SIZE WTF!!!???

    The "always online" feature is painfull, but not as painfull as the map sizes. Gameplay is now extremely limited. What happened to sprawling cities where you build and manage big areas and you get to chose exactly where in this big area housing, industry, skyscrapers etc. goes?? Now you are confined to a bunch of small towns and freedom to design your dream city is out the window!    … Expand
  5. fastica
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    It's Diablo 3 all over again, but this is worse, because SimCity always was a single player game and now it doesn't even have an option to play it offline. Also, the cities are extremely small, there is no terraforming, can't load a previous save (no experimentation), there is useless and unrealistic empty space between cities and lack of transportation options (no subways!). I hate you EAIt's Diablo 3 all over again, but this is worse, because SimCity always was a single player game and now it doesn't even have an option to play it offline. Also, the cities are extremely small, there is no terraforming, can't load a previous save (no experimentation), there is useless and unrealistic empty space between cities and lack of transportation options (no subways!). I hate you EA for ruining one of my favorite franchises.… Expand
  6. Rnadmo
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    SimCity is an amazing game. There's hours worth of challenges just getting the game installed and operating at a base level, then then later trying to get it to connect. Once you can actually get a region started, you might be able to actually start a city. Once you do start a city, the ACTUAL amazing game starts. And it is really good. Deserving of the name and the franchise. Until youSimCity is an amazing game. There's hours worth of challenges just getting the game installed and operating at a base level, then then later trying to get it to connect. Once you can actually get a region started, you might be able to actually start a city. Once you do start a city, the ACTUAL amazing game starts. And it is really good. Deserving of the name and the franchise. Until you try and save the game that is, which is when you'll notice that there is no manual save option. You have to trust that the game has managed to save your progress. Which is fine except it usually doesn't save anything. Anyway, this game doesn't work, don't buy it right now. Once it does actually work though, it's a great game.… Expand
  7. Niixx
    May 7, 2013
    3
    Almost 2 months after release and the game is still very broken. The first 10 or so hours is some of the most fun i've had, however after that the bugs show up and the rest of the time is spent fighting against the game mechanics or bugs (often almost impossible to tell the difference). Traffic is by far the worst and shows that basing the sims (people) off the same AI that runs theAlmost 2 months after release and the game is still very broken. The first 10 or so hours is some of the most fun i've had, however after that the bugs show up and the rest of the time is spent fighting against the game mechanics or bugs (often almost impossible to tell the difference). Traffic is by far the worst and shows that basing the sims (people) off the same AI that runs the sewage was a horrible mistake.

    Maybe with a few more MAJOR updates this game could pass as something more that a Farmville wanabe on Facebook... Great potential but very very poorly executed.    … Expand
  8. Bobbydylan
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Well this is frustrating, isn't it? That's the best description, I think, Frustration. Not because I'm suprised, or not because I cant get onto an online game on the launch day (or even week), thats to be expected these days. No, I'm frustrated that the game "needs" to be online in the first place. The online "requirement" adds nothing to the game that Option Multiplay wouldn't have done aWell this is frustrating, isn't it? That's the best description, I think, Frustration. Not because I'm suprised, or not because I cant get onto an online game on the launch day (or even week), thats to be expected these days. No, I'm frustrated that the game "needs" to be online in the first place. The online "requirement" adds nothing to the game that Option Multiplay wouldn't have done a million time better. It's something no body wanted stopping us playing a game we want to play. And now EA are trying removing Leaderboards and Achieviments and other online featurs that were sold to players as the reason we should love to be online. So now we're online (if your lucky enough to be online) for the sole reason of being online. If EA want me to be always online to play a game I paid £60 for, then they should be always online when I want to play it. http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee481/Bobbydyland/Simcity_zps7799c437.png… Expand
  9. Dogfish
    Mar 13, 2013
    3
    I bought this game as the servers began to stabilize, hoping to have a good experience now that the game is supposed to be playable. Boy was that a mistake.

    This game is very broken right now. None of the advisers work right, telling you to zone the wrong things and build the wrong things. None of the indicators work right. I have filled my city with fire departments and hospitals, with    I bought this game as the servers began to stabilize, hoping to have a good experience now that the game is supposed to be playable. Boy was that a mistake.

    This game is very broken right now. None of the advisers work right, telling you to zone the wrong things and build the wrong things. None of the indicators work right. I have filled my city with fire departments and hospitals, with max coverage over every inch of the city. I'm still being yelled at by my Sims for not having enough fire/medical coverage. I have three police stations and I'm being yelled at about crime levels. I have two grade schools, a high school, a community college, a university, and a library... yep, I'm being yelled at for not having any education. I have plenty of citizens and plenty of jobs, but the citizens complain about unemployment and the businesses complain about no workers. The search function to find a region to play in does not work. This game is horribly horribly broken and I am going to seek a refund immediately. Please do not waste your money!    … Expand
  10. 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
  11. drakinor
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    The game itself is actually pretty decent. The simulation runs nicely, the graphics are good, the devs did a great job on the game. The delivery and DRM is killing it though. I think most players feel like they are being teased by EA since in 3 days it has spent more time offline causing issues than actually allowing people to play. I would rate it better but the fact is the Digital RightsThe game itself is actually pretty decent. The simulation runs nicely, the graphics are good, the devs did a great job on the game. The delivery and DRM is killing it though. I think most players feel like they are being teased by EA since in 3 days it has spent more time offline causing issues than actually allowing people to play. I would rate it better but the fact is the Digital Rights Management that EA has forced on us is causing so many issues that they ruined a game that would otherwise be a 7 or 8… Expand
  12. medv4380
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    If the game had an Offline Option after logging in like SC2 had then it wouldn't be that bad of a game. The basic problem this model has is that in the long term you only provision for 20% of your users being online at any one point in time. However, during launch that's not exactly the case. You can easily have 80% or more logging in all at the same time. Without an offline mode toIf the game had an Offline Option after logging in like SC2 had then it wouldn't be that bad of a game. The basic problem this model has is that in the long term you only provision for 20% of your users being online at any one point in time. However, during launch that's not exactly the case. You can easily have 80% or more logging in all at the same time. Without an offline mode to release the stress of everyone logging in you end up with people taking the day off to play and being justifiably upset that they can't even start-up the game. The tutorial could have and should have been an offline option. It would have made it so that people could have a taste of the game without hammering the servers all at once. This model also requires the servers to be up-to-date. If you were able to get on last night and then later this morning you may have found yourself faced with a forced tutorial button that you weren't last night. This is clearly due to the servers being on a different version of the software. The is the most likely cause of game corruptions this morning. A 60$ franchise title is not the time or place to test out new strategies. You should know this will work long before you launch. Instead we're faced with inexperienced admins who didn't know to keep the servers up to date for launch or to turn them Off if they were on the wrong version. This is stuff you only learn with experience, and Sim City was not the time or place to get that experience. This tells me that they're using an Ad-Hoc methodology, and we should expect more hiccups as long as they insist on an instant roll-out of updates and not have the server go though some burn time to make sure it works first. For Single Player the maps are a bit small. You can work around it a bit, and I can see how this encourages Multi-Player. However, I'm the type of person who plays MMOs Single Player so I personally get very little benefit from this model. The game play from prior versions is vastly improved. If you're willing to wait a Month for server load to die down you probably should wait. You'll be able to get a far superior experience if you do.… Expand
  13. HonestlyTrue
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    Another example of EA failing royally. Always online, chances you can't reach server, forced social facebook crap, small regions to built cities in, there are simply too many limitations to enjoy the game. Another case of EA trying to build a "product" for the dumb masses and facebook generation, instead of building on the strengths of Sim City 4.

    Played at a friends house and this game    Another example of EA failing royally. Always online, chances you can't reach server, forced social facebook crap, small regions to built cities in, there are simply too many limitations to enjoy the game. Another case of EA trying to build a "product" for the dumb masses and facebook generation, instead of building on the strengths of Sim City 4.

    Played at a friends house and this game is definitely worse than Sim City 4 and tries to be a Societies advanced. So if you are a player with low standards and happen to be a member of the facebook generation you might enjoy this mediocre game, if you are a gamer with standards, you stay clear and tell EA with your wallet that they should finally handle games as games and not as products with limitations, because they think the players have not enough intellect to grasp a more complex gameplay. This mindset of the big publishers sickens me.

    Next gameseries down the drain, just like Dead Space 3. EA has lost their touch, and the developers have to suffer.    … Expand
  14. MadMagpie
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    I'm not going to go into the details because it's already been said by everyone else. I won't simply give it a "0" either because it's a great game if you ever get to play it, but the frustrations with server issues destroy the experience. If I do successfully login, I'm too ticked off to enjoy it because I'm just waiting until I get kicked out again. Folks say that you should review aI'm not going to go into the details because it's already been said by everyone else. I won't simply give it a "0" either because it's a great game if you ever get to play it, but the frustrations with server issues destroy the experience. If I do successfully login, I'm too ticked off to enjoy it because I'm just waiting until I get kicked out again. Folks say that you should review a game based on the gameplay itself, but the gameplay hinges on being able to connect to a server. EA said it was part of the experience. The start menu is part of the experience for most video games. If you were stuck at the start menu forever, then the game would get poor reviews because it's broken. People are stuck at what is essentially the start menu for SimCity, so, in its current sate, it is broken.

    I can see this turning into a case study for future game design students and developers on how not to run your business. The fall of EA (hopefully) would only validate the entire thing. Do yourself a favor and save your money unless they magically make an offline version or update for it. I had originally written a positive review, but I felt compelled to come back and replace it with this one because I couldn't stand the feeling of betrayal anymore. I really want to like the game, but I'm tired of looking like an idiot trying to defend it despite everything that has happened. Fix it or finish committing professional suicide already EA because I'm done with you.    … Expand
  15. Samhandwich84
    Apr 9, 2013
    3
    Game has been released for over 1 month. STILL unable to maintain a stable connection to the low pop servers. STILL full of bugs, basic things like garbage dumps never producing trucks etc. Would probably rate as 7+ if the game was finished and could be played offline.
  16. Xehlwan
    Mar 16, 2013
    3
    I want to like this game, I honestly do. I keep trying to play it, but it always ends the same way: frustration.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    In the ends, you can have a lot of fun with the new SimCity. As long as you don't expect it to actually simulate cities.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. Xeno99
    Mar 15, 2013
    3
    I read news about it, but I decided to take the bait and see what the game is all about because I am (now was) a simcity fan. I bought it a week after it came out so I didn't have much server issues. Presentation may be pretty(cities they show you in youtube looks great, which made me buy the game) but once you get down into playing it, you realize so many things broken or missing. ThingsI read news about it, but I decided to take the bait and see what the game is all about because I am (now was) a simcity fan. I bought it a week after it came out so I didn't have much server issues. Presentation may be pretty(cities they show you in youtube looks great, which made me buy the game) but once you get down into playing it, you realize so many things broken or missing. Things that are broken (such as simple pathfinding) was commented by EA that they will fix it soon. Other things that are broken (such as multiplayer), is broken and will be for a very long time until they fix the servers and fix the way cities interact within regions. Things that are missing, EA will probably sell them for bucks (subway, zoo, etc etc). In summary, they didn't deliver what they promised to, and while it is fine that they wanted to build from ground up, it doesn't mean you take contents out of your previous simcity. This game is a utter disaster.… Expand
  19. Stabwoundz
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    I suggest that people ignore those ridiculously positive scores from critics as they are likely biased. When then game first launched I was able to play for a few hours and I was addicted. For the most part the game was fun and interesting, except there are some bugs like poor vehicle paths and unnecessary traffic congestion that can't be resolved without a patch from EA.. The majorI suggest that people ignore those ridiculously positive scores from critics as they are likely biased. When then game first launched I was able to play for a few hours and I was addicted. For the most part the game was fun and interesting, except there are some bugs like poor vehicle paths and unnecessary traffic congestion that can't be resolved without a patch from EA.. The major problem is that this game requires a constant connection to EA servers. Tonight I got home from work to play and I could not connect to the game in my region. Granted- all internet based games seem to have high traffic on launch. But this type of game shouldn't even require an online connection to play sandbox modes. Since I am not able to play in the the North American region, I decided to try the European regions. When I connected and started playing I was forced to play the tutorial (you cannot skip it) which was somehow bugged because the game puts me into the tutorial region but none of the menu's or actions are available. So not only can I NOT play the game offline in a sandbox style mode, but even when I connect, I am forced to play a tutorial scenario that is bugged to where I can't progress past and cannot be skipped. I truly enjoyed playing this game last night but these Online-DRMs NEED TO GO! Also there needs to be a way to skip the tutorial.. EA has published games long enough to know better than this. So far I am disappointed.… Expand
  20. FarscapeSDC
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Dear heavens, I really dislike this game, which was particularly hard for me to do, considering how much I like the previous ones. I don't wish to turn into one of those "IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL!" screaming fanboys, but here I have no choice. While I will concede that many of the game's aspects have been streamlined and made more accessible, but they have made it too easy. At noDear heavens, I really dislike this game, which was particularly hard for me to do, considering how much I like the previous ones. I don't wish to turn into one of those "IT'S NOT AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL!" screaming fanboys, but here I have no choice. While I will concede that many of the game's aspects have been streamlined and made more accessible, but they have made it too easy. At no point did I feel like an actual mayor, having to make difficult decisions about whether to fund the police or the hospital, whether to pay for a school or a motor-way, but instead I felt like a child playing in a really advanced sandbox.
    And, of course, the "Always online DRM" is absolutely pathetic and an utterly stupid idea.
    My recommendation, don't bother with this game, buy something else.    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. AoR
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    I'm in a good mood (and I love the SimCity series) so I start with the Pro's.

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

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

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

    - Small Maps: Okay, the maps are not small they're tiny absurd puny!
    - Curvy roads: This should be a Pro, but according to the point above, it's a absolut senseless feature.
    - Bugs: The "new" Glassbox-Engine, which simulate the whole behavior of the sims/residents, commercial interactions and so on, is so buggy atm that I'm not able to numerate half of the varios bugs and errors. The traffic bug is only the tip of the iceberg.
    - Multiplayer: Had anyone ever thought "Hey it would be cool to play together with a friend of me now." during playing Sim City 4? I never, but multiplayer sounds funny in the first presentations. But Sim City has no "real" multiplayer: Everything you could do with other players together, you're able to do it solo. There is absolut no real reason for the existence of the multiplayer modus in the actual design.
    - Always-On: I'm not a fan of DRM but I understand the reasons to make some games always-on. To example Diablo 3 to prefent dupes and to secure the auction house. But in Sim City there is no gameplay reason to be always online. And the so-called social features: This is only a game! If I want to contact my friends I grap my phone or start my IM. I don't need these functionality in a single-player game!    … Expand
  23. Foam
    Mar 12, 2013
    3
    As many others have stated, this could have been a great game. The developer (Maxis) and publisher (EA) had probably from the beginning planned for always-online DRM. That is, in order to play the game by yourself you must have a constant secure connection to EA's server. This puts you at the mercy of EA's hardware & IT team, something that is beyond yourAs many others have stated, this could have been a great game. The developer (Maxis) and publisher (EA) had probably from the beginning planned for always-online DRM. That is, in order to play the game by yourself you must have a constant secure connection to EA's server. This puts you at the mercy of EA's hardware & IT team, something that is beyond your control.---------------------------------------------------

    Released on March 5th, it is now late afternoon March 12th and there are still major server issues. I am currently on West Coast 4 and am getting long que times trying to join, and it isn't even peak hours on the west coast. I can only assume the load will increase as most people get off work and arrive home in the next hour or two.--------------------------------------------------------

    SimCity has traditionally been a single player game many people like to play around in for hundreds of real time hours. Since SimCity is "always multiplayer", in order to play by ones self you must create a region and set it to "Private" mode where only you or invited friends can join. The whole idea of that is counter-intuitive in the fullest. Instead of a traditional "Single Player" and "Multiplayer" button on the main menu that has worked for decades, Maxis forces you to click "Play" and enter the multiplayer screen. Someone not that initiated into how games work will find it frustrating to start a singleplayer game even though the "single player" is technically classified as private multiplayer.----------------------------------------

    Maxis & EA are in full damage control public relations mode, all cheery smiles and apologies. Sadly, a large portion of the previously angry customer-base was easily bought with the offer of a free game. Instead of bombarding EA & Maxis with thousands of angry letters & emails demanding the removal of Online DRM and "Always multiplayer" nature of SimCity, they instead were bought off for around $60 and are now towing the line. They seem to think that companies releasing unfinished or highly flawed/untested products is A-ok, as long as they "pinky swear" to fix the game which the timeframe is never admitted. It could be 1 month or even two months before a game is fixed, but there will still be that large group of customers with unyielding blind faith, always ready to defend the happy, cheery gaming company that just recieved 60+ dollars from them for a buggy, non-working product.----------------------------- If you are wondering why game developers and publishers are getting away with extremely sloppy business practices, you need only look at the modern gamer. The customers are the problem because they do not vote with their wallets and protest in writing.--------------------------When you buy a new car, it usually comes with some kind of warranty. If your transmission for example blows seconds after your off the lot, they will replace it for free immediately. Conversely, you expect the car to be 100% working properly and built correctly when you buy it, and every car manufacturer does everything possible to make sure that happens long before you fork over the cash. The same MUST be true for all products or services. Mistakes do happen, but things of the magnitude of SimCity do not just happen accidentally. Someone somewhere made the decision that lower costs were more worth it than a working game. There will likely be bugs on all release of games, but we have the right to demand that their game work properly. In SimCity's case, it does not even work at all.-------------- Don't believe the public relations spin and the attempt to buy your sympathy and loyalty back. If you have any principles at all, for god sakes please make your integrity one of them. Show EA/Maxis that no, you cannot be simply be bought for $60. Demand they remove Online DRM, demand a deserved true Single Player, among various other small things.------ I rated this a 3 out of 10, only because in the extremely short time I have played the actual game, it is well done. Probably the biggest sadness of all is that underneath these unacceptable business practices, a good development team has produced a pretty awesome game.    … Expand
  24. Victory
    Mar 14, 2013
    3
    I am assessing this game based on my 25 hours of experience. This game is fun up to a point but the mid to late game mechanics are horrendously broken. Traffic is a hideous monster to control and if you do by some miracle manage to organised it the game is incredibly easy. The only challenge is traffic management. It feels more and more like a glorified Facebook game without the socialI am assessing this game based on my 25 hours of experience. This game is fun up to a point but the mid to late game mechanics are horrendously broken. Traffic is a hideous monster to control and if you do by some miracle manage to organised it the game is incredibly easy. The only challenge is traffic management. It feels more and more like a glorified Facebook game without the social game requirements. Region trading is horrendously broken, commuters commute but when they do the traffic is so horrendous because you only have one entrance to your city. EVEN WITH mass transit maxed out including trains and boats, it's just ridiculous. The online requirements suck too, I've lost a 9 hour city due to the servers. Also the region play is rubbish due to the servers, I was playing a region with my girlfriend (hot seat style) and I waited TEN MINUTES for the servers to update our own singleplayer region so I could send power to my girlfriends city. This is just dumb, it isn't fun. tldr: it starts out very fun but after you get over the "creativity" aspect of creating a city it becomes very boring and very broken. Might be good in a few months when it's patched although many features are not as advertised (such as "full simulation" which is a flat out lie). The DRM just makes everything worse.… Expand
  25. cyberjonesy
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    Lots of fun playing but the server problems are extremely frustrating considering there is no real time interaction with other players. This game should have been single player offline capable, the fact that it is online only is an enormous downside.
  26. ThtCooperFellow
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    I love the actual game for the most part, but the fact that this is a game that should have been single player and now I just can't plain play I have to give this at best a 3. Maxis did a wonderful job and I have no doubt that EA forced this BS always online drm from the start and the multiplayer aspect. Always online has been, and continues to be a terrible idea.
  27. captainthrall
    Apr 5, 2014
    3
    This game was, is, and always will be fundamentally broken. The city sizes are WAY WAY WAY too small. You fill the map in literally one hour of playing. It's a single-player game that requires you to play online on some horribly buggy and slow servers.
  28. Purgatori
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    Played this game for 6 hours. DO NOT BUY IT. I got disconnected from the server 3 times...you cannot save your own game! So there is no more let me test and reload if it doesn't work. I started over at least 10 times while getting used to some of the features. The city size is just unacceptable. Its not a city AT ALL...More like a village. You will fill it up in an hour. I'mPlayed this game for 6 hours. DO NOT BUY IT. I got disconnected from the server 3 times...you cannot save your own game! So there is no more let me test and reload if it doesn't work. I started over at least 10 times while getting used to some of the features. The city size is just unacceptable. Its not a city AT ALL...More like a village. You will fill it up in an hour. I'm already bored with the game. I won't even get into the always on drm...its a terrible move IMO...but in addition to that the game is not worth the money. I gave it a 3 because some of the new features are neat and useful but its they aren't enough to save the experience. Buy tomb raider instead.… Expand
  29. Daverid
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    All the 10 positive reviewers are complete morons. Spouting rubbish to try and defend this game. My favourite so far was, "There's a reason why it's sitting at 91% from the critics right now" Jaylenko Do I need to point you in the direction of; MASS EFFECT 3, DIABLO 3, COD:MW2&3, COD:BOPS1&2 ETC ETC to make you realise just how stupid that kind of statement is? These are all primeAll the 10 positive reviewers are complete morons. Spouting rubbish to try and defend this game. My favourite so far was, "There's a reason why it's sitting at 91% from the critics right now" Jaylenko Do I need to point you in the direction of; MASS EFFECT 3, DIABLO 3, COD:MW2&3, COD:BOPS1&2 ETC ETC to make you realise just how stupid that kind of statement is? These are all prime examples of games that were complete and utter blunders, had next to no innovation in just about any aspect of their game and yet reviewers gave them all extremely favourable reviews. It would almost lead someone to believe that EA/Activision are blackmailing Reviewers, or Buying them out, telling them they won't give them games pre-release or bribing them so they get a good review. Honestly if anyone ACTUALLY believes any kind of Big Gaming review websites these days, they're a complete moron. Now onto these same people trying to defend Always Online DRM, you can't defend it, PERIOD. It's a cheap and dirty practice that holds no place in the gaming world. What happens when you grab your Laptop and go somewhere that doesn't have internet access? What happens to the people with bad connections? What happens to your game when the servers crash? What happens when they do maintenance and you can't play for hours? What happens when the Cloud Saves glitch and you have to roll back your town (Which btw has already happened to people)? Honestly the problems with always online DRM is endless and serves no place in Gaming. Have a Singleplayer version of the game which can be accessed without Origin or can be accessed from a "Origin Offline Mode (Where you don't need to log in Like you can do in Steam)" and then have a Multiplayer version, then people get to choose which they prefer and you can do make changes to the different versions of the game without effecting the other. It's a disgusting practice by EA (And Blizzard for that matter with D3) and if you are enabling this kind of crap by buying these companies games then you are part of the Cancer that is slowly destroying gaming. I suppose I should talk about the game, well it doesn't come out till the 7th in Australia and I wasn't going to buy it anyway, I've boycotted all EA Products. But there's streams going on and Videos all over the net showcasing the gameplay (In great detail mind you since Press had the game for a solid week or so pre-release and made tons and tons of cities). And they all agree it's good, but not great. I only gave the game a 2 because morons are giving this 10 to try and counter-balance the 0's, and whilst I think the 0's are taking things a little to far, low scores have to be given to balance. Frankly with none of this always online rubbish, bigger build plots and less focus on Multiplayer, I'd say this game could definitely be a Solid 7-8/10. In it's current state, but without Always Online DRM probably a 5/10 is an honest Score. But sadly with the Always online BS in place, I think the 3-4/10 mark is spot on where this game deserves to be.… Expand
  30. Ecaelia
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    I waited some days with the review, to give Maxis a chance to go over the launch day issues. However, 3 days after launch and I'm still unable to connect to the servers shows a clear fail in the design development or the game.
    Update 4 days after launch: I was able to play today, so up my rating to 3 points. The game appears great, but all the region benefits are switched off to reduce    I waited some days with the review, to give Maxis a chance to go over the launch day issues. However, 3 days after launch and I'm still unable to connect to the servers shows a clear fail in the design development or the game.
    Update 4 days after launch: I was able to play today, so up my rating to 3 points. The game appears great, but all the region benefits are switched off to reduce load on the servers. However, the region interaction was the main justification of the tiny maps, so right now we have tiny maps and a dysfunctional region (so the worst of both world: all cities must be universal and self-sustained, but don't have the size to achieve this goal)    … Expand
  31. gemanner
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    BEWARE: Forced online DRM, will you be playing this 10 years down the track like previous Sim Cities? No, you wont. And they want this, so you buy the next one. Servers go down? Well screw you, EA already has your money. DLC available from release, server side save-games. I repeat, FORCED ONLINE DRM Also, server queues at launch. Thanks for destroying video gaming and my most treasured franchise.
  32. powerpsi2
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    Server reached maximum capacity and so I was placed in a queue and was not allowed to play a SINGLE PLAYER GAME because it forces me to constantly be online.

    So despite my flawless internet connection, EA's incompetence has forced me to postpone playing a game I'd like to play on my own anyway. I have played the beta and the city size limits are awful. But it isn't all bad, I do    Server reached maximum capacity and so I was placed in a queue and was not allowed to play a SINGLE PLAYER GAME because it forces me to constantly be online.

    So despite my flawless internet connection, EA's incompetence has forced me to postpone playing a game I'd like to play on my own anyway.

    I have played the beta and the city size limits are awful.

    But it isn't all bad, I do enjoy the new features, such as removal of the piping networks and the add-ons for buildings. But it's awful comopated to SC4    … Expand
  33. Player318
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    City size is painfully bad. If you enjoyed creating metropolis sized cities then you will be very disappointed. To give you a rough idea, the size of a city in SimCity is 2 km x 2 km; 4 km^2. That is about the size of a city block. If you traveled at 50 km/h (around about 30 mph) you would get from one side of the city to the other in about 2 minutes 24 seconds (even if your journey wasCity size is painfully bad. If you enjoyed creating metropolis sized cities then you will be very disappointed. To give you a rough idea, the size of a city in SimCity is 2 km x 2 km; 4 km^2. That is about the size of a city block. If you traveled at 50 km/h (around about 30 mph) you would get from one side of the city to the other in about 2 minutes 24 seconds (even if your journey was doubled because of traffic, that is still only 5 minutes). The "city" size really is that bad.… Expand
  34. glper
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    I cannot emphasis how maddeningly bad this game is, and how boring it is.

    Yes, EA's "online only" requirement is incredibly annoying, but I also have Battlefield 3, so I'm used to it. I'm not even going to comment on this aspect of the game any further, as it's been discussed here ad infinitum. What is at issue is the actual game itself. It's bad. It's boring. It's restrictive. It's    I cannot emphasis how maddeningly bad this game is, and how boring it is.

    Yes, EA's "online only" requirement is incredibly annoying, but I also have Battlefield 3, so I'm used to it. I'm not even going to comment on this aspect of the game any further, as it's been discussed here ad infinitum.

    What is at issue is the actual game itself. It's bad. It's boring. It's restrictive. It's maddening. You are only allowed to build your "village" within a very small, confined space, a square, with a dotted line around it. That's it. That's it! That, in and of itself, is enough to ruin the game for me. After an hour, you've built a small village, and you're... done. You are done. You can tweak what you have, bulldoze some stuff, and... yeah. You're done. Now why did EA/Maxis do this? I can only speculate they are either really stupid, or really greedy. I expect in a few months they will start rolling out new content that you will have to pay for, e.g. $14.99 for "medium" sized maps (which will still be too small). The game really is a joke. The graphics are nice, but so are the graphics in Cities XL. I also wouldn't say they are that revolutionary. You might have seen the same product in 2009.    … Expand
  35. BobbyJohnny
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    The management part itself is good.
    BUT.
    Online only so actually hard to access to the servers. Very small maps. IA pretty strange sometimes. I can already smell the near DRM. It's easy. Just take the features of simcity4 you don't have in the fifth. (-_-) Your city is a part of a group of other cities else she can't be... You are far away from the good old games we played where you    The management part itself is good.
    BUT.
    Online only so actually hard to access to the servers. Very small maps. IA pretty strange sometimes.
    I can already smell the near DRM. It's easy. Just take the features of simcity4 you don't have in the fifth. (-_-)

    Your city is a part of a group of other cities else she can't be...
    You are far away from the good old games we played where you built your own city self sufficient by your own.
    Perhaps you will like this "ALL MULTI ONLY ONLINE LOL" we get now, but not me.    … Expand
  36. BulletBR
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    The game is terrible, very disappointed. I paid a lot of money for crap. The size of the city is ridiculous and I would take care of the city, not the sims. Sim City 4 forever...
  37. Laherabera
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    Glaze over the fact that the servers are crap, when you can actually play the game you'll find yourself searching through a bunch of regions (most of them either filled or private), if you miraculously do get to claim a city and start building, you'll find that in about 30 minutes you'll be out of space and forced to increase density. The "cozy" "city" you'll be building in will quicklyGlaze over the fact that the servers are crap, when you can actually play the game you'll find yourself searching through a bunch of regions (most of them either filled or private), if you miraculously do get to claim a city and start building, you'll find that in about 30 minutes you'll be out of space and forced to increase density. The "cozy" "city" you'll be building in will quickly turn into a parking lot no matter what configuration you put the roads in, or how many modes of mass transport you put in. Now if you can get over all of these gripes you will still be left asking why your garbage trucks look like they entered into the indy 500 and are circling the same block ad infinitum until their shift is over and they return to the dump, leaving one block kinda cleaned up and the rest of your city burning from uncollected garbage. Which brings us to the next point, Emergency services...the guys with the bright flashing lights and the loud (and in the game they might as well be the only sound in the game next to the sound of rc racers...I mean cars) sirens, they sit in traffic on a 6 lane avenue just like any car. There is no precedence for other cars to get out of the way or lights to change in their favor...they just sit there...so while your entire city burns because of garbage, your EMS/Fire will just be sitting in the station or in traffic jamming away to whatever is on the radio because they're going no where. Now if you can manage to get through all of this you are left with one last hurdle to making a stable game; Finances. You have essentially no room to build a proper industrial park or residential neighborhood, so you have to compromise., you add a dash of residential with a smattering of commercial and boom your RCI starts to beg for industrial and you think sweet! we're gunna get people jobs and they'll have lots of money and everything will be perfect! WRONG! you'll chase industrial demand until your city is completely covered, and if by some miracle you get it sort of under control they (industry) will start to scream and shut down due to lack of workers because your sims with all their new found wealth will start to expand and they'll magically disappear from your city until their building has been renovated, but by that time the factory will be shut down or on fire and they'll have no where to work, they'll go broke, and then they will turn into vagrants who will in turn cause crime and cause even more of your city to burn. Also city and education buildings cost so much they eat away all profit so the only way to gain enough capital to build anything is to twiddle your thumbs and hope everything stays sane or take out bonds which in the long run just screw you over Sooooo all in all the game gets a 3 from me, its easy to get sucked in and play for hours and hours but at the end of the session I'm left angry and bitter. I've built 7 cities and not a single one has been a fun relaxing experience. I am a long time fan of the series and I have played countless hours on this game's predecessors, sadly I must say that this game does not live up to the hype or even the legacy of the series.… Expand
  38. Sanj
    Mar 5, 2013
    3
    The game is good but it's not working. All those magazine/review you see didn't take into account the fact that the servers are not able to cope with the current load. Which means you get disconnected or, worst, your cities get corrupted and are unplayable.
  39. kanid99
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    While the gameplay itself is fun and enjoyable, the entire experienced is marred by poor infrastructure and support. One of the biggest changes to Simcity in this version is the 'Always On' gameplay, requiring the player to have a constant internet connection and the servers to handle all players. Sadly, at least at launch, the game has been overloaded with eager players who areWhile the gameplay itself is fun and enjoyable, the entire experienced is marred by poor infrastructure and support. One of the biggest changes to Simcity in this version is the 'Always On' gameplay, requiring the player to have a constant internet connection and the servers to handle all players. Sadly, at least at launch, the game has been overloaded with eager players who are disappointed by the lack of planning on the part of the developers to anticipate the demand for their product, and the lack of an expedient response in correcting the situation.

    As a player this makes you question the longevity of the game as well. In the past, you could play a Simcity game for years past its prime (indeed many people still play Simcity 4 which is a decade old now!) but what happens when it no longer becomes economically justifiable for EA to operate these new Simcity servers ?

    Furthermore, an 'Always on' type system suggests a game that will have a basis in microtransactions. This sort of thing is inevitable as a way to finance the continued operation of the servers, but clearly at the expense of the player. You have to question how this effects gameplay balance and if balance will be tossed out the window in the name of profit ?

    Only time will tell the fate of this game, but for now when you can get in at least enjoy it for what it is as long as you can.    … Expand
  40. Quiksilva
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    On day one I was one of the lucky ones who got it and played for several hours straight and loved every second. On that first day I gave this game a score of 9. That joy however was sadly short lived, and I too have been forced to reevaluate the game because the shortcomings at the moment are substantial enough to merit a score that encourages people not to buy, for now. I have not beenOn day one I was one of the lucky ones who got it and played for several hours straight and loved every second. On that first day I gave this game a score of 9. That joy however was sadly short lived, and I too have been forced to reevaluate the game because the shortcomings at the moment are substantial enough to merit a score that encourages people not to buy, for now. I have not been able to play the game for two nights in a row. I understand the game's need for a persistent internet connection, for global economy and for playing with friends, but the fact that they have not foreseen the level of demand for what is unquestionably one of gaming's best known and best loved franchises is unforgivable. As to the game itself, i dont worry about city size limits because I take a whole region to myself with up to 16 cities and make it invite only and dont invite anyone. This provides for a huge game. There really is very little wrong with the game... when you can play it.… Expand
  41. Mark0s
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    Just signed up here especially to give a comment on this epic and ridicules game. Im not giving a comment on the DMR always online mode, its a wrong choice to make EA, but they have made this choice, nothing to do about it anymore. Played the beta and beta 2, immediately gave some valuable gameplay feedback.
    As an urban planner for me personally the map size DOES matter, the tiny size    Just signed up here especially to give a comment on this epic and ridicules game. Im not giving a comment on the DMR always online mode, its a wrong choice to make EA, but they have made this choice, nothing to do about it anymore. Played the beta and beta 2, immediately gave some valuable gameplay feedback.
    As an urban planner for me personally the map size DOES matter, the tiny size does not compete with a realistic or sensible way of how a city works. Creativity is bounded due to this 2 by 2km square area. As well as the empty space between buildings, there is no feature that is able to completely fillup the empty space between the buildings. In the urban world this could be a key element to provide inhabitants more useable space, Simcity terms: “happiness”.

    Please EA, improve...    … Expand
  42. guardian41
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    My gaming rig is top notch the problem with crashes is at the server. This is a poor choice if you dont' have perfect Internet all the time. The detail is awesome as are the missions, but the overall limitations are annoying. If I could, I'd return this game!
  43. 4en1vanm
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    This game has been such a disappointment considering what it could have been. While the game play itself is decent the lack of city space (Only 2km square) and the obvious nickel dime that EA is planning by not having basic city options, such as subways, and already including $20 of additional buildings in an $80 purchase makes this game not worth it until you find it on a discount rack.This game has been such a disappointment considering what it could have been. While the game play itself is decent the lack of city space (Only 2km square) and the obvious nickel dime that EA is planning by not having basic city options, such as subways, and already including $20 of additional buildings in an $80 purchase makes this game not worth it until you find it on a discount rack.

    Oh and did I mention its DRM requires always online internet connections. This little gem of and idea just won't go away even though gamers have strongly voiced their disdain against it. I guess EA liked being named 2012's worst American company that they wanted to be in the running for it again in 2013. Until EA completely sells Maxis to a competent software company that listens to gamers avoid any and all EA or Maxis games including this POS!    … Expand
  44. FreddyGotF
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    I don't understand why a lot of the backlash is a surprise to anyone, least of all Maxis and EA. Every one of these issues were raised ad nauseum in the months leading up to the release and neither Maxis nor EA refused to acknowledge that they were problems. Instead, it was all about justification and explaining that they were 'heading in a different direction'. What company in their rightI don't understand why a lot of the backlash is a surprise to anyone, least of all Maxis and EA. Every one of these issues were raised ad nauseum in the months leading up to the release and neither Maxis nor EA refused to acknowledge that they were problems. Instead, it was all about justification and explaining that they were 'heading in a different direction'. What company in their right mind tries to tell the consumer what they want? The problem is, I doubt EA will learn any lessons from this because they're surfing the wave of popularity that already surrounds SimCity. They didn't earn it for themselves. What a bunch of pricks.

    Sure, the graphics are updated and 3D and the civic buildings can be modified and it's nice to watch sims running around doing their 'thang', but this is a SIMULATION, which demands realism and high levels of control, especially because this is the sixth incarnation and by this stage Maxis should freakin' know what works and what doesn't. What do we get? No subways. No terraforming. No highways. No control outside of the assigned squares. PITIFUL square sizes (what's the point of making curvy roads when you're discouraged from using them because there's no space). No ability to use height restrictions. Determining density from the type of road is just plain bizarre and awkward. And, I might add, not what's done in the real world.

    The thing I truly hate about this is that even if I try to be as creative as possible and build up my population, it's just gonna look pathetic because it'll be a bunch of small square skyscrapers with nothing but grass in between.

    Hey Maxis and EA here's a newsflash for you. I want to decide where my highways go, and what parts of my region are green, and how big my cities are, and where I want high density to go, and if my city has a subway system or not. I want it all to be my choice, not YOURS.

    And I haven't even mentioned the DRM or DLC, which no doubt will attempt to correct some of the glaring problems... for a modest fee, of course.

    I want a refund.    … Expand
  45. MrDMan
    Mar 10, 2013
    3
    The good: Building models look very detailed and nice. The roads are much more realistic and easy to be placed. The upgradable buildings give more control over city services and allow city blocks more customization. Also, the city specialization gives each city its own personality. Teaming up with other players in one region can be interesting.

    The bad: Launch day was a mess. Many    The good: Building models look very detailed and nice. The roads are much more realistic and easy to be placed. The upgradable buildings give more control over city services and allow city blocks more customization. Also, the city specialization gives each city its own personality. Teaming up with other players in one region can be interesting.

    The bad: Launch day was a mess. Many (actually, most) could not join any server to play the game. Despite the game costing $60 for Limited Edition, EA underfunded their servers and support for the game. This left a sour taste in customers' mouths. Once in the game it is easy to lose connection to the servers and possibly lose work. The whole process of building a city seems far too streamlined. Do this, then do that. Before you know it, your city cannot grow due to map size limitations and a quarter of your allocated map space is filled with city utilities and services along with a large possible amount of ground pollution if you don't have a Department of Utilities in the region. The removal of subways and certain types of rails also limit this game. Another aspect that hurts this game is the need to be constantly connected. Once the map is filled, what do you do? Go start another city and do the same thing over again? That is really the only choice. Aside from the server problems, when this game is no longer supported by its makers, will our copies of SimCity be unplayable and useless? My guess is, "Yes".

    Overall: This game is not worth the price. I'm not sure it ever will be after hearing about micro transactions and a possible in-game store. That will only drive the price up the more it is played. Save yourself the cash and do not purchase this game.    … Expand
  46. Callaginn
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    The game itself is awesome...if you can even play it. The server load time, however, is unacceptable. Most of the time, it gets stuck on the "Checking for Updates" screen with a status of 0%. I've also encountered numerous times where it gets stuck in a server queue for 30 minutes at a time. When I buy a game, I want to play it...not make it an all day event just waiting for the stupidThe game itself is awesome...if you can even play it. The server load time, however, is unacceptable. Most of the time, it gets stuck on the "Checking for Updates" screen with a status of 0%. I've also encountered numerous times where it gets stuck in a server queue for 30 minutes at a time. When I buy a game, I want to play it...not make it an all day event just waiting for the stupid game to load.… Expand
  47. Sartagis
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    When I pre-ordered I thought the game only required an authentication through the Internet to play. Nope, it appears you must use their servers and the game is not available to play if the servers are unavailable or have issues. Such is the case currently. This is primarily a single player game and forcing people to rely on server resources this way is absurd. Positives
    Nice graphics    When I pre-ordered I thought the game only required an authentication through the Internet to play. Nope, it appears you must use their servers and the game is not available to play if the servers are unavailable or have issues. Such is the case currently. This is primarily a single player game and forcing people to rely on server resources this way is absurd. Positives
    Nice graphics compared to prior editions
    Many customizable buildings
    New multi-player elements
    Curved roads

    Negative
    Small cities
    Even the highest density roads seem to be far too limited for anything above medium density
    Ground water is required and does not renew in any meaningful way. (City dries up and dies)
    Fires all the dang time
    World trade market does not appear to function properly. I was selling metals and alloy constantly for hours and then it would hit in very brief spurts and then nothing at all. My city should have been renamed to Detroit. I was losing money and people were leaving by the busload when the market dried up to practically nothing selling.
    Some buildings take up far too much space for the effect they have
    Being forced to have Internet access to play
    Not being able to play the game offline even after authenticating    … Expand
  48. Moodler
    Mar 18, 2013
    3
    Updated review after servers were fixed and I've been playing it a while:

    1) Cities are too small. No bigger than my real-life suburb!
    2) Sims are not very smart.
    3) Still can't play offline because of stupid DRM.
  49. SoggyWaffles
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    I know there trying to prevent privacy but this is pretty f**king ridiculous. Haven't been able this game since I got it. I like it better when you purchase a game and you can ACTUALLY play it.
  50. bluerazor
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    Ive seen some bad launches before but this launch takes the cake. The DRM is woeful not matter how much spin they put on it. Simcity is not a multiplayer game no matter what they say. "Always online" will ruin Maxis. The game is basic and looks pretty, when it works. Thats about it. Geez even the tutorial dosen`t work.
  51. Jaggajatt187
    Mar 6, 2013
    3
    What is there to say about this game that hasn't been said? Nothing.
    The constant internet connection requirements Or DRM is going to be the downfall of this game plain and simple. I'm an older gamer and of all my friends I'm the only one that plays non-sports video games...So this whole online social interaction with games isn't something I'm interested in. I play SOLO! Which means I    What is there to say about this game that hasn't been said? Nothing.
    The constant internet connection requirements Or DRM is going to be the downfall of this game plain and simple. I'm an older gamer and of all my friends I'm the only one that plays non-sports video games...So this whole online social interaction with games isn't something I'm interested in. I play SOLO! Which means I shouldn't need to connect to the internet or try and log into full servers.

    The servers have been busy since launch! They even added another 4 servers (2 more for the U.S 2 more for Europe) but they all remain busy. To access these busy servers they place you in a queue which checks for availability every 20 mins! Who wants to wait 20 mins in queue to play a game in 2013? To make matters worse city saves don't transfer across all the different servers. So if you developed an entire "region" on the EAST USA 1 server it's restricted to that server. So having to jump onto another server means you have to start all over again. During gameplay if the server goes down, which has happened 8 times in 12H of game time played, then your progress isn't saved and you again have to start over. The maps are way to small. Weird glitches take place. Factories/casinos/schools all magically stop working causing massive crashes in population. I think they included the fluctuating population feature b/c of the small map size. Curved roads are useless. They waste space which is very crucial in this version. If you're willing to pay for a game that you will have limited access too, will constantly have to restart due to developer incompetence, get frustrated by illogical glitches then buy the game. I would recommend not buying this game. Spend 5$ on a Kairosoft game (Game dev story/mega mall story) you'll get more enjoyment and better performance from that game.    … Expand
  52. Gritz
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    The game is not bad, but the server has a lot of problems. I played a few hours and every 5 minutes it disconnected. The graphic is very good. I hope that the server will be better the next days
  53. Dimonte
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    Could have been a brilliant game, but right now it's almost completely decimated by unreliable cloud saves, tiny maps, lack of terraforming and tacked-on online features.
  54. ThunderEjjim
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    As much as I was hoping and begging and praying for this game to recapture my love of the SimCity franchise, it falls way short. The game has been out for three days now and I've not even been able to play it for an entire hour. The game has been so buggy and the servers so unreliable I'm being kicked from my games minutes into starting them and often times not even being able to startAs much as I was hoping and begging and praying for this game to recapture my love of the SimCity franchise, it falls way short. The game has been out for three days now and I've not even been able to play it for an entire hour. The game has been so buggy and the servers so unreliable I'm being kicked from my games minutes into starting them and often times not even being able to start them at all. Now, this may just be my computer, but the loading times for me have been absolutely atrocious. Switching from city to city takes so long that it really makes trying to play this in single player overly frustrating. From what I've been able to see, there are some interesting little things they've put into the game that could make SimCity more fun to play, but at the same time it feels to easy now. Part of why I loved SimCity was the challenge it gave me in creating and designing a living and breathing city. I wish I could of played it more so that I could have a more in-depth feel for this game, but the constant server issues have me so frustrated I do wish I could take the game back and get a refund. All I can really do now is that hope that someday in the future they add in some sort of offline mode (not holding my breath there) and that in the next few days they manage to fix all the issues that keep me and others from even being able to play the thing. Until then, I unfortunately have to give it a 3. There is honestly no excuse in these days for such a terrible release with so little servers to try and cope with the amount of people that want to play.… Expand
  55. 12jcohen
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    I would give the game a 9/10. However when I pay $60 for a game I expect to play it whenever I want to play it. I understand that servers take time to get up and these overcapacity issues will eventually subside, However It is beyond me that Made the decision to make a single player game drm and not let people preload it to avoid exactly the issues they are currently having. I
  56. omo
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    I can't believe the ~200 people who gave it positive reviews. You do not pay money for a game you can only play maybe half the time. That cannot be worth a 10. Granted hopefully things will improve over time but anyone thinking of paying money for this game should think twice about how EA will ultimately screw you and your playing experience, jar you awake from the addtive fun-ness thatI can't believe the ~200 people who gave it positive reviews. You do not pay money for a game you can only play maybe half the time. That cannot be worth a 10. Granted hopefully things will improve over time but anyone thinking of paying money for this game should think twice about how EA will ultimately screw you and your playing experience, jar you awake from the addtive fun-ness that Maxis has always put together. If they were even half as competent as Blizzard, they won't be getting this kind of thrashing.… Expand
  57. delar
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    There is NO WAY a true reviewer can ignore the always on DRM which requires you to log into EA's servers to play SimCity 2013 when they do their reviews. The overwhelming positive reviews from so called "reviewers" points to a very real issue with they way they are reviewing games. First reviewers should be required to review games they way they are on launch day 1, not a week or laterThere is NO WAY a true reviewer can ignore the always on DRM which requires you to log into EA's servers to play SimCity 2013 when they do their reviews. The overwhelming positive reviews from so called "reviewers" points to a very real issue with they way they are reviewing games. First reviewers should be required to review games they way they are on launch day 1, not a week or later after the game is out or patched 10+ times. Second reviewers can not separate game design from game service which from the reviews so far is obvious they are not. Now I'm not suggesting reviewers vote ONLY with their emotions and frustration but that reviews can not say that a game is 80%+ favorable when if they were honest the normal player can't even PLAY THE GAME AT ALL. The fact that I'm even having to say this in the first place shows how out of touch game reviewers are at this point. Might as well have game developers review their own games with A+ ratings and at least be honest about the deceit.… Expand
  58. vposta
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    The fact that I cannot play what I paid for because the servers are overwhelmed, is a total fail. And even when I managed to start a city today, the game crashed twice, not saving the progress, so I am not even trying to load anymore. what a shambles.

    However, when I did manage to play for several hours yesterday, it was pretty obvious that the city size is just too small. Even without    The fact that I cannot play what I paid for because the servers are overwhelmed, is a total fail. And even when I managed to start a city today, the game crashed twice, not saving the progress, so I am not even trying to load anymore. what a shambles.

    However, when I did manage to play for several hours yesterday, it was pretty obvious that the city size is just too small. Even without trying to fill the space, 2h down the line and you will have nowhere else to build. So once your city is full, you have to move onto another one and start from anew. In the end, you will just end up with several cities across several servers and that's where it all stops making sense...

    As for the multiplayer, everyone seems to be doing their own thing anyway, no interactions, and because I cannot rely on purchasing water/electricity/other utilities from other players once your city gets too big, I rather build all the utilities myself, so I can be in control.

    Very disappointed with how the trade port and big ships look, was hoping for a proper pier with loads of cranes, similar to the concept art.    … Expand
  59. Flybynight_1
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Since I have not been able to play the game, for any sustained period of time, due to the terrible launch....I have based my rating on my observations as follows.

    A... 0 for, price, launch, service, playability, exclusion of certain portions of the game at launch. B... 6 for, Gaming experience, (Very limited play time) C... 7 for, depth and immersion D... 2 for, Map/Plot size, (I feel    Since I have not been able to play the game, for any sustained period of time, due to the terrible launch....I have based my rating on my observations as follows.

    A... 0 for, price, launch, service, playability, exclusion of certain portions of the game at launch.
    B... 6 for, Gaming experience, (Very limited play time)
    C... 7 for, depth and immersion D... 2 for, Map/Plot size, (I feel that the area of the city should be bigger)
    E... 0 for, Options of single player, having to use Origin

    Score 3

    I sincerely hope that the developers fix the playability of the title soon. They should have had a smoother launch and should have been prepared having contingency plans in place. Nevertheless...I hope that attend to the problems at hand and communicate well with their clients from this point.

    I also hope that we are not bombarded with package upon package of DLC.

    Further more.....I am not a fan of Origin....and would like to see titles offered across other platforms. I would have bought this through another medium, even if I had to wait longer or pay a bit more.    … Expand
  60. ro8in
    Mar 9, 2013
    3
    Alert! This is not another whining review about the always on DRM. I can live with that. When I first heard about the glassbox engine. I was amazed. The last Sim City's the engine was just part of the game. DId not require a seperate name. This time tough we had Sim City running on Glassbox. Seeing the engine getting named seperatly I really had high hopes. In my inmagination I would thinkAlert! This is not another whining review about the always on DRM. I can live with that. When I first heard about the glassbox engine. I was amazed. The last Sim City's the engine was just part of the game. DId not require a seperate name. This time tough we had Sim City running on Glassbox. Seeing the engine getting named seperatly I really had high hopes. In my inmagination I would think this engine would create a whole new dimension of details not ever seen before in Sim City. Could we now follow each civillian individually? Could we see them get in their car, go shop or go to work and get home again? Could we see what their doing at home? I mean in the end of the day this is a humans behaviour simulator right? Unfortunatly none of this is actually the case. To make things worse this actually feels like a limited Sim City... Allot of things have been removed, but not much has been given in return.. Yes its true you can actually click a civilian and see its name and follow it down the street, but once it goes in a building its gone. Talking about going in buildings. Sometimes you see 10 to 12 cars to go inside a single house. They simply just dissapear. And this is not the only strange thing. Many behaviours by your sims is just strange.. One building is complaining by no shoppers, while the second building is telling you business is going fantastic. Theres all kind off odd things like these which makes you feel the game was maybe not finished? So what has been removed? Landscaping, Power lines, Waterlines, Big maps, What did we get in return? Well some online social stuff, which currently doesn't seem to work very well. After numberous login attemps I have not yet been able to succesfully use any of the social functions. For example selling power between city's has not worked for me once yet.. Overall I got the feeling of a very limited game which is in no way an advancement of the previous sim city's. Basically all you can do is build roads and then decide to either allow industry, housing or commercial to be build next to the road. Then on top you build some basic things like watertower, police and fireman but thats about it.. EA I'm very dissapointed. I just paid 60 bucks for this and its simply just not worth it. Sorry to say in its current state even Farmville has more depth then this.… Expand
  61. sambo7
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    Ignoring the whole server issues and always online DRM (which I don't mind that much if it wasn't for this terrible launch) the game still completely falls flat for me.
    Apart from the traffic and population simulators it's a complete downgrade from simcity 4 in almost every way. tiny as cities
    -no farms -no terraforming -barely no public transport -Day 1 DLC -always online DRM    Ignoring the whole server issues and always online DRM (which I don't mind that much if it wasn't for this terrible launch) the game still completely falls flat for me.
    Apart from the traffic and population simulators it's a complete downgrade from simcity 4 in almost every way. tiny as cities
    -no farms
    -no terraforming
    -barely no public transport
    -Day 1 DLC
    -always online DRM -bugs, bad graphics errywhere

    I don't play simcity to muck around with a tiny village, I play it to create a huge, thriving megalopolis. What a disappointment... I may return to the game once they add all the features sim city 4 had (and more) but no doubt this will be payed DLC.    … Expand
  62. bleuren
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    Score is 3 out of 10. All online ruins this game completely. You're relying solely on the availability and play-ability of servers. If the servers are busy, you wait, if they're down, you don't play, if they're full you don't play.

    Especially when it's only 6 servers.
  63. x00mauro
    Mar 7, 2013
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've been a big fan of Simcity since the first game that came out back in the 90's. I'm sorry to say but I'm super disappointed on this release. When I played the beta I thought they were doing fine and on the release week everything turned into a train rack. You can't connect to servers, I worked like 4 hours on a city and lost it, I did it again and lost it again, and it kept taking me to the tutorial every time I went back in the game. Of course my cities completely dissapear and this just sucks. I don't know how much of Maxis fault this is, but maybe Origin have something to do with it since when Battlefield 3 came out they had tons of errors and bugs too. They should at least have an offline option to play kind of like on BF3 right since this is telling us that servers will be down eventually since they also need maintenance, they can be hack, or maybe some kind of hardware problem. Well I hope this is a lesson learn for companies. The GAME: The graphics are cool, the game looks fun, and they improve in a lot of things. The things I don't like, unlike the past simcity you could built Highways, overamps, Subways, Farms, pipes, power lines and a million other options. Not to mention you could customize your terrain, have an extra large terrain and so on. NOW, all of those options are GONE!!!!! WTF!!!

    Anyways, I wish I could give them a good scoring since I pre-order the dam game and I had high expectations and you can find it online already cheaper than the pre-order. THEN END!    … Expand
  64. jimbob2100
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Couldn't play at midnight as the servers went down, then I had to wait over 20 mins today to get on. Played for 2 hours, then server crashes and I get kicked out of the game. Actual game is brilliant which is why I'm not giving it a 0 (although the city size limit is ridiculous). I just don't understand why a SINGLE PLAYER game has this NEED to be online. I get they are trying to forceCouldn't play at midnight as the servers went down, then I had to wait over 20 mins today to get on. Played for 2 hours, then server crashes and I get kicked out of the game. Actual game is brilliant which is why I'm not giving it a 0 (although the city size limit is ridiculous). I just don't understand why a SINGLE PLAYER game has this NEED to be online. I get they are trying to force this multiplayer way of thinking into the game. And I actually think that its a good idea and it opens possibilities to expand the game further from a gameplay perspective. But they should have at least given the option to turn it off. I don't know how it works exactly but maybe they could've had like an authentication process that requires a internet connection and after that it doesn't matter, you can play an offline single player mode with an option to turn on your multiplayer when you feel like it. The always on DRM is retarded and will always be retarded. Until game publishers realise this then consumers are gonna get screwed over time and time again… Expand
  65. Sharrpa
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Played for about 3 hours day after launch in the middle of the night. The game was very enjoyable for those 3 hours. Since then, unable to connect, unable to claim a city if I do connect. Should not have always on DRM for this very reason. I've been betrayed by EA and will get a refund, because in gaming, wallets are our only voice. One point for each hour I was able to play in the firstPlayed for about 3 hours day after launch in the middle of the night. The game was very enjoyable for those 3 hours. Since then, unable to connect, unable to claim a city if I do connect. Should not have always on DRM for this very reason. I've been betrayed by EA and will get a refund, because in gaming, wallets are our only voice. One point for each hour I was able to play in the first 48 hours of ownership.… Expand
  66. Surf3Com
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Due to EA Games unreasonable no refund policy for its digital download of Sim City, someone has created a petition on We the People White House website in which with 100,000 signatures the White House will have to form an official response. Thought everyone would like to know....Due to EA Games unreasonable no refund policy for its digital download of Sim City, someone has created a petition on We the People White House website in which with 100,000 signatures the White House will have to form an official response. Thought everyone would like to know.... https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/institute-industry-wide-return-policy-video-games-rely-remote-servers-and-drm-function-properly/nMy1wrtC

    P.S. A lot of potential, just loose the DRM, always on, and increase the city size and I'll be much happier lol.    … Expand
  67. FlavaFlave
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    I don't even know how to begin this review, since I've only been able to log 4 hours in this game since launch day (and it's now 4 days past launch). I've been a SimCity fan ever since I played the original on the SNES and PC, so waiting 10 years between the last proper game and this was excruciating to say the least. Imagine my disappointment when they take a single player game and forceI don't even know how to begin this review, since I've only been able to log 4 hours in this game since launch day (and it's now 4 days past launch). I've been a SimCity fan ever since I played the original on the SNES and PC, so waiting 10 years between the last proper game and this was excruciating to say the least. Imagine my disappointment when they take a single player game and force multiplayer on you, cut the map sizes down to almost nothing, and charge you $80 for a digital copy of the game (yes, you can buy it for $60, but you're missing features that you know will be mandatory later). It's a complete bust, as the game is 100% broken. I expected some connection woes on day 1, but shockingly that's the only day I was able to actually play. Since then I've logged on 3 times in 4 days, only to lose my connection after getting into a region, and I've completely lost 3 cities since they are stored on EA servers and not my PC. I've not been a fan of EA for a long time, but this is the final straw. They've completely lost me as a customer. Sorry Maxis it's been a great ride.… Expand
  68. Eflite
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Only a couple of more minutes of waiting left! After waiting 18 minutes that is. For the Nth time. And when the wait is finally over, it's fifty-fifty chance of actually being able to enter the game. Every other time I'll just get an error message, and I have to wait for another 18 minutes. Lets cross our fingers for this time.
  69. Nuttyman02
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    The inability to play single player offline is a major drawback. Even without the issues that they have had during launch, a hiccup in my internet connection could likely nullify hours of progress. The prospect of not being able to play this game years down the road because of servers no longer existing is also ominous. There are many games that I still enjoy today that are a decadeThe inability to play single player offline is a major drawback. Even without the issues that they have had during launch, a hiccup in my internet connection could likely nullify hours of progress. The prospect of not being able to play this game years down the road because of servers no longer existing is also ominous. There are many games that I still enjoy today that are a decade older or more. Unless there are plans for a patch to allow this game to be played when servers will no longer support it, I don't believe the series fan base will stick around for much more abuse.… Expand
  70. hein
    May 7, 2013
    3
    Server problems were fixed and I was able to get on to play finally.......Once in after you've played a bit you notice that game mechanics are not great and they've cut corners. The game in terms of overall gameplay has not been thought out well enough. SimcCity had been a single player game, this time around they made the mistake of putting more emphasis on the Multiplayer aspect. ThisServer problems were fixed and I was able to get on to play finally.......Once in after you've played a bit you notice that game mechanics are not great and they've cut corners. The game in terms of overall gameplay has not been thought out well enough. SimcCity had been a single player game, this time around they made the mistake of putting more emphasis on the Multiplayer aspect. This leads to very small city sizes, you're expected to work with other cities. Of course where you don't want to and want to have the old big city style game play...well you're out of luck. I feel as though because of this always on DRM they've tailored the game around it. Since it has been essentially proven that the servers are not doing any computation...its becoming very clear that the small city sizes and working with others came after it was decided that there was going to be always on drm. This is an epic failure in my opinion and in my opinion just ruins this would be great game.… Expand
  71. JihadJonny
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Oh SimCity, how I yearned for you. I needed my city building fix and I had such high hopes for you. It's not your fault SimCity. Maxis sold you, and EA raped you. This game has more problems than Calculus book, and the issues are centered around the Always Online DRM...that and the fact that no content is saved locally. If you can look past the fact you can't log in to play, EA removingOh SimCity, how I yearned for you. I needed my city building fix and I had such high hopes for you. It's not your fault SimCity. Maxis sold you, and EA raped you. This game has more problems than Calculus book, and the issues are centered around the Always Online DRM...that and the fact that no content is saved locally. If you can look past the fact you can't log in to play, EA removing game features to smooth out server side issued, the fact that EA as the worst customer service in the world, and the real sticker for a massive city building simulation....the lots are WAY too small. Overlooking all of that, the game, for the 45 minutes I've been able to play, is fun and the graphics are nice. The only reason I gave this game a 3 is because some poor peon at EA has slaved away to make this, for that he or she deserves some recognition.… Expand
  72. scoobyff666
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    This game was seriously affected by a really bad choice of making a essentially single-player game into a "online-only" game. You can only play connected to EA servers, even if you want to play alone. I will probably never use any of the online features of the game, so I really hate this. You can't save your game to your hard drive and even in the servers you can't save when you want. IfThis game was seriously affected by a really bad choice of making a essentially single-player game into a "online-only" game. You can only play connected to EA servers, even if you want to play alone. I will probably never use any of the online features of the game, so I really hate this. You can't save your game to your hard drive and even in the servers you can't save when you want. If you're thinking about trying something with your city that you may regret, it's better not to do it, because there's no way back. I have already paid for this game and it is very expensive, but when someone out there make a pirated version with no online requirements, I will start using it and forget about the original game.

    If you are thinking about buying this game, my advice is: DON'T!

    And I would like everybody to note that I'm not even talking about the server problems, because I know it can happen and I know when they fix it it will be alright. My problem is with the internet connection requirement. I can't play my game when I want because I don't always have a internet connection (and of course EA won't keep the servers running forever). If the game had an offline mode, I would not even care about the servers. They could even explode.    … Expand
  73. Roger72
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    I'm going to be extremely generous in this review by pretending I'm writing from the perspective of six months from now, that all the server issues have been fixed, and that perhaps EA has even modified some of the most egregious limitations of the online DRM. As a longtime SimCity fan who's played every iteration of the game, though, going back to Will Wright's original classic, it trulyI'm going to be extremely generous in this review by pretending I'm writing from the perspective of six months from now, that all the server issues have been fixed, and that perhaps EA has even modified some of the most egregious limitations of the online DRM. As a longtime SimCity fan who's played every iteration of the game, though, going back to Will Wright's original classic, it truly pains me to say I still cannot recommend this game.

    The city size issue mentioned by many here is actually not new, but it's become so bad that it actually undermines the core premise of the game (that one is simulating a "city"). I can still recall being disappointed at how small SimCity 4's city areas seemed relative to SimCity 3000, but here the typical "city" is, without exaggeration, neighborhood-size. At 2x2 km, a typical city lot is slightly larger than Park Slope in Brooklyn, assuming there is no water or other unbuildable terrain. Truth be told, SimCity never handled scale all that well, but with these dimensions, the very notion of mass transit itself becomes absurd, as a pedestrian could walk across the city in a matter of minutes. It's little wonder that agricultural zoning and subways have disappeared. The cities are simply too small for them.

    This alone is enough to severely limit the appeal of the game to me, but the regional system, too, is poorly implemented. The essence of SimCity was, after all, always the Mayorship, and the Mayor's authority extends only to the borders of his city. Attempting to create regional economies and specializations, where players are forced to constantly deal with neighbors (whether in multiplayer or single-player) ultimately detracts from the experience, IMO. This is not SimCounty or SimState or SimRegionalEconomicPartnership, it's SimCity! The scale and shape of the cities, moreover, makes the "regions" appear quite ridiculous and not at all realistic.

    Zoning, a core element of the game, has been given an overhaul, but not for the better. Previous versions built in infrastructure cost as part of the zoning itself (higher densities cost more to zone), but did not care what size street they fronted. Here, zoning is free, but all depends on the type of fronting street. This makes it impossible to construct anything like Lower Manhattan or downtown Boston. Your options are basically Phoenix, Las Vegas or Houston, on a tiny scale. The streets can be curvy now, yes, but since building lots remain square (was it really that hard to snap lots and buildings to irregular spaces?), this produces a tremendous amount of wasted space.

    The time scale of SimCity was always perplexing, with the early emphasis on dirty industry, later transitioning to electronics and white collar services, suggestive of a starting point during the industrial revolution and moving through the late 20th century (I believe SC 2000 had a possible starting year of 1900 A.D., though contemporary tech was always available, and culminated with futuristic arcologies). The tantalizing possibilities of building a game that captures the sweep of urban history in this manner, a sort of Civilization of city-building, has been left unexplored here. Instead, the player lives in a perpetual now, with only a handful of technological enhancements here and there. About the AI, many uncomplimentary things could be said. Multiple fire trucks respond to a single modest house fire even as a wall of flame sweeps through the industrial district. Residents make contradictory statements about their proximity to shopping. And so on.

    I'm trying to think of a few positive things to say here, and I do like the option of simply adding on to, rather than demolishing and rebuilding, certain buildings. The graphics are attractive enough, if a bit cartoony. Overall, though, it's just not a step up from SC 4, or even from the two before it. Did fans really wait 10 years for this? Perhaps Maxis can, in time, mend some of the flaws. Others are here to stay, reflective of what looks like a long-term shift away from single-player in-depth games to a ones better suited to an era of smart phones and short attention spans. For SimCity, though, one of the ultimate time wasters and friend to micromanagers everywhere, that design imperative may very well be fatal to the venerable franchise.    … Expand
  74. AProcrastinator
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    This game looks pretty good, but then there's the always online DRM. This means that when a new sim city is released, EA will start killing off the servers for this sim city, and the game will be dead and unable to play. The maps are also smaller than other sim city games, and even the 1980/1990's sim city was better, and had bigger maps. One more thing is that you can't save the game toThis game looks pretty good, but then there's the always online DRM. This means that when a new sim city is released, EA will start killing off the servers for this sim city, and the game will be dead and unable to play. The maps are also smaller than other sim city games, and even the 1980/1990's sim city was better, and had bigger maps. One more thing is that you can't save the game to your hardrive, it goes straight to EA's cloud. This means that you can't load up a save of one of your games. Say you have a city saved, and then it gets destroyed. You are unable to open it up and load the game, it goes straight to the cloud, where it is impossible to get. 3/10, gorgeous, seems pretty good, but then there's the drm and save/load items.… Expand
  75. mike300zxt
    Mar 9, 2013
    3
    I think GameSpot's review of this game says it best. This is a 5/10 game at best. I'm going to give it a 3. Don't get me wrong, over the next year I'm sure they'll sort out some of the issues, but in it's current state, it never should have been put in sale.

    Once I heard about the always online requirement, I knew this game would be a wreck. Server issues aside, there are serious    I think GameSpot's review of this game says it best. This is a 5/10 game at best. I'm going to give it a 3. Don't get me wrong, over the next year I'm sure they'll sort out some of the issues, but in it's current state, it never should have been put in sale.

    Once I heard about the always online requirement, I knew this game would be a wreck. Server issues aside, there are serious design flaws and limitations around single player play. Even when you give in to the "social" aspect that was created to justify the always online DRM, you find loads of bugs that prevent you from working with others, allow others to wreck your cities, or even cause you to lose your city entirely. The level of frustration and disappointment is unbelievable.

    At the core, SimCity does some things better than ever, but it rarely works long enough for you to tell. In the end, it lacks the size, scale and features of previous versions, and spends most of it's time frustrating you.    … Expand
  76. temo
    Mar 11, 2013
    3
    Server, DRM and Region issues aside, the GlassBox engine simply isn't very good right and can't keep up with extended game play. Casinos, mass transit, garbage/recycling are broken and the path-finding is appallingly bad. If someone with DLC abandons a city then you can't claim it because you haven't paid the extra $20 to use it. This is brutal because now there's a dead city and nothingServer, DRM and Region issues aside, the GlassBox engine simply isn't very good right and can't keep up with extended game play. Casinos, mass transit, garbage/recycling are broken and the path-finding is appallingly bad. If someone with DLC abandons a city then you can't claim it because you haven't paid the extra $20 to use it. This is brutal because now there's a dead city and nothing you can do to fix it (good luck building a great work or commuting). There's so many other little problems with the inherent game play that it's obvious they shipped it before it was ready. Let me repeat these are core game problems and not just flaky servers.

    Now don't even get me started on the servers, drm and regions...What a mess...    … Expand
  77. WWickedRevenge
    Mar 11, 2013
    3
    I'm going to ignore the server login issues, however once you are in the game you do run out of space quite fast, again not a problem as you increase density. The major issue I have with this game is that you need to cannibalise your city to provide services such as water, power, recycling, etc. Everything takes up more and more space the trading HQ takes upwards to two big city blocks.I'm going to ignore the server login issues, however once you are in the game you do run out of space quite fast, again not a problem as you increase density. The major issue I have with this game is that you need to cannibalise your city to provide services such as water, power, recycling, etc. Everything takes up more and more space the trading HQ takes upwards to two big city blocks.

    Now this issue wouldn't be an issue if the various cities in the region worked together with any consistent way, i'm always getting messages that x city is no longer sending me water, but I made x city with over 1000 times the water that city needed to supply this one, sending funds or resources seems to take half a day (real time), and each of my various cities in the region saw our Regional Airport at different stages which leads me to believe large amounts of resources were probably going into cyberspace never to be seen again. I have also noted it appears you can only send resources to your closest neighbours not those further distance.

    Until ALL of Simcity's server issues are resolved I cannot recommend this game, it is broken and the long game just doesn't seem to be there, i've played three cities with a region population of 300k and a total bank balance of $55M (through electronics trading) and i've run out of things to do, I have no space, I need to keep my utilities in each city as outsourcing isn't an option, so i'm stuck just watching my balance go up, and my interest go down.    … Expand
  78. Ktarro
    Mar 12, 2013
    3
    O jogo perde a conexão com bastante frequência, server lotados o tempo todo, não tem nenhum server na America do sul. Deveria ter a opção de jogar off-line sem ter uma conexão constante com a internet isso pra mim o pior. Acho que a manutenção e o custo de edifícios e serviços são um pouco exagerados para uma nova cidade.
  79. VolRath217
    Mar 13, 2013
    3
    So yeah, launch was terrible, regardless of what some of these reviews are saying it was, in fact, worse than Diablo 3. Disregarding that however, the game, for what it is, isn't that bad. Unfortunately it also doesn't live up to not only the previous Sim City games (though I realize that this is a "relaunch" and not a sequel), but there are a lot of things that were told to us prior toSo yeah, launch was terrible, regardless of what some of these reviews are saying it was, in fact, worse than Diablo 3. Disregarding that however, the game, for what it is, isn't that bad. Unfortunately it also doesn't live up to not only the previous Sim City games (though I realize that this is a "relaunch" and not a sequel), but there are a lot of things that were told to us prior to the release that this just does not deliver.

    I have spent a lot of time in this game, I made a city with over 400,000 people in it, I filled up the map with an oil drilling city, I filled up the map with a city of almost nothing but high-density, high-wealth commercial and residential with landmarks making tons of tourist money, I made a mining city making tons of money selling alloy. Making them was great. It's too bad I can't play those last 2 now. Both of them are lost somewhere in that big, origin cloud in the sky. The only reason I'm on metacritic right now is because I just can't bring myself to make another city, pouring 10-15 hours into something that when I load it the next day it's going to tell me that it can't process correctly and then it completely disappears such that I can't even see the road connecting it when I'm in my city next door. I'l start with my list of gripes. 1) They said that people's lives were going to be simuated; they'd have names, jobs, homes. Well, that's true. They wake up in a home in the morning, you follow them to work. But keep watching. That night they go to the closest empty house, the next day someone with a different name leaves that house and goes to the closest empty job which is not the same as it was yesterday. Their "simulation" isn't simulating anything. 2) While this is a relaunch, it's missing key components from previous games. Most visibly, terraforming. There's a city in one region where you can't build anything but a 1x8 strip of road and maybe 10 houses and the rest is a giant mesa that's too steep for a road to go up. 3) The obvious part from earlier about my cities keep going missing. 4) You will run out of water. Your entire region WILL run out of water. There is nothing you can do about it. 5) I can't save my game on my PC. Now always-online doesn't bother me as long as servers are up (I haven't had a big problem with that), but I've been playing SimCity for 18 years and sometimes you just have to back up 30 minutes and start again. Plus I always enjoyed filling up a map with a giant city and then setting off all the disasters at once before I went to bed at night. When I got up, I'd reload the game and be right back where I was before the disaster. Here, you don't get that, what happens, happens. At least in WoW, which incidentally is also always online and doesn't save locally, there is nothing I can do short of deleting my toon that will completely destroy my gameplay (and I can even undo character deletion if I open a ticket). No local save Great chance of failure. 6) The city is too small. I don't care what anyone thinks, the city is too small. On every other Sim City game I always chose the largest city, why in the world would I ever want just a kinda big city or itty bitty city? I wouldn't. 7) Everything HAS to be next to a road. You can't build a residential square and put a park in the middle of it (unless you just plop a piece of road next to it as well), and you can't upgrade from a 4 lane to a divided 4 lane or move your road over 1 space (to keep in line with the rest of the city) without destroying every building along it. There's too much stuff for me to continue without saying what I like about it.

    So, what I like about it 1) I like that the roads are the pipes and the power lines. It simplifies things, but doesn't over-simplify. 2) I like how (when working) if you've built a university or fully upgraded your town hall in one city in the region, the benefits spread to the rest of the region. 3) Though I have to care about how happy everyone is, I'm glad I don't have to REALLY care about how happy they are like in SC4. 4) As I'm going over things in my head now, I realize what I like about it is the fact that it's SimCity. There's not anything in particular about this specific game that I can point out that is special and working that I like. Just building a city and watching it grow and change is the only reason I've made 4 full map cities (well, that and I keep having to start over since they keep disappearing). I could probably at this moment reinstall SC3k and not be nearly as disappointed.    … Expand
  80. digixu
    Mar 14, 2013
    3
    Dont get me wrong at its core it could be a beautiful game but there is so MUCH holding it back. The always online is a kick to the knees but the killer for me is City size, 0.5km x 0.5km is just so so small and then the traffic AI is just moronic, no left turns, avoids avenues for dirt roads if there closer, ambulances dont have right of ways buses have no routes and cause jams 7Dont get me wrong at its core it could be a beautiful game but there is so MUCH holding it back. The always online is a kick to the knees but the killer for me is City size, 0.5km x 0.5km is just so so small and then the traffic AI is just moronic, no left turns, avoids avenues for dirt roads if there closer, ambulances dont have right of ways buses have no routes and cause jams 7 firetrucks for 1 small house fire while a skyscraper burns down i could go on.

    Glassbox needs a lot of work

    RCI needs fixing its too lenient and unrealistic while at the same time we are seeing 100% residential cities working with no commercial or industrial.

    Graphical its beautiful but size constraints are holding it back.

    its a good game at its core but EA have decided to bring this game out of development too soon.

    Disappointing.    … Expand
  81. Glychd
    Mar 15, 2013
    3
    Disregarding all of the bugs on release, this game still has problems. There are only really 4 hours of gameplay, and cities don't connect properly throughout the region. I found the longest it took (even in the most prime city locations) to cap out my city, to the point where I could no longer build anything (because of space) and every building was upgraded to a skyscraper, with maxDisregarding all of the bugs on release, this game still has problems. There are only really 4 hours of gameplay, and cities don't connect properly throughout the region. I found the longest it took (even in the most prime city locations) to cap out my city, to the point where I could no longer build anything (because of space) and every building was upgraded to a skyscraper, with max tech, was four hours. Within four hours I was generating millions of dollars every 20 minutes or so, and the only thing I could do is start over. Which may be fine for some people, but keep in mind that when you start over, you can either pick from one of the 3 cities connected to yours, or start over completely in a city that is not connected, but within the same zone. Here is the catch. Those three cities that are connected, will all be in terrible locations. They will either be riddled with mountains, minimizing your space. Or divided completely by Water, using up your space. The cities are just too small to really get in-depth, and sink hours into this game. That wouldn't be such a big problem if every city in the region connected, but they don't. And since this game focuses on multiplayer so much, the cities that are connected to you will likely be taken up by your friends. Thus this game gets a 3. It's fun, for four hours, then it sucks. Don't bother. This is nothing like Simcity 4, it is at least 4 steps in the wrong direction. Everything is oversimplified to the point where the bulk of your time is spent sitting, waiting for money to come in, and occasionally demolishing an abandoned building.… Expand
  82. sanka
    Mar 21, 2013
    3
    In short, better you know about how a real city is developed, higher the chance that you'd be disappointed. From the first SimCity to SimCity 4, each new title give you improved simulation on city development, at the same time embrace you more on creativity and value judgment. However, this SimCity is a much simplified game than the previous: Agriculture is gone, density control is gone,In short, better you know about how a real city is developed, higher the chance that you'd be disappointed. From the first SimCity to SimCity 4, each new title give you improved simulation on city development, at the same time embrace you more on creativity and value judgment. However, this SimCity is a much simplified game than the previous: Agriculture is gone, density control is gone, policy/legislation is gone... While one would expect that the new game gives more options in city building, it just doesn't. For example, you may think of using subway system or even cycle tracks to solve traffic jam, like in many real world cities during the last ten years. None of these are allowed, you can either upgrade your roads or build more roads. The basic system is population oriented, you need to boost the city and regional population to unlock higher tier infrastructure, which is nonsense (Before you have enough population to upgrade your city hall, you are not even allowed to do waste recycling in your city, ridiculous) The "city specialty" feel so mining focused, that you wonder whether it is sponsored by real world mining companies. You can build a oil well in an urban area and it is cleaner than one would imagine. The game may be fun for those who just want to see buildings pop up and vehicles running around the city; but if you are those "thinkers" type that look for a planning challenge and build a dream city your way, I am sure that you will be disappointed. I would give the game a 5 (that some may find it fun), but it have "sim" in the title, which the game does not offer.… Expand
  83. 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
  84. 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
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. 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
  88. blogfirstlast
    May 11, 2013
    3
    I wondered I wondered why all of you hated this game! This was until it crashed every time I did anything. Since I have a great computer I looked up this just to see that more than 600 people have complained about this on various websites. Now I can't play it and I wasted 60 dollars. Other than that this game is decent.
  89. SeveredWing
    Apr 18, 2013
    3
    If you were upset by the launch of Diablo 3 then Simcity 2013's launch will be familiar territory. A gaming company (named the worst Company in America again) failed to live up to the demand of their customers, which is pretty much the #1 thing a company should concern itself with. In repeated interviews they were asked by the press if they would be ready for the sheer demand on theirIf you were upset by the launch of Diablo 3 then Simcity 2013's launch will be familiar territory. A gaming company (named the worst Company in America again) failed to live up to the demand of their customers, which is pretty much the #1 thing a company should concern itself with. In repeated interviews they were asked by the press if they would be ready for the sheer demand on their servers that an always online title would make and they constantly answered they would be. They of course failed and failed in epic fashion. Whereas Diablo 3 gave you "Error 37" and simply did not let you connect, on launch Simcity teased you by claiming that servers were full and giving you a timer. When said timer ran out it would again fail to connect and again start another timer, usually with an even longer wait. Once the launch issues were corrected it became apparent that the always online function was more of a handicap than it first appeared. You could no longer load a city whenever you wanted, you had to rely on the auto save function to recover your city should the unthinkable happen (such as getting disconnected from the server) and on top of that the cities were not shared across servers and many people had to server hop in the opening weeks of the game just to get connected so their hard work was made moot when the server they were using became full and they had to choose another. Top this off with what amounts to EA's Policy of Customer gouging and you have the makings of an utter failure. It is apparent that EA intends to make users pay for additional content piece meal, bit by bit as they see fit to release it, Things that should be free like cosmetic changes to building styles or vehicles are in the works as paid DLC. There will be no community modding as the game has an always online DRM (even though EA will claim it is not for DRM purposes, they will quickly ban anyone who attempts to circumvent it). The worst offense however is the games lack of completeness. It ran through a Beta build, but it still felt rushed. Numerous problems plague players such as traffic not behaving in a proper fashion, buildings not operating with the intended functions, and AI controlled services such as fire and police, acting erratically in response to situations they are supposed to deal with. Putting this all aside the game is a great revisit to the franchise, but its innovations are its shortcomings as well. The smaller city sizes coupled with the "regional" play handicaps most players. Anyone wishing to play a solo region must now manage multiple cities to ensure that they get all the services and functions required for just one city to work and the region view and city changing view are ridiculously complicated, requiring you to jump back to your own city every time before you can look at someone else's city, You can't just view one neighbor's city and then from that city jump to another neighbor, you have to go back to your own city and then jump to the other neighbor. The game just feels halfhearted and rushed.… Expand
  90. Kyuui
    Apr 20, 2013
    3
    My Review is based on 275+hours of game play.
    First, the Graphics, are pretty, but even they have issues. Flickering fade out, loss of texture, terrain issues abound.
    The game was hyped on the regional concept and multi player, however, more of that is broken than not. Regions will take overly long to synch, sometimes requiring a full shut down to do so. That doesn't mean all of the    My Review is based on 275+hours of game play.
    First, the Graphics, are pretty, but even they have issues. Flickering fade out, loss of texture, terrain issues abound.

    The game was hyped on the regional concept and multi player, however, more of that is broken than not.
    Regions will take overly long to synch, sometimes requiring a full shut down to do so. That doesn't mean all of the cities will show the same. Second the bugs within the trade system can seriously impact game play (double and triple billing of imports, lost exports) Great works, are problematic, and lack any real impact to the region. In the 16 city "regions" you are still only connected to 4 other cities at max, meaning your really not Massive and not multiplayer due to the synch issues.

    The roll back issue, fade to black issue and failing to process issues, are MASSIVE game breakers and those alone, should stop anyone from considering this since in most cases, its a lost city, and time.

    The agent pathing is so problematic with multiple areas of the game that it would be better suited to to remove it entirely from the game. Combine poor agent pathing, with important systems like water, power, mass transit and you have a game crippling DESIGN element.

    Over all, other than the graphics, the game is shallow, has issues with its base design that effect the game itself adversely to a point that one must question the thinking in using it at all. Never mind the still present server issues of rollback, loss of processing and the new fade to black.    … Expand
  91. jinx748
    Apr 29, 2013
    3
    I love SimCity but I am less than pleased with this game. I bought this game the day it came out and I was immediately confronted with piles of problems getting the game to work. They gave me a free game to make up for their incompetence but that doesn't make me stop wishing they hadn't dropped the ball. The graphics are polished and they look great! The sims are very unintelligent andI love SimCity but I am less than pleased with this game. I bought this game the day it came out and I was immediately confronted with piles of problems getting the game to work. They gave me a free game to make up for their incompetence but that doesn't make me stop wishing they hadn't dropped the ball. The graphics are polished and they look great! The sims are very unintelligent and there are mountains of bugs. They have been working hard to fix the bugs so I have to give them a little credit there. This game could have been so fantastic but someone got greedy and released it waaaaaay too soon. IMO this game should not have been released for another year to two years. There could be much more content and interaction between players is limited. The intelligence of the sims could be brought to at least a kindergarten level and the playable area for a city could stand to be a little bigger.

    I hope Maxis can pull it out of the hat with an expansion but they are really slow on fixes and updates so I can't see it happening.    … Expand
  92. yalamander
    May 7, 2013
    3
    great idea horrible game. still played it for 100 hours.
    The game is way to expensive, requires players to be online for nothing, is so full of bugs and problems that playing gets very frustrating quickly. To the gameplay: cities are to small, regions don't act as regions because in big regions only 4 cities can be connected, a $10.000 an hour fire station will not keep fires in control    great idea horrible game. still played it for 100 hours.
    The game is way to expensive, requires players to be online for nothing, is so full of bugs and problems that playing gets very frustrating quickly. To the gameplay: cities are to small, regions don't act as regions because in big regions only 4 cities can be connected, a $10.000 an hour fire station will not keep fires in control after you reach 150k sims in your city and many, and so on and on.
    Problem is the game gets addictive really quickly. You want to do good and that makes you keep trying. If EA could've just released a good thought out and well developed game... *shake my head*    … Expand
  93. adbksdb
    May 14, 2013
    3
    Foreword: this review does NOT take into account DRM, server problems or comparison with older titles of the series.

    For me, city simulators have always been about building immense megalopolis that fulfill my dreams AND are realistic, sometimes recreating real-life cities. This is completely impossible in this SimCity, because of the ridiculously small map size, the pre-made regions    Foreword: this review does NOT take into account DRM, server problems or comparison with older titles of the series.

    For me, city simulators have always been about building immense megalopolis that fulfill my dreams AND are realistic, sometimes recreating real-life cities.
    This is completely impossible in this SimCity, because of the ridiculously small map size, the pre-made regions with fixed city placement (with empty landscape in between) and fixed intercity transport network, and the lack of realistic skyscrapers and such (you can't have realistically sized skyscrapers otherwise they would pretty much look oversized on the tiny map).
    I reckon that most players are not interested in creating realistic cities but they just want to have fun with the simulation. Well this game is really bad in that respect too.
    The agent-based simulation? Great idea, but all in all what I see (and interact with) in the game are the *effects* of the simulation, and it really doesn't matter if it's the single citizens who are simulated, or just the overall city data. Moreover, as everyone knows, the agent-based simulation has been really poorly implemented and it's still full of bugs after 2 months and many patches.
    Even if they completely fixed all the bugs and the sims' idiotic behaviour, the tiny map size would still hamper the depth of the simulation: you can have the most advanced transport pathfinding and traffic simulation in the world, but what does it matter if the longest road in your city is not even 1 mile long?
    The game still shows great promise but unless they *at least* fix all the bugs and add way larger map sizes, it will remain no more than a (very expensive) facebook game.

    And there is one last thing to consider. I have my simcity4 cities on a usb key. If I wanted I could reinstall the game and play with the cities I made 10 years ago. While I highly doubt simcity5 servers will still be online 10 years from now...    … Expand
  94. Oligharch
    Jun 23, 2013
    3
    Wow. Im stating to realize just how delusional the critics are. I honestly doubt they played simcity 4. The maps are disgustingly small.The traffic is ridiculous, but i guess when you cram 300 000 people in 2 fuking squared kilometers, thats what you get. Extremely inadequate public transit systems (trams cause more traffic then they relieve) and busses never reach their destination, theyWow. Im stating to realize just how delusional the critics are. I honestly doubt they played simcity 4. The maps are disgustingly small.The traffic is ridiculous, but i guess when you cram 300 000 people in 2 fuking squared kilometers, thats what you get. Extremely inadequate public transit systems (trams cause more traffic then they relieve) and busses never reach their destination, they just get stuck in traffic. 3 out of 10. I regret buying this game. If EA thinks they can just nickle and dime us to death with stupid expansions that they removed from their origional appalling mistake of a video game, they are trully mistaken.… Expand
  95. Duke0102
    Jul 21, 2013
    3
    The graphics are great, the new building systems are pretty cool and the connections between the different cities actually works.
    A big issue is the game is too reliant on having an internet connection as maps are stored externally.
    My major problem with this game is that the size of the cities are too small, you get so far in then find you have to destroy parts of the city to build new    The graphics are great, the new building systems are pretty cool and the connections between the different cities actually works.
    A big issue is the game is too reliant on having an internet connection as maps are stored externally.
    My major problem with this game is that the size of the cities are too small, you get so far in then find you have to destroy parts of the city to build new things meaning finding a balance is more of a struggle than a challenge and takes the fun out of it.
    If they make the city maps larger I will happily rate this 6/7 out of 10 as this will make the gameplay so much more fun.    … Expand
  96. bassgirl90
    Dec 14, 2013
    3
    Why I rated this game a 3:

    The best part of this game is the graphics and audio; however, the biggest part of any game: gameplay is seriously lacking, and EA as usual has not listened to the consumer. Pros: Beautiful graphics and great audio Cons: Small map sizes, severe traffic control problems, enormous structures, residential is not dense enough for map size. Unfortunately the    Why I rated this game a 3:

    The best part of this game is the graphics and audio; however, the biggest part of any game: gameplay is seriously lacking, and EA as usual has not listened to the consumer.

    Pros: Beautiful graphics and great audio
    Cons: Small map sizes, severe traffic control problems, enormous structures, residential is not dense enough for map size.

    Unfortunately the map size in relation to the structure sizes makes it incredibly difficult to fit in enough residential space in addition to city specialization structures and standard infrastructure i.e. water pumps, city hall, power plants, trash disposal, mining operations, electronics factories, casinos, and universities. If they wanted to make them so big, then they should have given us bigger maps.

    The other glaring issues is that trade is near impossible once your city becomes large enough. There is literally one entry into the city. This results in a major bottleneck for traffic and causes major backups. This problem will result in lost or inconsistent input of revenue causing cash flow problems. I believe that this results mostly from the fact that all city transit options flow on the roads and there is no subway to speak of to help offset some of the travelers. I extensively used subways in SimCity 3000 Unlimited and rarely had real traffic control problems.

    Don't waste your money on this disappointment like I did.    … Expand
  97. Fanchi
    Nov 7, 2013
    3
    Este es el gran fracaso de EA, es una lástima que una saga tan fantástica se haya visto destrozada y vapuleada por un juego tan mal hecho, no es solo el DRM lo que es indignante de por si cosa por la que merecería escribirse todo un libro de críticas pero no voy a entrar en eso es el juego en sí mismo el que ha fallado estrepitosamente.

    se anuncio como la apoteosis de la simulación y    Este es el gran fracaso de EA, es una lástima que una saga tan fantástica se haya visto destrozada y vapuleada por un juego tan mal hecho, no es solo el DRM lo que es indignante de por si cosa por la que merecería escribirse todo un libro de críticas pero no voy a entrar en eso es el juego en sí mismo el que ha fallado estrepitosamente.

    se anuncio como la apoteosis de la simulación y la definitiva reencarnación del genero con la conjunción de todo lo positivo de los anteriores y ha sido un nefasto fracaso, merece la pena pararse a enumerar los fallos más dolorosos:

    1º lo que de primera hora debería de haber sido una aliciente la "socialización" e interactuación con el resto de los jugadores de tu mismo territorio e incluso del mundo se torno a una dependencia extraña que impide un desarrollo optimo de tu ciudad (más que nada por la poca gente que juega de forma estable a este juego).

    2º los mapas de juego real, es decir donde tú puedes construir y jugar en definitiva son demasiado pequeños, cosa que se ha hecho así presupongo para poder conseguir el primer punto

    3º a pesar del primer punto y a causa del segundo es irracionalmente fácil hacer que tu ciudad crezca e imposible hacer que la ciudad sea estable, cosa que a título personal me acaba provocando dolor de cabeza y no diversión

    4º los servidores dan literalmente pena, vergüenza ajena

    hay más razones por las cuales no merece la pena ni mencionar este juego, no hay más que ver la puntuación de los usuarios.    … Expand
  98. Muffiman
    Nov 18, 2013
    3
    Probably one of the worst game launches ever, but even if you survived this disaster the game is just not a good Sim City. The Cities are too small and they don't really let you create your own city. They want you to build them like they want. EAs DLC politic makes it even worse. If you want a good Sim City don't buy this, buy Sim City 4 probably the best Sim City.
  99. DownBusiness
    Nov 27, 2013
    3
    I really wanted to like this game. And the first couple of hours are nice. Its not broken because the game is playable. Its just bugged.

    Always online DRM is really bad.
    Servers are really bad: either its full or saves dissappear.
    Cities are too small.
    Still buggy after all this time.
  100. Janpi
    Dec 1, 2013
    3
    smh. So how does EA screw this up? The "always on" doesn't bother me much, its just that I can't even play the game without feeling frustrated. Traffic patters all screw up, cities being square and small. I don't understand why there is a city, and then next to it there's nothing just plains, no suburban, no rural towns, just trees and a road. Resource sharing is awful.
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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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