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. Arasine
    Apr 3, 2013
    0
    EA have taken a deep, relaxing simulation and turned it into an iphone game for 12 year old girls (imagine "The Sims" with a option to 'plop' houses down).
    City size is laughable compared to every other city empire building game out there. Servers will eat your gamesave, never to be seen again and you never even own the game, you are renting until EA turn off the servers whenever they    EA have taken a deep, relaxing simulation and turned it into an iphone game for 12 year old girls (imagine "The Sims" with a option to 'plop' houses down).
    City size is laughable compared to every other city empire building game out there. Servers will eat your gamesave, never to be seen again and you never even own the game, you are renting until EA turn off the servers whenever they feel like it (read when it's not making them enough profit).
    Learn from others mistakes people, do not buy.    … Expand
  2. Red-Rocket
    Jun 23, 2013
    2
    Ok i really want to enjoy this game, it looks good, i like the mechanics BUT THE ALWAYS ONLINE DRM is not for SimCity. And EA being EA this game will go offline and be unplayable in a few years. Thats not worth it
  3. alfdib
    Jun 26, 2013
    2
    I cannot believe SC5 is this game. The cities are ridicoulous little, you'cant expand...there are not underground like in SC4...the traffic is not sustainable due to skycrapers in a little village...water, even close to the sea run out easily and people left city because of no water this is ridicolous, in real life this is never going to happen). If you put a nuclear power station thenI cannot believe SC5 is this game. The cities are ridicoulous little, you'cant expand...there are not underground like in SC4...the traffic is not sustainable due to skycrapers in a little village...water, even close to the sea run out easily and people left city because of no water this is ridicolous, in real life this is never going to happen). If you put a nuclear power station then radioactivity kills everyone in the sorrounding in few months... this is absolutely not real life!!!! Who was the diretor of this game? probably a kid of 4 years old could have done better job.… Expand
  4. Josefrodo
    Jul 23, 2013
    0
    This has got to be the worst game I have ever bought in my life. I am (was) a huge fan of SimCity, and was looking forward to this with a lot of anticipation. After seeing the launch fiasco, I decided to wait. After I saw the reviews... I decided to wait a little longer. When I finally purchased the game, I had to go through the horrid Origin experience, useless and annoying interface.This has got to be the worst game I have ever bought in my life. I am (was) a huge fan of SimCity, and was looking forward to this with a lot of anticipation. After seeing the launch fiasco, I decided to wait. After I saw the reviews... I decided to wait a little longer. When I finally purchased the game, I had to go through the horrid Origin experience, useless and annoying interface.
    When I FINALLY logged on I saw that EA had decided to put advertisements while the game loaded, gee thanks, I'll go buy a car while the game loads, I guess.
    When I finally could play, I saw first hand what everyone was complaining about: dumb AI, uselessly small maps, and the DRM is infuriating, I lost whatever progress my tiny city made because the game would not save or lost connection somehow.
    All in all, I uninstalled the program after playing it three times, and since EA does not give refunds on online downloads, I feel like a sucker for giving SimCity 5 the benefit of the doubt.
    (PS. I bought this game in April but someone just brought up the topic and the memories enraged me enough to write this review)    … Expand
  5. peekitup
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    The game is simply unplayable and is a complete waste of money. Even if you can log in, your city will often not save to the servers, all of the regional interaction between cities. In fact, everything done on the server end seems to be broken by bugs or lag. You will lost hours of gametime, will be unable to play with your friends, unable to build anything of reasonable size that isThe game is simply unplayable and is a complete waste of money. Even if you can log in, your city will often not save to the servers, all of the regional interaction between cities. In fact, everything done on the server end seems to be broken by bugs or lag. You will lost hours of gametime, will be unable to play with your friends, unable to build anything of reasonable size that is functioning. A complete crash and burn in regards to trusting some server to be reliable.

    Do not buy.

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

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

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

    As they have sold me a product that is clearly defective, do I not have rights to demand a refund? So far they are refusing, and claim they will ban my account preventing me from playing every other game I ever bought for them if I get my credit card company to reverse the charge. Do they have a right to do that?    … Expand
  8. Yargdpirate
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    I can forgive all the internet connections and requirements. But they left out the most important feature of a SimCity game, the ability to use save states. Sandbox games need that so you can play around, and it's not there.
  9. RogerWilco2099
    Mar 7, 2013
    2
    The premise has been lost with this game, with a name like Sim City you want to create just that. A vibrant metropolis of large scale. Unfortunately this has been lost forever now it seems. Maps are smaller then ever and while it has many great features these are virtually the same as the four games before it. The innovation that was promised really isn't there. The game forces you moreThe premise has been lost with this game, with a name like Sim City you want to create just that. A vibrant metropolis of large scale. Unfortunately this has been lost forever now it seems. Maps are smaller then ever and while it has many great features these are virtually the same as the four games before it. The innovation that was promised really isn't there. The game forces you more so then ever to link your city to neighbors which I felt was the fundamental flaw in Sim City 4. Everything under one roof so to speak now doesn't work. The choice isn't even there and has been simply removed. The are bugs and I had to hard restart the game on two occasions due to crashes. These didn't seem linked either so two hard restart bugs on launch isn't good at all. The biggest issue so far is the constant connecting to server issues associated with the needlessly over the top DRM. This function shouldn't make a game non-playable but it does. It kind of shocking that EA are so over-protective now that they will willingly hamper a players experience. I hope this is quickly patched. If so my rating will be higher, but in its current state the game is verging on unplayable.… Expand
  10. upupandaway
    Mar 7, 2013
    2
    Content-wise it is a really nice game very engaging and motivating, despite the criticism regarding map size or similar issues. If however I pay 80€ for a digital download of a game which is not an MMO and I am absolutely unable to play the game, lose progress on cities because connections are extremely unstable even 24h after launch something is very wrong with the deal... The two betaContent-wise it is a really nice game very engaging and motivating, despite the criticism regarding map size or similar issues. If however I pay 80€ for a digital download of a game which is not an MMO and I am absolutely unable to play the game, lose progress on cities because connections are extremely unstable even 24h after launch something is very wrong with the deal... The two beta were meant to evaluate server load prior to the release did they act on that? It seems that no: In the server list there is a total of 4 servers dedicated for european users next to US and pacific servers. Since EA is apparently that cheap, they´ll get an appropriate score from me... Don´t buy the game (now). At least wait.… Expand
  11. Wilian
    Mar 7, 2013
    1
    A game with great potential and vision, but as anyone soon finds out that potential is wasted on the fact you can not even enter the game. While I'd like to give a long meaningful review of this product and a score to reflect it, all that is possible right now, few days after the game hit the market, is to groan at the connection screen.
  12. Papa_Paul
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    Pre-Ordered the Digital Deluxe edition from origin. Used a vacation day for 3/5/2013 to play it could not log on a server. Now 3/8/2013 still unable to even log onto a server. This is the the government need to allow consumers to hold these companies accountable for their fraudulent sales and allow us refunds on software!
  13. sagor
    Mar 6, 2013
    1
    Very small area for the actual city, comparing to previous versions of the game.
    Graphics is not as good as it was in the video (and I play on ultra high).
    And you cannot even play it right now, as all servers are down, even though official response is they are up and running. EA in all its glory!
  14. Chapy
    Mar 16, 2013
    1
    LISTEN, all these red reviews are for a reason, forget the server issues, read on! The game is riddled with bugs, gamebreaking bugs, and I don't even mean crashes or performance issues. Here is a reddit thread dedicated to listing some of these gamebreaking bugs. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a0taq/compiled_list_of_suggestions_and_bug_reports_to/ The AI of your utilityLISTEN, all these red reviews are for a reason, forget the server issues, read on! The game is riddled with bugs, gamebreaking bugs, and I don't even mean crashes or performance issues. Here is a reddit thread dedicated to listing some of these gamebreaking bugs. http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1a0taq/compiled_list_of_suggestions_and_bug_reports_to/ The AI of your utility workers are just broken, the pathfinding is atrocious. Just today I discovered a building that costs half a million dollars doesn't actually unlock things that it claims it unlocks in its description. A half a million is not change. These red reviews are acceptable based purely on gameplay bugs alone, but if you incorporate the legitimate server issues that STILL persist (3/16/2013) than this is a game that EA and Maxis should literally be ashamed of.… Expand
  15. Knurrli
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I think all of this DRM, forced online connection to disconnecting servers and even forced clouding and no local saving is all a bunch of crap. I've decided now to not buy this game. So far, I rather keep playing my Simcity 4. No server problems there.
  16. bearsdenred
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    bought this game 2 days ago from Greenmangaming on discount, really should have checked the forums before purchasing this game. Simcity is not like the old games from Maxis, this is a hybrid EA online DRM fools paradise of a system. Launch here in Europe just like America has been one big joke, a joke played by the DEVS from Maxis and EA buisness managers that must be laughing their headsbought this game 2 days ago from Greenmangaming on discount, really should have checked the forums before purchasing this game. Simcity is not like the old games from Maxis, this is a hybrid EA online DRM fools paradise of a system. Launch here in Europe just like America has been one big joke, a joke played by the DEVS from Maxis and EA buisness managers that must be laughing their heads off with all the coming in. Yet whats the problem with this game. First, because EA want you to be forced to logon to their servers for DRM checking you cant ACTUALLY logon. Why? Because EA didn't provide enough SERVERS for the game. they claim they are fixing the issue yet at 1940PM on launch day NOT ONE single apology has been provided by EA MAXIS to the gamers out here wanting to play! BE WARNED DO NOT BUY THIS GAME STOP BUYING EA GAMES PERIOD. Until us the gamers revolt and stop putting cash into EA will they stop treating us like this. Everyone demand refunds, if none provided start Suing them… Expand
  17. williamflipper
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    There is a big potential inside this wreck train but for the price asked is offensive toward any consumer.
    It feels like a Cityvile or any sim/facebook type of game pumped up by high budget, You can not avoid to play with other players and also YOU NEED other players to share their resources because the game design doesn't allow the player to be self-sufficient with resources and able to    There is a big potential inside this wreck train but for the price asked is offensive toward any consumer.
    It feels like a Cityvile or any sim/facebook type of game pumped up by high budget, You can not avoid to play with other players and also YOU NEED other players to share their resources because the game design doesn't allow the player to be self-sufficient with resources and able to covers the citizens needs    … Expand
  18. colonelpepper
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Don't RENT THIS GAME! When EA shuts down its servers for good, your game becomes unplayable. Also, EA has introduced a whole slew of unnecessary problems by trying to tie the game to "Always Online". *No Saves **Cities lost and hours of design destroyed by EA SERVER problems. ***Waiting in a QUE for single player game for HOURS AND HOURS. F' this
  19. f0lly
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    EA should have seen this coming from the D3 fiasco. Not sure what is so hard for publishers to understand GAMERS DON'T WANT YOUR ALWAYS ON DRM OR DUMBED DOWN VERSIONS OF GAMES.
  20. NoAssociation
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    The game is currently un-playable. Even if it was playable, you can't build a modern city. No bicycle infrastructure, no subways, the streetcar can only be built on a 6 lane highway, etc. The plot you build your city on is also quite small. You will end up with skyscrapers next to grassy plots of land you can't build on for some odd reason.
  21. CornerBoy
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    So the game's been out for 2 days now, and I still haven't been able to play due to the ridiculous online only feature. It actually seems like people pirating the game are the only ones able to play.
  22. ramha
    Mar 8, 2013
    1
    Pay and do not play by EA is the height of arrogance!
    Ubisoft has also had an experience on hard DRM protection, but EA did not listen to other people's mistakes and have started to do the same. It's a shame when good projects EA spoils And it is not the first time
  23. zugu
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    This game is unplayable. I have spent my hard earned money on it and I just can't play it, because EA is incompetent and greedy. Don't be mistaken, it is only greed that has created this monster.
  24. Bump
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    I spent $80.00 for a game I can't even play the single player. So disappointing. You would have thought EA had done something like this before....how can you possibly use DRM that doesn't even allow single player? And the issue of the two price options, either buy half a game or how it was intended to be played at $80.00!! They're losing gamers every minute because of so many poor choices.
  25. roguenealer
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    Do not buy this game you can only play it if your signed up online and half the time it doesnt work. Its like diablo II but without the bugs being fixed Im sooo furious I bought this game and do not support these greedy people!!!!!
  26. Lagweed
    Mar 7, 2013
    0
    All servers around the world are overloaded and can't be logged into without a wait, and when I do get in it can't load my city. Maxis robbed us all blind and proceeded to shove a proverbial wire brush into the rectums of all it's fans. Even when I do manage to play the game seems broken, certain types of buildings like casinos stop working and the only way to fix it is to restart the gameAll servers around the world are overloaded and can't be logged into without a wait, and when I do get in it can't load my city. Maxis robbed us all blind and proceeded to shove a proverbial wire brush into the rectums of all it's fans. Even when I do manage to play the game seems broken, certain types of buildings like casinos stop working and the only way to fix it is to restart the game and go through the horrid login/loading process again. Thanks for nothing Maxis, I am no longer a fan… Expand
  27. NazTfox
    Jul 28, 2013
    0
    I bought this game at release and have regretted it since. The game is bug ridden, the always online DRM is ridiculous considering this is a single player experience, and the it is difficult to create your own city when the plots are predetermined and very small. This is a sad excuse for a SimCity game. Don't waste your money on this crap.
  28. Fuu
    Mar 8, 2013
    2
    Sim City has really flopped, even if you remove the server issues from the equation. I feel really bad for the guys at Maxis who had to make the game like this, I have a feeling that it wasn't their decision. Over the last two days I've managed to play for about 10 hours on the Europe West 2 server despite the horrible server problems, and I'm already getting bored with the game. HavingSim City has really flopped, even if you remove the server issues from the equation. I feel really bad for the guys at Maxis who had to make the game like this, I have a feeling that it wasn't their decision. Over the last two days I've managed to play for about 10 hours on the Europe West 2 server despite the horrible server problems, and I'm already getting bored with the game. Having spent thousands of hours to all of the previous versions of Sim City, that is a surprise I didn't expect when paying 60€ for the game. At 6€/h that is a pretty steep price for two frustrating days of queuing to the servers and constantly being afraid to loose your progress.

    Severe points reduction from the city sizes that are probably the most crippling aspect of this game. The current map is full to the edges after only few hours of play and you get a claustrophobic feeling in the game with no space to expand. Moving to second region just postpones it a few hours and frustration returns even stronger when it also runs out of space. Your city looks like a downtown of a real city that's cut out from a larger entity with real suburbs and all that nice surrounding built area. Developers say that the choice was made so that even low end PCs could play the game. I don't understand why they couldn't use the same approach that has been taken in Sim City 4: variable size maps. You just pick the map that your PC can handle when it's maxed out and that's it. If the choice was too large one, try again with a smaller one. Problem solved. It's annoying how the developers are trying to explain away design decisions with "pretend logic" and hoping that players don't notice. I'm guessing most likely the orders came from above to limit the city sizes for some future DLC release. Or some other crap like that. I just want to refuse to believe a serious game designer wouldn't notice how much the city size limit affects the game experience.

    Lots of minus from roads, somehow all the fun is missing from building the roads because of the minuscule city sizes and lack of choice on how to connect to neighboring cities. That's a shame because building roads and designing road networks has always been one of the key aspects of Sim City. It's also annoying how you have to upgrade all your roads to high density because otherwise your city just won't grow in population, and then you have a city with only high buildings. Having the curvy roads is great, but doesn't compensate for all the other lacks.

    To add insult to injury, there is the always on DRM that doesn't let me choose when to save regions, or allow me to reload regions at previous states. I don't have possession of my own save games from private region where I'm the only player. The pollution that crosses city boundaries into neighboring cities and abandoned city slots pretty much guarantees that I have no intention to play on public regions where I can't control actions of the other cities.

    The game is pretty and smooth, credits for that. The simulation engine seems to work nicely. But I'm not going to spend hundreds of hours to this game just because it looks pretty and I can follow each Sim around in the city. It must be fun to play, the City Building must be the primary activity and the current version just isn't any of that. Many of official reviews said the game is a lot of fun. I disagree.

    Looking at how EA did their calculations about the required amount of servers to support their player base, it seems that they need at least 4-8 times more server capacity to do the job than estimated. After the doubling of the initial capacity that I've seen today, the servers are still completely bogged even with the cheetah speed and game features disabled. So here's an interesting thought to ponder: How much is EA willing to spend on running these servers for an extended period? How many hours of server time at amazon did my 60€ buy? At what point is EA going to decide that it's time to pull the plug or they will start loosing money for every hour I spend on this game? Their initial estimates on the server costs were 4-8 times under the mark, and you can bet your house on it that EA is not going to allow Sim City to add to the red side of their balance sheet if the investors have any say on it. Be prepared to make a door stop from your Sim City DVD much sooner than you thought, this one is not going to be kicking for 10 years like it's predecessor. Please, don't repeat my mistake and support this horrible business model of always on-line single player games that pretend to be serious multi-player games to get your moneys. I would ask for my money back, but apparently EA doesn't refund games bought from Origin. Thanks EA for ruining Sim City.    … Expand
  29. Soulcrusher
    Mar 6, 2013
    0
    COULD be a great game but I'll only say one thing: DRM online :(

    And in the future, if the servers go down, how can I play my game (yes, I paid for it), and my save, what guarantees I'll have?
  30. PreLighter
    Mar 8, 2013
    0
    Always-on DRM with awful servers, disappearing saves, useless support, small cities. this game is meant to be like the sims 2 and 3, to be able to can in from long time fans and sell them DLCs with awful service and high price.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

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