SimCity (2013)

SimCity Logo

This week in 'CookeRS Reviews' I am looking at EA Games 2013 game, SimCity. The game itself is a very old franchise, with the first title coming out in 1989! It is a game all about building cities from the ground up, the latest installment has some really cool 'next gen' features to bring a fresh new spin to the popular city builder.

The new game is the first fully online SimCity game. The games online features were designed to allow players to share their cities with friends and other players of the game, however this meant an 'always online' style of game play, which spelt 'Natural Disaster' for the game around the release. Long story short, the servers could not deal with the load of players trying to access the game at the same time, and in turn, not many players could play the game for a good two weeks after release. Rest assured however for the servers have been much improved and the game runs a great deal better than when it was first released.

The biggest change of them all is probably the introduction of 'Regions'. Instead of just building one city to stand alone as a great dot on the map, you choose a plot from the variety of regions installed in the game. Each plot on any one region has specialisations from good water supplies to ores and oil supplies, and you can pick your plot with these in mind. Rather than it being about building one massive city, it becomes more about building a network of cities that work off one another's strengths to create a stronger region. Its an innovative change, but the worst part of it is that each plot does feel a bit small and limiting, particularly compared to old SimCity games, and filling up the city is something you can do in less than a day, so space management becomes a really important part of this game.

Stay tuned for an update with SimCity Cities of Tomorrow Expansion Pack, I will be reviewing this expansion for the game soon!

Overall I think the latest SimCity installment in the Franchise is a success, despite some hiccups around launch, the game has held up its reputation and provides hours of city building simulation and entertainment. For more on the game watch my 'CookeRS Reviews' video & check out the YouTube Channel 'Hyper Mode Games'.

CookeRS Reviews - SimCity (2013)

CookeRS Let's Play - Sim City Part 1 - NEW STUFF!

Overall Rating: 4 CookeRS

Detailed Ratings:

Gameplay: 4/5

Difficulty: 3.5/5 - Can be difficult managing budget for beginners.

Multiplayer: 3/5 (updates a bit slow sometimes)

Value: 4/5 - $39.99 AUD (SimCity) - $29.99 AUD (Cities of Tomorrow Expansion)

Graphics: 4/5

Sound: 5/5 - Excellent soundtrack, timeless and fits the game perfectly.

Likes: Disasters! (sometimes) + plenty of features and engaging gameplay.

Dislikes: Don't like small limiting plot sizes to build cities on.

CookeRS