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A SimCity downgrade???

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 19 / 22
Date: November 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What's this? I can't believe it. While it is an interesting addition that players can now choose the buildings they want in their cities, the game keeps you far too busy mindlessly placing buildings rather than focusing on the strategies of why establishments are closing and what not. And for an "upgrade" or "remake" of the SimCity series this expensive--it's simply not worth it. Game experience with SimCity 4 and its expansion pack is far smoother, easier to learn, and better graphics overall. This game sounds worth it, but I think it will disappoint SimCity fans like me everywhere. Nothing about it, from graphics to gameplay, is advanced enough. Or maybe you just need a mega machine to run it to the promoted display quality.

Worst SimCity game ever.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 21 / 28
Date: November 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If only I could give zero or negative stars, I would have. I've owned pretty much every SimCity game ever made, and this one is by far the worst. I don't know what they were thinking letting someone other than Maxis make this. I suggest you save your money and wait for Maxis to come out with another one of their own.

Not much replay value

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: December 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I love both SimCity and The Sims, and have played both for years. The initial statement that the game was not like the original SimCity at all didn't bother me, as city-building games of all sorts are by far my favorites that I continue to play year after year. SimCity Societies was very disappointing however.

Thankfully I did not run into the plethora of bugs and crashes that many others had. I played the game heavily for about a week, and then shelved it due to boredom. The game simply doesn't have much replay value in my opinion. In their effort to make the game accessible and easy to play, EA "dumbed down" the game too much. I found very little challenge in building my cities, and the fact that they do not evolve on their own really took away from the experience. They grow when I plop more buildings down. Once you get the feeling for how to grow the city, there are few new challenges. Every city I built just felt the same; only the appearance changed.

SimCity is an extraordinarily in-depth, challenging game. Societies is exactly the opposite. If you're looking for something in-between, try one of the classic city-builders like Pharaoh, Zeus, or even Caesar 4. They may not be as pretty as Societies, but they'll keep you hooked a lot longer. If you feel you have to have this game, wait for it to show up in the bargain bin.

Boring, even for kids

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: November 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My six kids and I love the Sim City games, and we were excited about this one, but out of the seven of us, no one liked it. My sons complained that it was boring and didn't have interesting ways to destroy cities, and my daughters felt the gameplay was loose and pointless. I didn't like it either, it crashes often and it isn't nearly as complex and interesting as the regular Sim City games. We're uninstalling, it's not worth the disk space it's hogging.

Great game for kids

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 39
Date: November 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game has just the right amount of complexity for kids. My kids are 9 and 12 and they love this game. The graphics are fantastic (and demanding). The game did freeze once but since I've installed the update, I've not had any problems. If you are looking for complex adult entertainment that comes with a steep learning curve, this is not the game for you. The city simulation is pretty basic but this allows you to try different city scenarios without getting wrapped up in the complexity of a myriad of simulation details. You can for example have two areas in your city plot. Have happy sims on one half and make real angry sims on the other. Then, create jails and swat teams on the good side to try to stave off the invading irked sims looking for a better life. I would have like to see some deeper dimension of city life simulation, but the game is fun as it is so I don't mind. If you tend to stop playing games because they get too complicated or hard, you'll like this game.

A highly innovative title that merits a look

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 21
Date: January 07, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It is unfortunate to see that this page of reviews is plagued with people merely complaining, "OMG, this isn't SimCity... I've been a fan for years and I am SOOOO disappointed." What these overly critical reviewers do not realize is that this is not supposed to be the next big SimCity game (as they say, SimCity 5). This SimCity game is made for those of us that don't enjoy lying down overly tedious power lines and sewer systems, but to focus on creating a beautiful and unique society that appeals to our interests and tastes. This was the intent of Tilted Mill and EA.

The focus of the game relies heavily on what the box states (and a lot of people seem to overlook the "Societies" part of the title): Your city affects every individual life in your city. You can actually see all your workers moving about the city when zooming in close. You can check their status and their inventory, their problems and their job, etc. Every building you place in your city has a major effect on the lives of your citizens. The more of one type of building you place (from the range of six cultural values that the game capitalizes on), the more your society changes. Eventually, the entire city will change to reflect the major decisions that you made. I, for example, created an authoritarian city, in which my city was plagued with secret police, security cameras lining the streets, mind controlling facilities, etc. The music, streets, and atmosphere change with your decisions.

When original SimCity fans look for the same features of the previous titles, they are instantly confused and frustrated, and simply look over the complex system that Tilted Mill developed: Every building interacts with each other, and how they interact, reflects in the Sims that live in your society. If you play the game all the way zoomed out, you will not notice anything spectacular. However, if you zoom in close and watch the interactions on the streets and around your buildings, the complexity of the game is apparent.

This game is for people who'd rather be creative and focus on creating a beautiful city of their dreams. They have the ability to decorate, and build their city in any manner that they desire. That was the objective of the game designers. It is for those people who always couldn't stand SimCity because of all the tedious micromanagement and always thought when placing city-zoning that "I'd rather be placing the buildings themselves." It is meant to be a creative experience.

In this case, it is true that the player has to remain motivated himself/herself to continue building his/her city. The game is purely open-ended, and while you do receive rewards, they are rather easy to get. The "full-strategy" mode that is included in-box is actually relatively easy and the rewards come fast (but, let's keep in mind that this was not the original game designer's intent). To our benefit, the developers have released a patch that includes a new gaming mode (they are obviously listening to the complaints of consumers about the lack of strategy) that is labeled as "Strategy mode." This mode makes the game a bit more of a challenge to handle: building maintenance costs are introduced, citizens work more play less (making them harder to please), and other more "micro-management" aspects. This mode gives that extra edge for those of us that need the "extra-motivation" to keep building. It's a nice addition, and will simmer some of the overly critical complaints of the game.

Overall, this game is fantastic. I have yet to experience any crashes or bugs. The game does begin to lag when cities become massive (which is, no doubt, from the complex interaction of all citizens and buildings). I say that if you are not a fan of the regular SimCity, then you'll enjoy this game. If you are looking for SimCity 5, then realize that this is NOT what this game is supposed to be, and move on. This game deserves MUCH MORE credit than what it has been given.

Wait until its on the bargain rack!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: November 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is one of those many games that are fun to play for awhile but definatley do not buy at full price. I did, on a whim, and frankly feel like the "fool" in that old line about who gets soon parted from their money.

Visually and esthetically, the game is great. The graphics are beautiful, the animations are amusing.

On the other hand, as others have noted, there is no point to this game. You just build and build, its like The Sims only at city level. You really can't "lose" but you really can't "win" either. The Sims in the game are Mk.1 "Sims 1" sims and never die, and have children who never grow up. So you can't even enjoy watching Sims come and go, leaving behind decendants or anything like that.

But the biggest hit against the game of all is the total lack of stability. The random crashes and memory leaks have already discouraged me from playing after my second day of having the game - and this is after installing the so-called "patch" from the EA site.

Basically the game is a flop and if you really must know what its like, do yourself a favor and wait a few months until you can get it for $10 on the bargain tables (I have a feeling it wont take long for this turkey to get there). Don't be parted from your money so easily as I was.

An Interesting Subset To SimCity

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: December 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game merely wondering what they had come up with as the logical successor to SimCity 4, and I will say, this probably is not it, but it is pretty amusing to play all the same.

For those looking for the enrapturing experience of actually managing a city, this is not where you want to be looking. As someone who has been there for all 17 or 18 years and each incarnation of the game, I have built who knows how many cities from the first tile up, and there is no other gaming experience quite like that.

It is for that reason, however, that I find this game a good diversion from SimCity 4. Whereas I am actually managing a city (or really, a whole region) in SimCity 4, SCS is more about look and feel and having control over that aspect of it. I wish they had incorporated that into a more direct successor, perhaps as a subset of the zoning functionality of SimCity 4, but I suppose I will take this for kicks.

It would be more intriguing if they had left a lot of things in Societies, such as more expansive transportation options and some other public functions like sanitation and water, and allowed for different map sizes in order to build larger cities. Actually, if they allowed for larger maps, that alone would make the game even more interesting because of the need to track your societal "values", which would probably be daunting with a truly large population.

Horrible

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 16 / 23
Date: November 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If you are a fan of the Sim City series, DO NOT buy this. You will be disappointed. This game is a clunky city builder at best, with none of the creativity or depth of Sim City 4.

Not a worthy franchise addition

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: November 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Let me preface this review by saying how much I've loved other Sim games, and how much I was looking forward to a new one. I've enjoyed many hours (days!) of game play on previous Sim City games, and The Sims.

In response to B Dowling (the reviewer below), who comapred it unfavourably to Sim City but said that if you like The Sims, buy Societies: I disagree! Societies compares badly to Sim City 4, and it also compares badly to The Sims 2.

The thing I loved about previous Sim games, is that there was a lot of scope for growth. Your city gets more populated and your business get more employees; or your Sims have children, get promoted at work. In Societies, all you can do is plonk down some admittedly pretty buildings... and that's basically it. Ok, so if you balance things in a certain way the street lights change and the music switches... but there's no growth. You could literally leave the game on overnight, come back in the morning, and your city would be absolutely as you left it, just richer.

There's no tension. In earlier Sim City games, your districts could turn to poverty. In The Sims, your people can get fired, argue, die. In Societies, there seems little point in playing once you've achieved all the trophies and medals - which took me about eight hours of gameplay, and that's including the tutorial.

If you want to create a pretty city and don't like complex gameplay, you might enjoy it. Otherwise, go back to Sim City 4 or The Sims.

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