This is a great game.
Most all of the 1 star comments are referring to either 1) the server problems in the first two days after the release, or 2) the fact that it is online only.
1) They have done a great job expanding the servers, and there are no server problems anymore. They now have 24 servers, after only starting with 6 and everything is running smoothly.
2) As for the online only component, it is clearly stated as such before you buy it, so anyone that knows that it would be a big problem shouldn't get the game. It is actually a net positive for me, since you don't have to worry about saving (how many countless times have you lost hours of work because you forgot to save and your computer froze?), and the multiplayer aspect works well and has allowed me to play with my siblings, which is very cool.
As for the DRM aspect of it being online only- for those saying it doesn't make a difference, and it would have been so easy to have an offline option: I literally can't remember the last time I paid for a stand-alone game. I know that this aspect must have forced countless others just like me to pay for the game, and to that end, the DRM did it's job.
Now for the actual review
Gameplay:
If you need to get to sleep at reasonable hours, don't play this game! Seriously though, it is totally addicting, and once you start getting into a city, you really can't stop. I screwed myself over a few nights ago because I stayed up playing this till 9 AM. I'm going to have to learn how to ration myself.
The gameplay is what makes this game so great. Everything is streamlined and operates in a logical progression, starting you off with easy problems, then expanding once you get farther in the game. There's a big emphasis on roads, as they contain the electric, water, and sewage, and the zones are placed via the roads. The amazing GlassBox engine that runs the game creates an unparalleled amount of realism (every sim, utility, and unit of industrial production is physically represented as an agent in the game; so when it says the population is 131,572, there are actually that many sims walking, driving, living and working in the city). This is exactly what I've wanted post SimCity 4, and I really can't imagine anything less now- it would seem totally fake and unsatisfying. So far I've really only scratched the surface of the game's depth. One of my favorite aspects so far is the ability to make money through the city specializations, so that your budget can be balanced even if the hourly budget (the +'s and -'s) is in the red. In my first city I started making tons of money by making and selling processors.
As for region play, it is heavily integrated into the gameplay, as the cities surrounding yours have a direct affect. And with the online component you can cooperate with random people, or invite your friends to play with. I've also just began to explore the possibilities of inter city relationships, but so far it is perfect.
The cons of the gameplay are small city sizes and region layouts/inability to edit them. Both of those seem to be connected to the fact that the makers of the game placed an emphasis on the Leaderboards, which require everything to be standardized. Really, I don't think the majority of people are going to care about the Leaderboards since it will probably just consist of a handful of people who totally dominate. All the city tiles are the same size, probably just a bit bigger than the smallest city size in SC4. It's big enough to do a lot, but you're pretty much guaranteed to fill up the whole tile, making space a premium once you get farther in the city. This means that you can't do everything in one city (what I tried to do with my first city), and you're forced to use multiple cities to fulfill different roles. As for the region layouts, although the biggest regions contain 16 cities, they are still only connected by road 4 cities at a time. Those 4-city groups are then connected to each other through rail or water. You can't edit anything outside of the city, so you can't expand or change any of those road networks. This limits the potential level of integration, and again, it's mainly a consequence of the Leaderboard/standardization emphasis. Of course, these cons are not major, and I'm definitely willing to play within those parameters at this point.
Graphics:
Overall, I love the visuals of the game. Having said that the graphics are sort of cartoonish, as opposed to being realistic. As an analogy I'd say they are more like the neighborhood view of the Sims 3, as opposed to the graphics in Cities XL. I personally prefer a more realistic style, but I can still appreciate the look of the game. They said they wanted it to be more like a 'model' type of look, and they definitely succeeded for what they were going for- everything is very streamlined and crisp. Occasionally there will be a glitch with the scenery overlapping the roads or something, but I'm assuming they fix that in a later patch. The scrolling and rotating works great, and I like the focus blurring feature. The performance of the game is very efficient and I have never lagged (I have a decent computer, a couple years old, on full settings, and I've never lagged).
My main disappointment with the graphics so far is that the size of the buildings compared to the size of the landmarks (Empire States Building, Willis Tower) is not even close to being to scale. Those landmarks are about 1/2 or 1/3 as big as they should be just by counting the floors with the windows (those buildings only have maybe 50 floors). That also means that the amount and height of the tall buildings that will pop up is very limited. Also, when you zoom in all the way, the cars are still sort of blurry. It looks fine when they're moving but if they're stopped or you're following them when zoomed in it still looks fuzzy. They probably didn't want to have to redraw them, which makes since for performance.
Audio:
I love the audio in this game. The music is not quite as energetic as SC4, but it has the same kind of minimalist sentiment. The music also automatically morphs when you do certain things, which is a very cool feature. The sound effects are also pretty spectacular, with sound effects for every action, and ambient sounds depending on where you are. Clicking on different buildings brings a different background sound, which is very effective at establishing a setting. The audio is one of the game's best aspects, and I think it appropriately immerses you into your city's setting that much more.
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Reviews with images
Paid $60+ for a game you can't play. But thank you EA for fixing it.
Game looks awesome from the intro, but that's all you get. Plus you have to play online, you can't play just off your computer like everyone has been requesting EA to do for some time. Been waiting 2 years and can't even play. I even upgraded my computer just for this game. You would think by all the pre-orders they would have been smart enough to have servers that could handle the traffic.UPDATE: At least EA said sorry and offered a free game to those who had trouble with Sim City. So I'm changing my rating from 1 to 3 stars. Its a good game, but still a bummer you have to be online to play it. Its also a little confusing. I'm having a hard time getting my city over 100k people.
