Yes folks, SimCity Societies has been released… and initial reviews suggest it will be the worst SimCity game in history. Official reviews from game sites give it an average of 6.5 out of 10. Many say the game is boring, disorganized, and bug-filled. Here’s a selection of ratings with quotes:

Eurogamer: 5 out of 10

There’s not much point comparing it directly to SimCity games of the past, since it’s almost completely different in style and tone. SimCity 4 may have grown terrifying and bloated for the average player, but Societies simplifies things to an often depressing degree.

GameSpy: 3 out of 5

No gameplay depth; beefy system required.

IGN: 5.8 out of 10

SimCity Societies has enough faults of its own that we’re not going to run short of things to criticize. While the concept is sound, the game mechanics are too arbitrary and confusing for players looking for the next great city building game.

At the SimCity.com official Bulletin Board, most new threads are not excited compliments, but questions about why this game is so threadbare. In fact, there is already someone asking for their money back, saying the following:

I think the folks over at EA have made a mistake in dealing with Tilted Mill… game ruined… game over!

In case you haven’t gotten the message: this game is terrible. My recommendation to you? Don’t waste $50, wait for City Life 2008, which comes this month (current estimated release date is November 22). SimCity Societies is a mish-mash of randomly placed buildings, roads that only go in two directions, and even lacks a terrain editor. Perhaps SimCity 5 will be better, but until then, I’ll be looking forward to Cities Unlimited!

In conclusion, A Digital City gives SimCity Societies developer Tilted Mill a 10 out of 10 for effort, but the game itself gets 1 out of 10 for gameplay which only serves to provide a slight distraction from life, instead of the great entertainment of previous SimCity Games.

Monte Cristo has given us a hint about how they intend to make road systems work in Cities Unlimited, and their concept is nothing short of impressive. They plan to make transport more customizable than ever before by allowing us, the player, to modify almost every aspect of any road. Here are the main points of the article:

• Players will be able to define exactly how many lanes they want. That means you could have a one way road with one lane, or a ten lane boulevard. It’s not known whether or not there will be a limit to road width, but it’s conceivably possible to make a fifty lane road in Cities Unlimited if you ever had the urge to do so.
• Bus lanes, bike lanes, or tram lines can easily be added to any roadway. You can even limit whether people take left turns into the road.
• Curved roads and diagonal roads will be completely possible. Buildings will also line up to any road, no matter which direction it’s facing.

This level of control has never been seen in any city builder game before, and will certainly appeal to any transportation buffs who have ever played City Life of SimCity. If you’re as excited as I am, come and discuss it in the forums!

Also, a couple of new screenshots have been added to our Cities Unlimited screenshots gallery, so check them out!

City Life is Monte Cristo’s first-generation city building game, released back in May 2006. Since then, the game has been expanded with City Life World Edition, which added many new buildings and features. Now, Monte Cristo is planning to release City Life 2008, the latest version of the game. The game features a full 3D graphics system, and has received good reviews from places like Gamespot and Eurogamer. Monte Cristo has offered A Digital City a sneak peek of the game, which comes out November 10. Look forward to it!

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