Reviews for Sim City Socities (SCS)

[Haljackey 17,380]

Here is a list of scores from various rating websites for SCS.  I have configured the ratings to be out of 10.  As more ratings are posted, this page will be updated and organized.

Anyways, on to the list.  It is organized from the highest ratings to the lowest ratings.

Game Zone: 8.7/10

http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r32755.htm

Game Informer: 8/10

http://www.gameinformer.com/NR/exeres/73607EF5-DE9B-40F8-9B16-2BBF85FE51C1.htm

NZGamer: 8/10

http://www.nzgamer.com/hub-pc-reviews-589

Gametrailers: 7.5/10 (75%)

http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5289.html

Simphoni: 7/10 (Rexer's review)

http://www.simphoni.net/2007/11/simcity-societies-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-review-by-rexer/

1 Up: 6.9/10

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3163375

Gamerankings: 6.3/10 (63%)

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/939939.asp

Gamespy: 6/10 (3 of 5 stars)

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/simcity-societies/834994p1.html

Gamespot: 6/10

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/simcitysocieties/review.html?sid=6183059&tag=recent_updates;title;0

IGN: 5.8/10

http://pc.ign.com/articles/834/834720p1.html

Meta Critic: 5/10 (review average)

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/simcitysocieties

Eurogamer: 5/10

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=87312

PC Gamer UK: 5/10 (50%)

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=176228

PC Game Special: 4.9/10 (in Dutch)

http://www.pcgamespecial.nl/?itemid=7086

Action Trip: 4.1/10 (41/100)

http://www.actiontrip.com/reviews/simcitysocieties.phtml

Clubic: 4/10 (2 of 5 stars) (in French)

[JanYpe 17]

Might as well use this to gather the reviews as they come out, since a single review can often be quite useless.

[lasergoat 0]

Pocket Gamer: 8/10

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Mobile/SimCity+Societies/review.asp?c=4809

[andy2509 0]

Bear in mind, the Pocket Gamer review does not refer to the PC version of the game.

[SimRabbit123 6]

so is there another version of SCS?

[andy2509 0]

Yes, SCS from EA Mobile. To play on mobile phones.

[acoomer 0]

I just spent about 3-4 hours playing and I give it 3/10 ....City Life was better (hell, NewYorkTycoon and simtown where better).

After playing I wanted to see what others thought, and the best review I saw that matched the way I felt was:

Eurogamer (hit the nail on the head) and then

IGN

If you really want the game wait until it's in the bargain bin next week or wait for CityLife 08 and see how that one is.

[Palpatine001 57]

Now then I am going to do some Geographic Profiling, for those who have got the game can I have your Age please.

Otherwise reviews are as expected

[JaLooN 0]

MetaCritic is the average of all the reviews. *Its Meta not Media*

[MINIggy03 227]

Considering EA's huge fat wallet, as well as their success with the Simcity games and as well as Sims games, you'd think Tilted Mill and EA would be able to come up with something better than this. I mean, this is mediocre at its finest. Even after the gut wrenching reveal of Societies, and after previews and such I still thought "ok, this is Tilted Mill and EA...big wallet, coming off of big franchises like Sims and Simcity...how can they do wrong?"

They did wrong x10.

[rollenkingston 0]

I would really like to hear about Simtropolis communities opinion on the game. I respect the opinions of urban planning enthusiasts far more than just your generic game critic.

[The_Dalai_Llama 15]

Gamespot: 6.0/10.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/simcitysocieties/review.html?sid=6183059&tag=recent_updates;title;0

The score is expected, but check the player reviews... nobody likes this game.  I think this means the next game will follow the traditional formula.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Read most of the reviews, I got to say i'm surprised that alot of people who are not hardcore Sim City gamers hate the game just as much as we do... people are complaining its TOO easy, they even gave it the 'Cakewalk' badge.

Ah, at least people are realising that this is NOT a real Sim City title, its more of a spin-off... as you said Dalai, I can't expect the marketing managers at EA taking as much of a risk next time.

Thanks to TM for making such a hash of it though... EA will have to reinstil faith back into the fans now by releasing a worthy SC title... without SCS being such a major fail where EVERYONE and not just the Hardcore hates it, we would have probably witnessed the end of the Franchise as we know it. gg

[Rabbit903 1]

ugh. i'm physically sick with what they've come up with. all of that new age crap and the cakewalk difficulty has singlehandedly killed the franchise. i hope someone on simtropolis makes a GOOD one from scratch. Societies is (excuse me) a sack of s**t.

[rickyh88 0]

YES, I WANT MY MONEY BACK. WHOEVER CAME OUT WITH THE GAME, SHOULD BE FIRED.

[republicanpride3 0]

Lol, EA won't listen to its users.  Oh, sure they listened to us, but did they do anything about it? No, heince not listening.  Just by looking at the pictures it looks like crap.  I don't like the graphics and the smilely faces.  As long as people keep buying it EA is going to assume its a good game weather its in the bargin bin or not.  I think EA purposely destroyed the game because they wanted to work on other projects.  Before any information came out about this game and the only thing that was ever said was we are taking simcity back to its roots I knew this was a bad thing.  They took this game well well way far back beyond its roots.  And I'm not saying that as a good thing.

[Re 0]

My own review is at Simphoni, and contains a link at the bottom for further discussion in the Simphoni forums.

http://www.simphoni.net/2007/11/simcity-societies-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness-a-review-by-rexer/

Rexer

[Haljackey 17,380]

Okay, thanks for the information everyone. I will update my list yet again.

It seems to me that most of these reviews have the same opinion about the game. Interesting, eh?

[itsbernie81 1]

Hey Rexer, I really liked your review!  I think it was the sort of review that I wanted to read before deciding whether to purchase the game.  I am inclined to purchase, but perhaps wait a little until the price falls, because it is apparent that it is not worth $99.95 AUD.

For my part, without playing the game, I get the impression that people have a really negative disposition to SCS simply because of the title "SimCity" and the expectations generated (that's EA's fault, not ours mind you).  I agree that when someone mentions SImCity I think of concepts like "zoning, organic growth, landscaping, regions" - none of these concepts prevail in SCS.

Also, it is apparent from a few reviews that there are many untapped possibilities in SCS that people have yet to discover (probably because they have been playing the game with the SimCity mindset - it's hard to avoid I suppose).  Many have given up discovering these possibilities, being tired of the game once it was apparent it was no replacement to SC4.  I am still willing to keep an open mind.  The concept of having a roadless city is interesting to me for example.  The concept of "venues" is also intriguing, geared around operation at different hours.

Probably wait another few weeks and grab it after Christmas.  Or maybe I will wait for Cities Unlimited if by then it becomes apparent that's what SimCity has evolved to.

[Kevin 101]

Originally posted by: The_Dalai_Llama

Gamespot: 6.0/10

quote>

Thanks I've been waiting for this one. Those folks at Gamespot share my taste in games... disappointing.

[voodoo02 0]

SCS Terrible........ Thats all I have to say........ So when is City Life 2008 releasing?

[1dera3 29]

Personally I would give it a 2, based not only on the game but on its history and relative completion time... How could GameZone give it a freakin 8.7!?

[lordkosc 0]

ugh it was horrible, i wont say how I made the store accept my return (oh and they did take it back), the game was horrible, this is worse than some games I've played that were in BETA stages of development

[oldoldie 0]

The game looks good for graphics, but you know me. (for those who don't read on)

I am a patient person, I will sit on my tush while new technology comes flying off the shelves and into what i call guinney pigs hands, basically those who rush out and buy the stuff, test it and review it.

I try to be last because I will know if its a knockoff or a very glitchy unstable product, and I have saved much money and space because of those who 'jump in'. Reason for my metaphor 'guinney pigs' is because the general public will test the product, complain or compliment it, and then i can decide on weither the complaints outweigh the benefits or not.

I will never ever buy this societies game thanks to those who tested it, and yes I saved 59.99 and a little space in my games bin.

I am hesitant to try simcity life 2008 until it comes out.

still have a ps2, and will wait until the ps3 is cheaper.

wow babbling on....

[AtkinsSJ_ 7]

PCGamer UK review

(It got a score of 50% in the magazine, which isn't given in the online review for some reason.)

[despotism2 0]

I haven't yet tried it yet, but SCS looks disapointing as a City building simulator. On the one hand, the graphics looks good, but on the other the cities are deeply unrealistic. Indeed, it has nothing in common with SC4.

First, the view is inapropriate (too close), which makes you focused on a block rather than the whole city. It makes me think of the Sims.

Then, the cities look to small and their evolution is weird: tall buildings among some houses and farms and space in between. Maybe it is possible to make bigger cities, but it looks like the game is focused on micro-developpement. One might wonder if it will still be possible to make those sprawling residential lots and get realistic cities.

More than these technical issues, i would say that it's the game's spirit that i profoundly dislike.

All in all Sim City is becoming "just a game", a sort of The Sims-like simulation focused on the individual. Disapointing.

>>> SC4 for life <<<

[panthersimcity4 162]

My personal Review:

Gameplay: 4/10 - Pretty lame actually.

Building: 8/10 - I like the buildings, they're actually pretty nice.

Custom Content: 6/10 - I'm learning HTML in school so the XML wasn't so hard, it's the fact that it keeps glitching that bugs me.

Graphics: 9/10 - The meteorite disaster is awesome. I like the 3d, and the sunsets and skies are really nice, especially the pretty romantic city night sky.

Technical: 5/10: Like I said, the custom content kept glitching for me, and the constant complaints about crashing have me worried...

Camera: 7/10: I like that you can freely move at any angle, but the fact that you can't zoom out is annoying.

Overall, I give the game a 6.9/10. About a C-

[dabadon5 295]

the game is lame like 90% of all of E.A.s games !

[diablo_del_bano 3]

This game is not that bad once you get past the "ZOMG they butchered SimCity!" stage. Just play it like a regular game, and not the exalted sequal to SimCity, and you will like it. At least I did. I think with a bit more modding and tweaking it could be made into a really great game. And really, SC4 isn't a really great game either unless you have all of the mods and bats here on ST.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

Personally, I have not bought it - but after seeing screenshots and reviews I can say that I WON'T buy it. First of all, it is an insult to the Simcity franchise. Second, even if it was not marketed as a Simcity game, it would still be AWFUL. It is an insult because of the following reasons:

1. Very few transport options - no diagonal roads, no bus stops, no highways, no avenues, no elevated rail, no monorail, ugly roads, lame bridges, and DIRT roads.

2. The buildings look wierd

3. The entire game interface is SCREWED.

4. No zones

5. You have to plop every building

6. The "social energy" concept (btw, even that is screwed up)

7. EA and Maxis didn't develop it.

The game belongs in the bargain basement and scrap heaps. And the thing is not worth any $60 - it just might be worth $5.

This review may seem a little harsh, but my stomach hurts over this. And I'm not retracting any remarks (like those poor senators do every day).

Remember, this is only my personal opinion, and has little value over at Tilted Mill.

HEIL MAXIS!