Reviews of Cities XL

[Overkast 2]

Originally posted by: Kevin Ar18

But it doesn't just have a picture of a city or building... instead it's a near copy of previous game(s) box art concept/design.

quote>

Yep, that's my point. Same colors, same perspective, same illustrative style. Heck... even the website has the same bubbly blue feeling as SC4's website.

[rss334 0]

Originally posted by: niloluiz

Originally posted by: ThePeoplesPerson

Review is up on IGN

http://pc.ign.com/articles/103/1035096p1.html

Did pretty good here, but unfortunately one good review from a critic doesn't justify all the complaints for the game. Pretty sure I'm sticking away from this one too.quote>

From the article:

Sound

Gentle music will put you in a relaxed mood, and all the ambient sounds are perfectly fitting within the game.quote>

  What ambient sounds they are talking about?

Either this review is cooked and the guy are making this up OR they are using a "custom" version that MC sended for them, which means that they didn't review the product that everbody here got in hands....

Either way it's bad.....   and the credibility of IGN just went thru the sewer with this.

quote>

Listen up, one of two things happened here.   Either MC gave them a different version to review that included ambient sounds or they move some files/folders around to get the sounds enabled.   Either way it's apparnt the final version we are playing does not have ambient sounds but the files are there to be used, we just have to wait for MC to unlock them with the rest of the missing content.    

[JakeMD 107]

Lets remember to stay on topic here.

[Kevin Ar18 0]

Originally posted by: swat-medic

Lets remember to stay on topic here.quote>

rss334 seems to be on topic.  He's discussing what was mentioned in a review -- ambient sounds.  It's the norm for the topic to deviate slightly anyways... especially while we wait for new reviews.

But, yeah, your right, it's good that we don't stray too far from the original topic so people can keep adding more reviews here as they come in.

[Androv 6]

4 reviews on metacritic so far, average score is 80/100. I think that's fairly appropriate given the lack of some important design features, which will be forthcoming (we hope) in future updates.

[Kevin Ar18 0]

Strategyinformer has one:

http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/citiesxl/review.html

Here's some quotes:

And sadly, for all its charm, Cities XL seems to lack a certain quality that could really give it personality. ...[paragraph follows]...quote>

Even the name seems to be a bit of a misnomer. Instead of ‘Cities XL’ this game should really be called ‘Cities Lite’ as many of the micromanagement elements you could find in the SimCity series simply aren’t present. quote>

On the one hand, it’s a fun, addictive little game that’s a good homage to a classic genre. On the other hand, as of publication there are still quite a few bugs and entire features that just haven’t been implemented yet.

[Spinmaster 75]

I hadn't realized it until now, but that StrategyInformer review nailed precisely in two words what all the fuss is about, and why the subscription model apparently infuriates most of us.

little gamequote>

Very little point to the MMO side of it so far (chat and trade, yeehaw!), and even less for single-player.

[JanYpe 17]

-swat

[MINIggy03 227]

Originally posted by: geek12

Lets play a game.

Lets pretend that i am the average, hardcore gamer. I enjoy citybuilding games and strategy games, but i'm not a Super hardcore SC fan (i don't mod, i don't use many mods ecept things like NAM, i don't treat it like an artist's canvas like some players do .)

           I want to buy Cities XL, i mean it did well on IGN! And i'm sure other reviews will give it similar ratings! But... At the same time i read all of these topics about how much the game stinks!

 Who should i believe and why? (This scenario does apply to me quite well, but i'm sure i can't be the only one!)

(Assuming i HAVE played simcity, and love it. But, the IGN review did say it was moving the Genre in the right direction...)quote>

Hello average, hardcore gamer!(even though "harcore gamer" contradicts "average gamer", but I'll continue).

The answer is all about the features and depth of each game.  Do you want to spend $10 and get a TON of transportation options, terraforming, region play(it may be limited but it's 10x better than just playing on one map)?  Or do you want to spend $40+$6 a month in order to eventually get features we've had for two decades?

Right now CitiesXL is not the value it's pretending to be.  And that to me is it's biggest problem.  The value, depth, complexity in simulation that I got out of a $50 game back in 2003 is more than what I get out of a modern day 2009 city simulator known as CitiesXL.  

Which is sad...

If both games released today, I would still rather spend $50 on Simcity 4 than $40 on CitiesXL.  

[Palpatine001 57]

Ok Ill post a small review of my 5 days playing Cities XL

The limited game edition arrived intact in the mail on Monday, and after opening it up having a look and reading that manual I installed the game.

Installation for me on my new laptop was straight forward enough with no hitches there, once installation was complete it was straight into the game.

I decided to front up and put money down and go into planet offer mode - now I am very aware of the pricing in Euros and the costs around that. So those who moan about the price of the PO really don't have the right to do so when I live in New Zealand and the exchange rate can flux between NZ$1= between E0.30-0.50 affecting how much I pay for a round of PO.

PO done and into the game, I decided to (after "battling with crap wireless and other players scrambling) do try the old classic coastal/river location with a bay with flat land and some hills at the back.

First thing I did was really trial and error my new Neo Solaria in building it. Good news is got plenty of water, fertile ground and ironically oil tokens making this city somewhat easier to  start out and trade off in PO.

So where to start, I thought as industry and eventually high density industry would be near the river mouth come coast lets start a bit upstream, so plopped down some housing, then some farms, then services, then commerical and so on. After a couple of days I decided to expand my sleepy village into a town and crossed the river to expand the farming estate. With food ample and some cash spare I thought lets open the oil fields, so after nearly sending the city broke I set the infrastructure up to drill and transport the oil to the new sea port. This nearly ended Neo Solaria when I thought TRADE.

Sure enough there were trades wanting oil and food, so into the trade screen I go to sell oil and food (left water out of it) in return for this case some heavy industry tokens - after deciding the river mouth will be a industrial hub exporting to around the globe.

The trade screen ans system was hard at first but got use to it after a crack at it, with now trades going well and me looking to expand further trading for Neo Solaria. The trade contracts I had allowed me to bankroll setting up the major industrial hub with gave the follow on effects for expanding residential, commerical, services and farms.

As of now day 5 I have a medium city at 250k with food, oil and heavy industry trades being the corner stone in growing the city. A growing industrial hub is growing at the river mouth and me laying down some more intensive high density zoning on the north of the river, with villages and farms concentrated in the south.

The game is a tricky to master at first if doing the PO mode, but trial and error and making a few painful decisions including starting over helps you master your dream city in time.

The graphics are pretty good and so far not hogging resources on my laptop

Sound effects lack sorely and in opinion need working on, I want to hear the hustle and bustle of my city growing. And if I want music I need my MP3 player for some decent stuff

PO mode is in its infancy so I expect errors there outside of trying to master it first, like when a new Windows product is released, over time the system becomes better.

Overall, its an ok game with its flaws well pointed out, but I can see potential in this over the next 6 months especially as the transit system expands (which it really does)

I would recommend to hardcore players who like marco-economics and management as I do to get this game and bear through XL's growing pains

Those players who like to micro manage - this is not for you, I recommend you go else where.

Oh and for those who are prepared to macro manage and play this game for its worth my key advice

PATIENCE, this game you have to go slow with when building, go large fast = doom and epic fail

Also as with marco management, you need to be 50 steps ahead on everything before laying down the next set of developments. (which doesnt bother a Planning student like me)

Score, 7 out of 10

[Overkast 2]

Thanks for the review Palpatine. In reading your review, I started to wonder if incorporating an option for different levels of difficulty could help make the game more enjoyable for a wider audience. Seems like some people could get used to being forced into a certain style of gameplay difficulty whereas others might want something "lighter" to manage like a sandbox style of play if they don't care for stressful gameplay.

Thoughts?

[LBII 3]

Palpatine001, YOU made my day!

I just realise something : why, as a hardcore SC4 player the more I see about CXL, why I'm continuing to like it even if SC4 was my favorite computer game ever... beacuse I HATE micro-management! Yeah, planning big networks, laying down whole neighboorhood, making big projects... that's the SC4 I liked! But always having to check for the new school/clinic I planted 5 Simyears ago and adjusting the ?*?$* budget everytime, that's not my cup of tea, it's distracting me from my projects of creating the city layout I want!

You just synthetise a big part of the problem with those little sentences :

I would recommend to hardcore players who like marco-economics and management as I do to get this game and bear through XL's growing pains. Those players who like to micro manage - this is not for you, I recommend you go else where.quote>

You helped me with your review, thanks a lot!

EDIT : And it applies to Civilization VI... I like the part of the game where you conquer enemy cities, colonize new places, exploiting ressources with the farms, the mines, the roads, etc... but managing production in every individual city is quite heavy for me and it's a relief ti put them on "wealth mode" when I can... woah, you've been like a shrink to me!

[gabry85 2]

Speaking of 'helpful' reviews... here's another review from gamesradar.com. Rated 7/10.

The saddest point about Cities XL is that it’s a sound, addictive, at times attractive city builder beneath layers of bad decisions.quote>

All the same, Cities XL does have some pleasure to eke from it. It’s just tough to get into, and we can’t, at present, recommend subscribing. However, it may be worth a shot if you’re itching to create your very own dystopian future.quote>

[ThePeoplesPerson 3]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/citiesxl/review.html

Gamespot review, 6.0

The Good: Slick if conventional city-building gameplay, Good for beginners, Intuitive interface, Online options have potential.

The Bad: Basic mechanics are on the bland side, Single-player mode seems like an afterthought, MMO-style online option is limited and overpriced, Problems with trading interface and market.

The Ugly: 6.3 from 90 users

[niloluiz 21]

Gamespot rate was worst then I expected but still realistic. In the current state that's the deserved score.

It's more likely than not that the definitive metascore of this game will end-up being worst than City Life...

Overall user-score everywhere are terrible.... MC should've listened the target-audience for their product.

[Attachtatuk 0]

Wow so much negativity on this forum that I almost didn't buy the game but decided to proceed anyway for the city simulation industy's sake. What a good gamble I made!

Here's my review that I posted on an other gaming site for what it's worth.

I had no expectation buying this game after seeing Monte Cristo delaying or throwing away major game concepts. But I have to admit this game is pretty good.

I've always been a fan of the genre, starting with the original Sim City. When I first heard about Cities Unlimited (Cities XL original name) I was trilled especially after EA's EPIC FAIL Sim City Societies. But after following the game developement for a couple a years all expectations where gone. Monte Cristo decided not to implement a mass transit system in the game and sell us a stripped down version of single play. After playing many hours I must say that this French studion did a pretty good job.

Starting with the positive feedback, I love the way I can build a realistic street grid without the constraint a grid, the fact that I can, now, not only decide what type of density I want to build, but also decide what kind of wealth level to. That meen no more poors $ in my nice wealthy $$$ neighborhood. But the most impressive improvement in this city building genre, is the global economy/ressource systeme and how every economic sectors of your city interact with each other. Let me explain in a simplified way. You start your game by creating dirty industries to attract citizens, those citizens will need retailed goods provided by retailers, those retailer will need food and manufactured goods to sell, all those industries will need offices to manage their businesses etc etc...and keeping all these well balance require some careful management and some skillful negotiation on the planet trade systeme if your online. It makes up for a nice challenge. Oh and the graphics looks amazing.

On the downside, well, you've probably read it all by now. The single player section feels stripped down and 10$ a month is really expensive for the online section. You're going to need a powerful rig to get all the eyecandy. No mass transit system is unexcusable but then again Sim City 4 originaly shipped with a limited mass transit system and did make up for it when they released the expension pack so i'm hopping the same thing happens here.

Overall a great start from Monte Cristo, I've really been addicted so far but still feel that some improvement will be needed if I want to play as long as I played Sim City 4, witch I feel will be done by the French studio and the comunity. So far updates has come almost every day in form of patches and already saw some customisation projects on the fanbase forums.

Graphics 9/10

Sound 6/10

Single player Gameplay 7/10

Multiplayer Gameplay 8,5/10

Replay Value 8/10

OVERALL 8/10

[bluetooth 0]

Originally posted by: Attachtatuk

.... But the most impressive improvement in this city building genre, is the global economy/ressource systeme and how every economic sectors of your city interact with each other. Let me explain in a simplified way. You start your game by creating dirty industries to attract citizens, those citizens will need retailed goods provided by retailers, those retailer will need food and manufactured goods to sell, all those industries will need offices to manage their businesses etc etc...and keeping all these well balance require some careful management and some skillful negotiation on the planet trade systeme if your online.....

quote>

That's exactly what I like with this game and also the freedom to decide whether you want to produce the resources yourself or trade for them.  That way it's easier to build the city of your dreams. I must say that Cities XL is a big step forward since City Life.

[nickwjm 0]

There is a new review at IGN.

I had to laugh when I got to the scores

"

8.5	Sound Gentle music will put you in a relaxed mood, and all the ambient sounds are perfectly fitting within the game.

"

What ambient sounds??? lol

I wander if they reviewed a client we dont have access too yet...Fingers crossed

[Coney 0]

I find it curious that people actually looked for something to bash in this way? The general review is positive, and doesn't give bashers much to work with, so instead one has to look closely at something that may or may not be an issue created by hardware differences, a slight bug, or even just different, albeit possibly wrong, perceptions of the word ambient..

People impress me sometimes... We know you want to bash the game... But we really don't care anymore....

[ifurkend 0]

Actually GameSpot's review counters this statement, albeit indirectly:

There is also little street noise. The only sound effects come when you click on buildings and are recognized by a canned acknowledgement like a doorbell ring for a residence and what sounds like a dot-matrix printer for an office.quote>

[intristin 0]

Gamespot's Review is much much more accurate then that IGN one the OP is talking about. The IGN one reads like a paid review if you ask me.

[Coney 0]

Originally posted by: intristin

Gamespot's Review is much much more accurate then that IGN one the OP is talking about. The IGN one reads like a paid review if you ask me.

quote>

Because you don't agree?? Oh wait I have en idea... Maybe the guy from IGN liked the game more than the one from Gamespot(who ironically has a much more tarnished reputation regarding payed reviews)? I know, it's a far, far out idea, but maybe, just maybe, it has some merit....

[niloluiz 21]

No, because IGN review mention ambient sound, to justify the 8 rate, when the game have zero ambient sound. So the IGN reviewer is either hallucinating, making this up or tested a "exclusive" game version different from what everybody got (aka. "paid article")... Its simple as that and whatever the answer it's bad for IGN credibility.

Gamespot at least acknowledge the sound problem and was also spot on on the general analysis of the game.

The final judge will be the MARKET not me or anybody here in this forum. So far it's not looking good..... users reviews/score everywhere is bad. It's not just here, and there's a good reason for that to be happening...

[nickwjm 0]

Coney try rereading my post, I am not bashing the game just pointing out that they have highlighted ambient sounds when it has been well documented there are none. Its not hardware differences, slight bugs etc there are none, I have even got an official support request response email about this saying they are not currently in game.

I have actually played CitiesXL every day since it has been released and am a PO subscriber and am glad I am, I am active on the community with journals etc So I dont bash. If you actually read my post the point of it is hoping that the reviewer actually has access to a client we do not yet.

You make me laugh, you have posted 3 times so far on this forum and 2 of them have been criticising other peoples posts. Troll I think is the word.

[Coney 0]

Originally posted by: nickwjm

Coney try rereading my post, I am not bashing the game just pointing out that they have highlighted ambient sounds when it has been well documented there are none. Its not hardware differences, slight bugs etc there are none, I have even got an official support request response email about this saying they are not currently in game.

I have actually played CitiesXL every day since it has been released and am a PO subscriber and am glad I am, I am active on the community with journals etc So I dont bash. If you actually read my post the point of it is hoping that the reviewer actually has access to a client we do not yet.

You make me laugh, you have posted 3 times so far on this forum and 2 of them have been criticising other peoples posts. Troll I think is the word.

quote>

To be honest - no, not a troll... Just incredibly tired of people bashing a game I try to enjoy.. I waited four days signing up here simply because all everyone ever talked about was how bad this and that was, and how much everything suck..

You post, however, stood to me as a chance to bash someone saying something positive about the game and nothing else. I might have misread that, but in that case I am sorry I misunderstood you... You could have said that you contacted MC and was told that the sounds are not "currently" in the game, and then express your hopes for the future... That was not the case however...

I have been playing this game every day since I got it and I acknowledge its flaws... But at the same time I see so much potential and I simply hate that the people here hating the game is by far outnumbering the ones that don't - most likely because they, as me, don't really wanna sign up and become a part of a community that hates on a game they like...

I'm glad I made you laugh... It went the other way around as well in the end so gratz on that...

[intristin 0]

Originally posted by: Coney

Originally posted by: intristin

Gamespot's Review is much much more accurate then that IGN one the OP is talking about. The IGN one reads like a paid review if you ask me.

quote>

Because you don't agree?? Oh wait I have en idea... Maybe the guy from IGN liked the game more than the one from Gamespot(who ironically has a much more tarnished reputation regarding payed reviews)? I know, it's a far, far out idea, but maybe, just maybe, it has some merit....

quote>

Like I said it "sounded like" not "is definitely" a paid review. I happen to like the game a lot myself  and I'm enjoying playing it. However Cites XL has many flaws which where completely ignored in the IGN review. Regardless of if a reviewer likes or hates a game, they shouldn't write a one sided review. I would not call anything in Gamespot's review untrue, it's an honest assessment of the current state of the game. They mentioned both the good and the bad which is why I posted what I did above. IGN did not, which is why I said it "sounds" like a paid review. I have no idea how they handle such things. As far as your claim of gamespot's "tarnished reputation", I have no idea about that as I don't visit either site that often.

[soltangris 42]

 have been playing this game every day since I got it and I acknowledge its flaws... But at the same time I see so much potential and I simply hate that the people here hating the game is by far outnumbering the ones that don't - most likely because they, as me, don't really wanna sign up and become a part of a community that hates on a game they like...

 

?My thoughts exactly... The people writing here obviously enjoy bashing the game time and again, repeating over and over the same flaws, as if they repeat them enough times, they'll gain more importance...

I think IGN's review was pretty constructive, oriented more to the general audience than to the specialised SimCity fans. I mean, if you think it through, mass transport is gonna be in, and for people that never played SimCity and are thus unprejudiced towards PO, our discussion won't matter anyway. What will matter at the end is: Is it worth to pay the bucks to subscribe to PO or not? And IGN delivers an honest answer to that, stating that currently it's not worth it. But it might be in the future as problems get ironed out and more content added.

Now I realise that a negative review plays right to the liking of the people that bashed the game in the first place, so it's only natural that they'll prefer Gamespot's review to IGN's.

Me personally, I'll wait until I get the game, play it for couple of months, and then decide wether I like it or not. Because the true test of a game's enjoyability doesn't consist of what you expected, what you felt during the first couple days of play, or what others said about the game.

It consists in how long you keep playing, despite everything, and how many times you'll come back to it in the future.

[Attachtatuk 0]

Originally posted by: bluetooth

Originally posted by: Attachtatuk

.... But the most impressive improvement in this city building genre, is the global economy/ressource systeme and how every economic sectors of your city interact with each other. Let me explain in a simplified way. You start your game by creating dirty industries to attract citizens, those citizens will need retailed goods provided by retailers, those retailer will need food and manufactured goods to sell, all those industries will need offices to manage their businesses etc etc...and keeping all these well balance require some careful management and some skillful negotiation on the planet trade systeme if your online.....

quote>

That's exactly what I like with this game and also the freedom to decide whether you want to produce the resources yourself or trade for them.  That way it's easier to build the city of your dreams. I must say that Cities XL is a big step forward since City Life. quote>

Absolutely, and the funny thing is that I dindn't expect anything from this feature and now I think it's one of the best in this game.

And about that gamespot review... I usually greatly respect their work and I know a lot of you guys agreed but I really think they've been a little to harsh. That's why I felt obligated to write my owm review.

[LBII 3]

@Attachtatuk

It takes another Québécois to understand the subtility of your nickname! Un jour, il faudra bien un site québécois de fans de Cities Xl..!

Anyway, thanks for clearing a little more the fun aspects of the game with your review! I agree with you, Gamespot is quite severe, but they have very good points to.

[Brandon8181 0]

Coney,

I think "bashing" is the wrong word. For the far majority of us here are trying to help everyone, including Monte Cristo by presenting unique views some good, some bad, of how we feel about the game. Yes, there are a few here who have "bashed" the game, but as I said that is not the general goal of the majority of us on this blog. Everyone was having general discussion about the game and then you came in with the negative comment. I think many of us including myself are just disappointed with how the game ended up turning out since it seemed so promising early in development. Also, Coney, withing the last few months Monte Cristo has changed a lot of things and not delivered on many things that were originally promised.

Everyone has the right to their opinioin, but I really don't think its right of you for someone who hasn't been regularly participating in discussion to come in and challange another users opinion, especially not even doing it in a constructive manner.

Can we get back to the constructive part of the discussion trying to point out the good and bad of the game? Maybe if we continue a positive discussion about the good and bad in the game, we'll get the game we've always dreamed of

Brandon