Polygon lowers review score due to server & game instability

[LillySatou 117]

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

[SirChick 184]

Wow... i've never seen that happen before. Wonder how many other sites will do it.

[Jasoncw 11,949]

Obviously the launch didn't go very well, and is the exact kind of thing that was supposed to be ironed out in the betas, but I think lowering the rating the day after the release is premature.  I have a feeling that soon the servers will be working better and there will be a patch to fix other major issues.

 

5 years from now I don't think anyone is going to remember or care that the game was buggy for the first day after launch.

 

If the issues don't get sorted out in a reasonable amount of time then I would understand lowering the rating.

[cirugo 1,889]

Obviously the launch didn't go very well, and is the exact kind of thing that was supposed to be ironed out in the betas, but I think lowering the rating the day after the release is premature.  I have a feeling that soon the servers will be working better and there will be a patch to fix other major issues.

 

5 years from now I don't think anyone is going to remember or care that the game was buggy for the first day after launch.

 

If the issues don't get sorted out in a reasonable amount of time then I would understand lowering the rating.

the game shouldn't have been designed in such a way as to present players with these problems in the first place.

[nhgriffith 179]

Actually, the original Polygon article (that issued the 9.5) said they'd lower the rating if server issue came about. That article also said they'd re-evaluate the game AGAIN later, once the issues were sorted out. So it was a 9.5, lowered to an 8 now, and tomorrow if the issues are the same or worse, it'll get lower, but if tomorrow everything is perfectly smooth, and stays all smooth through the European launches, it'll get bumped back up a little I imagine (probably not all the way back to 9.5, but nonetheless).

[LillySatou 117]

so long as they always keep that edit in , always reminding people about the fact that the launch was so bad that it forced them to lower their review score, i'm fine with that.

[whizard 45]

No need to be so vindictive!

[YukiEiriKun 29]

Obviously the launch didn't go very well, and is the exact kind of thing that was supposed to be ironed out in the betas, but I think lowering the rating the day after the release is premature.  I have a feeling that soon the servers will be working better and there will be a patch to fix other major issues.

 

5 years from now I don't think anyone is going to remember or care that the game was buggy for the first day after launch.

 

If the issues don't get sorted out in a reasonable amount of time then I would understand lowering the rating.

 

Five years from now no one even remembers this game or is able to play it since EA has shut the servers down..

[AkemiAzula 280]

 "I have to give them credit for their honesty"

 

Indeed. It is good to see the truth being acknowledged by a review site. Hopefully more shall follow their lead, and EA shall see it's errors plainly.

[shorty2 94]

Why should EA be given benefit of the doubt when it comes to servers and load? They had ample time and they have ample money to ensure it does not happen.. you can make what ever excuses you want but if it were to occur in any other industry the consumers would be outraged. For some reason a lot of gamer have sympathy/bias because they just want to play the game. It's no wonder things like this happen because they know that gamers are a bunch of..

[Essex 322]

I don't understand why this game even gets scores of over 5? It is seriously flawed and overpriced. I smell goodies.

[cleansation 0]

Polygons journalism is bordering to the embarrassing with their PR hype machine worded reviews and reposts of press releases as news.

 

A proper reviewer would have waited until the game was out to see how it would all work out, like many other has chosen to do. Polygons score on metacritic and such is stuck as it is and won't be changed.

[jdenm8 362]

5 years from now I don't think anyone is going to remember or care that the game was buggy for the first day after launch.

 

People still haven't forgotten Diablo 3. Activizzard wouldn't be porting it to PS3 if it didn't have such an adverse reaction.

[Bipin 3,403]

This could of been largely avoided if they gave us some sort of offline mode. Players who couldn't connect to the server would at least be able to play by themselves; but still play the game regardless. The online-only DRM is eating you alive, EA. You have to come to the realization that it does more harm than good.

[shorty2 94]

This could of been largely avoided if they gave us some sort of offline mode. Players who couldn't connect to the server would at least be able to play by themselves; but still play the game regardless. The online-only DRM is eating you alive, EA. You have to come to the realization that it does more harm than good.

 

Unfortunately I doubt EA will take this as a lesson to be learned. The people at the top of the corporation are obviously on board with the whole anti-piracy thing.. online-only DRM will probably stay and they'll increase the number of servers find some other way to alleviate launch day troubles.

[cirugo 1,889]

This could of been largely avoided if they gave us some sort of offline mode. Players who couldn't connect to the server would at least be able to play by themselves; but still play the game regardless. The online-only DRM is eating you alive, EA. You have to come to the realization that it does more harm than good.

 

Unfortunately I doubt EA will take this as a lesson to be learned. The people at the top of the corporation are obviously on board with the whole anti-piracy thing.. online-only DRM will probably stay and they'll increase the number of servers find some other way to alleviate launch day troubles.

they won't take it as a lesson to be learned until people stop buying games that ship with this garbage requirement.

[zogleheros 2]

While I find it obviously a severe flaw and poor use of beta testing, server issues at launch are to be expected. I really don't know what you were expecting or in which world you're living, every online game has these issues.

[Sunfighter 186]

While I find it obviously a severe flaw, and mismanagement of beta testing, server issues at launch are to be expected. I don't know what you were expecting...

 

i expected queues and connection issues. I didnt expect the game to outright crash when joining regions and deleting what you built up in the 3-4 minutes it gives you before it crashes, then lock you out of said region because the tile you claimed, registers as claimed...but not to you....that i didnt expect.

[nhgriffith 179]

To me, it just depends on how long it takes them to get it all sorted out.

So far today, it's been significantly better than it was yesterday. Could be because they did some work and figured out some issues, or it could simple be because everyone else is at work, and Europe doesn't have the game yet.

I mean, the fact of the matter is, whether or not the game is good, and whether or not they had server issues, between March 5th and March 10th or so, there will be twice as many people trying to play the game as there will be from March 11th onward. It's been 10 years since the last release, and the game has had a lot of hype. Lots of people just want to scratch their SimCity itch. Once that itch gets scratched, the number of people actively playing at any given time drastically drops.

You can say it's because the game is bad or because of server issues all you want, but both would be completely untrue. EVERY online game that relies on servers has this very same sort of Day 1 issue with server load. But the fact that there are twice as many people trying to play right now then there will be a week from now and onward means it would be financially irresponsible to get double the necessary servers up just to handle the week 1 load.

There are other issues unrelated to server load that do need to be fixed, so I'm not saying the launch has been pretty much everything I expected, but the fact of the matter is, every launch for any server-based game has always been exactly this way, and for the foreseeable future, every launch for any server-based game will continue to be this way. SimCity was not the first; SimCity will not be the last.

By next week, if everything is straightened out, does it really matter how terrible this week was? I mean, REALLY?

[Vihzel 9]

By next week, if everything is straightened out, does it really matter how terrible this week was? I mean, REALLY?

 

For some people, yes. For others, like myself, we will easily move on and just enjoy the game. 

[Ma8thew 77]

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

[LillySatou 117]

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

[Ma8thew 77]

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

[logintime 93]

They aren't the only ones. The IGN review in progress is heading rapidly more downhill- the reviewer was prepared to give a glowing endorsement at first, but now has been delayed enough due to the server issues that he's finally catching on that the game's region play is seriously buggy. You know, something all reviewers should be noticing. And Tom Chick put up a post basically saying that he won't release his review for a week or two in order to let EA/Maxis sort out their servers, but if he did right now it would be a one-star review.

[LillySatou 117]

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

I believe that it is likely their review scores are influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity, yes. That being said, I am happy to see them change their review score. But I think they mostly did it because of the public outcry. It's quite clear the game deserves nothing near perfect praise and a 9.5/10. Surely you must agree.

[Ma8thew 77]

 

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

I believe that it is likely their review scores are influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity, yes. That being said, I am happy to see them change their review score. But I think they mostly did it because of the public outcry. It's quite clear the game deserves nothing near perfect praise and a 9.5/10. Surely you must agree.

I think that if the online element worked as it should, the game could certainly deserve 9.5. I found the one hour beta to be more engaging than many other highly-rated-by-reviewers games that I have played. Now arguably, game review scores are inflated in general, but that's endemic to the entire industry rather than confined to specific reviewers.

 

And it looks like you got your wish, because the game is now rated at 4/10 by Polygon.

[LillySatou 117]

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

I believe that it is likely their review scores are influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity, yes. That being said, I am happy to see them change their review score. But I think they mostly did it because of the public outcry. It's quite clear the game deserves nothing near perfect praise and a 9.5/10. Surely you must agree.

I think that if the online element worked as it should, the game could certainly deserve 9.5. I found the one hour beta to be more engaging than many other highly-rated-by-reviewers games that I have played. Now arguably, game review scores are inflated in general, but that's endemic to the entire industry rather than confined to specific reviewers.

 

And it looks like you got your wish, because the game is now rated at 4/10 by Polygon.

I found all the betas to be extremely disappointing. Sure, the simulation and data layers are nice and pretty, but at the end of the day you are working inside a tiny rectangle surrounded by nothingness. While cities are connected in some ways, Their interaction is nothing short of awkward. Also, the fact that multiplayer is pretty much forced on to the player I think is an insult to the fanbase. It was foolish of Maxis to ignore the fanbase and give them something they never asked for. The customer is always right.

 

I find it really hard to believe that a true Sim City fan would  give this game a 9.5/10.

 

Now a 4 is really more like it, especially in the game's current state. At best , if you ignore the rest of the franchise's history, it might deserve a 6 or a 7 if you're feeling generous. In any case, I have a little more respect for Polygon now. It's just really hard for me these days to take a non-indie game review site seriously after all the hilarious scores given to terrible games last year by sites like IGN.

[Ma8thew 77]

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

I believe that it is likely their review scores are influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity, yes. That being said, I am happy to see them change their review score. But I think they mostly did it because of the public outcry. It's quite clear the game deserves nothing near perfect praise and a 9.5/10. Surely you must agree.

I think that if the online element worked as it should, the game could certainly deserve 9.5. I found the one hour beta to be more engaging than many other highly-rated-by-reviewers games that I have played. Now arguably, game review scores are inflated in general, but that's endemic to the entire industry rather than confined to specific reviewers.

 

And it looks like you got your wish, because the game is now rated at 4/10 by Polygon.

I found all the betas to be extremely disappointing. Sure, the simulation and data layers are nice and pretty, but at the end of the day you are working inside a tiny rectangle surrounded by nothingness. While cities are connected in some ways, Their interaction is nothing short of awkward. Also, the fact that multiplayer is pretty much forced on to the player I think is an insult to the fanbase. It was foolish of Maxis to ignore the fanbase and give them something they never asked for. The customer is always right.

 

I find it really hard to believe that a true Sim City fan would  give this game a 9.5/10.

 

Now a 4 is really more like it, especially in the game's current state. At best , if you ignore the rest of the franchise's history, it might deserve a 6 or a 7 if you're feeling generous. In any case, I have a little more respect for Polygon now. It's just really hard for me these days to take a non-indie game review site seriously after all the hilarious scores given to terrible games last year by sites like IGN.

I don't want to rehash all these arguments again. But I can tell you I am a true Simcity fan (I bought Simcity 4 and Rush Hour on their release days). Your understanding of a review is flawed, I believe. It should not be based on the franchise's history. It should be judged on its own merits alone. Your assertion that the customer is right is predicated on the idea that all customers think like you. Me disputing your assessment should be enough to convince you that this is not the case.

 

By the way, I'm not sure what your criteria for 'indie' are. Polygon are a very new operation, and they are independent in the sense that they are not owned by a media conglomerate.

[snick25 384]

Figures. Reviewers are first "influenced" by the gaming company and give glowing endorsements, and when all hell breaks lose in the consumer base, adjust their reviews to avoid looking stupid. Of course that's not always the case, and it may or may not be it here.

 

Still, this is a great example of why pre-release reviews are just plain moronic. Sure, customers who are purchasing on or prior to release day should have some idea of what to expect, but then again so should the official reviewers. These reviewers certainly didn't.

[LillySatou 117]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.polygon.com/game/simcity-2013/2630

 

As many worried, today's launch of SimCity has brought a number of server woes and instability with it. Some players are unable to connect to EA's servers to download the game. Others are unable to sign into SimCity'salways-online service to start a game. Others are suffering from disconnections while in-game, which often results in lost progress and bizarre glitches. Our own reviewer, Russ Pitts, has suffered disconnected sessions this afternoon that resulted in lost progress, corrupted avenue placement, and twin monster attacks.

 

After speaking with Russ and Polygon Managing Editor Justin McElroy, we are in agreement that the current state of SimCity merits an update to the game's score on Polygon, per our reviews policy. While not every player is experiencing these problems, members of our staff, other members of the press, and an anecdotally large portion of our readership are having moderate to severe difficulty playing the game. This likely-temporary scenario nonetheless affects our recommendation of SimCity, and we advise caution for the time being before diving headfirst into the game. - Arthur Gies, Polygon Reviews Editor

Seems like I may have misjudged Polygon, as this has concerned them and thus have lowered their score of the game from 9.5/10 to an 8 due to the glaring issues with the game. I still think that score is too high, but I have to give them credit for their honesty.

I foresee this happening with other reviews as well.

Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to accuse people of corruption in the future.

I don't retract anything I said previously - I still think the original review was nothing more than a corporate lovefest gush, and I don't even think SimCity deserves an 8.

So you still believe that they were bribed by EA, but also that you misjudged them?

I believe that it is likely their review scores are influenced by factors other than journalistic integrity, yes. That being said, I am happy to see them change their review score. But I think they mostly did it because of the public outcry. It's quite clear the game deserves nothing near perfect praise and a 9.5/10. Surely you must agree.

I think that if the online element worked as it should, the game could certainly deserve 9.5. I found the one hour beta to be more engaging than many other highly-rated-by-reviewers games that I have played. Now arguably, game review scores are inflated in general, but that's endemic to the entire industry rather than confined to specific reviewers.

 

And it looks like you got your wish, because the game is now rated at 4/10 by Polygon.

I found all the betas to be extremely disappointing. Sure, the simulation and data layers are nice and pretty, but at the end of the day you are working inside a tiny rectangle surrounded by nothingness. While cities are connected in some ways, Their interaction is nothing short of awkward. Also, the fact that multiplayer is pretty much forced on to the player I think is an insult to the fanbase. It was foolish of Maxis to ignore the fanbase and give them something they never asked for. The customer is always right.

 

I find it really hard to believe that a true Sim City fan would  give this game a 9.5/10.

 

Now a 4 is really more like it, especially in the game's current state. At best , if you ignore the rest of the franchise's history, it might deserve a 6 or a 7 if you're feeling generous. In any case, I have a little more respect for Polygon now. It's just really hard for me these days to take a non-indie game review site seriously after all the hilarious scores given to terrible games last year by sites like IGN.

I don't want to rehash all these arguments again. But I can tell you I am a true Simcity fan (I bought Simcity 4 and Rush Hour on their release days). Your understanding of a review is flawed, I believe. It should not be based on the franchise's history. It should be judged on its own merits alone. Your assertion that the customer is right is predicated on the idea that all customers think like you. Me disputing your assessment should be enough to convince you that this is not the case.

 

By the way, I'm not sure what your criteria for 'indie' are. Polygon are a very new operation, and they are independent in the sense that they are not owned by a media conglomerate.

In a franchise, people come to expect improvements upon its predecessors. The game is called "Sim City", henceforth, it is part of the Sim City line of games. Just because they didn't put a 5 at the end of it doesn't change the fact everyone is considering it exactly that. On its own merit, it is not a simulation of a city. It is a simulation of small chunks of cities, with some sort of Anno-type trading mechanism behind it. For a city-building game on its own merit, it's somewhat above average. Candidate for "Game of the Year"? If so, we don't have a lot to look forward to.

 

My assertion that the customer is right is the assertion of every successful business ever created.

 

Polygon is not owned by a media conglomerate, but they have major financial backing from the industry. You're a bit overzealous about defending them. I find it funny.