I have Cities Xl 2012 now installed for a week, as a long time Simcity 4 deluxe addict, and can only recommend Cities Xl if you like freedom. The game play is much more shallow, the number of bugs is extremely annoying (any idea why upgrading a road means replacing it with a dirt road?), and speed is terrible. But, for building a city there are more options. And why is there only busses and metro? Where are the trains, small airstrips, density issues in buildings, fires? It should be that the management of the city is not incorporated.
Simcity on Windows 7 64 bit is a nuisance: run it as full administrator, and no other programs (I have trouble with popups like emails). Then you should be ok.
Good luck with your choice!
