Von Dion

The OP's subtle sexism is disappointing. So, you suppose this game is dumbed down because its...supposed to appeal to moms instead of young males? Hmm. I wonder what might be your age and gender? And once again I have to wonder what the hell games so-called hardcore fans have played. SimCity 4 is the only game in the franchise that's particularly cold. All of the other games relied on very colorful, "cutesy" graphics and were full of cheap jokes and hilarious puns. I really don't understand the insistance among some fans that the SimCity franchise is this sort of cold, staistical, hardcore series. That's true of SimCity 4 and SimCity 4 alone. I think it's clear who this game is meant to target - just about everyone. EA wants this game to have a very broad base, just like The Sims. That means a friendly art style, an intuitive interface and social connectivity, which is what we're seeing.

SimCity was not a particularly deep simulation game until SimCity 4. Surely it was partly the limits of the technology. But, I think it's hard to argue that a game where you can literally launch small cities into space is a serious Sim. I don't see anything about this new game that's not true to the ideals of the franchise. Though I'd love an updated SimCity 4 I can't begrude Maxis for not just making that game again with the GlassBox engine. The new game may or may not be fun - we don't know, since we haven't played it - but I think limiting its scale was a wise move. Taking a more-is-more approach can cause a lot of trouble.

I'm not sure that I agree SimCity is shaping up to be deficent in transportion. Yes, there's a few less options then before. But the fact both cars and buses are now actually simulated, rather than just visual elements, is pretty cool. Buses in SimCity were literally a one-tile building that players plopped here and there. 'd hardly call that sophisticated, nor do I think the new game should harken back to that.