I'm basically a Sims 3 addict on hiatus, so definitely not cognizant of the more nuanced arguments pro or con, but from the way I understand things, EA removed the god tools. To me, nothing is more boring than a city building game where I can't alter the terrain or grab an awesome new user-made map during my coffeebreak, so for me the argument ends right there. But to make matters even worse, no mods are possible if I'm understanding how that cloud server thing works. No new buildings or props or textures, and no new hacks from players who actually play the game and respond to whatever is lacking. Seriously, no god tools and no mods, EVER!! For how long do people expect to be interested in playing the same ole terrain with no mods? Get serious, seems like many players would be bored in a week, a month at most.
Anyway, as someone who IS a Sims 3 addict on break, I was extremely shocked to learn that an online game like SimCity does not require a monthly subscription in order to offset the server costs of a very profit-driven company. Because of that, and the boredom factor, I would expect EA to be rolling out a SimCity Store like they did for The Sims, where every little thing costs and costs and costs. And if that's the case, players should be prepared to spend a $1,000 -- that's not a typo -- on Store items over the next few years in order to feel like they have a complete game. And if their friends don't have the exact same Store items as they do, then they won't be able to play together (if someone had wanted that social aspect).
Ah, just realized this was the new SimCity forum. Hope everyone enjoys their game! Maybe it'll turn out to be better than I'm currently expecting.
