The city-building strategy game is not the powerhouse it once was. It has been ages since a SimCity graced our hard drives, and many other city-building and strategy games have either been dormant, or broken off from the main genre, heading toward strategy, army building, and RPG territory. Cities XL is a welcome site then, coming as it does with so little competition, aside from the latest Tropico title. Cities XL offers us the ability to link our cities, from one player’s to another’s across a vast, teeming planet of player created cities.
That is a powerful image, and doubtless makes a powerful argument for the game’s uniqueness and value, in a genre populated by games whose vast cities can never be viewed by others. This is the old horse armor/MMORPG argument, but in a different vein: who cares how big your hydro-electric waterfall and awful slums are. No one will ever see them, except those people who see you play your copy of the game.
Even better, Cities XL promises to deliver a level of inter-city connectivity that truly creates a connected, living world on their servers. There are various ways that this can be accomplished. As a player, you can, with other’s permission, walk the streets of other cities as a person. The graphics aren’t breathtaking at street level, but there is no denying the unique feeling that comes with walking among the buildings of a metropolis built by another person, on another computer.
It is also possible to trade goods, money, and units of resources between cities. This is a vital ability, since without a live person to trade with, city builders must trade with a giant, faceless corporation run by the game, which always gives you a raw deal. In fact, ambitious city builders will want to trade exclusively with humans, since people are allowed to make unequal trades with each other. Thus, if you want to trade 50 units of electricity (which you have far too much of) for 1 unit of oil (which you have none of), you can only do so through human contacts.
If this sounds both involved and strangely distant from the actually gameplay, that is because it is both of those things, for the most part. The game itself is a standard, extremely user friendly take on the classic SimCity model of city-building. You can build zones where a set number of houses, factories, offices, leisure spaces, and other zoning areas can be erected. You spend all of your time making sure that there are enough unskilled workers to staff the retail zones, or skilled workers to staff offices, etc.
In fact, the game quickly shows itself to be adept at holding your hand. Often, you will see warnings warning you of impending strikes, dissent, or financial ruin. When you go to check the households and businesses in question, you will be surprised to find everyone happy and wealthy, with a 90% approval/profitable rate. This is because the game overreacts to everything. You will be warned that factory workers are unhappy, when their happiness stands at a paltry 85%
This in turn makes the game painfully easy. Once you have learned how to placate citizens, how to expand without overextending yourself, and when and how to build high upkeep buildings (schools, refineries, and bowling alleys), the game ceases to hold much challenge. All of this is not necessarily a horrible thing, when you get down to it.
By aiding you at every step of the way, Cities XL provides you with a streamlined, unhindered path toward a sprawling, beautiful metropolis. While the city may not look great from a person’s eye view, from even a small distance the greens, grays, and other colors really look good, and the city look organic and flowing in a way that most city-building games can’t match, thanks to the wonderful ability to build curved zones and roads.
In fact, as you inch out across the map, you will find yourself eager to start new cities. You can build cities in different climates on your planet, ranging from snowy to arid to tropical. It mostly means you will have access to differing amounts of resources, but these are never anything more than momentary obstacles.
What doesn’t work quite so well is all of that amazing, aforementioned interconnectivity. Connecting to other humans in Cities XL requires seemingly unending layers of forms, sign-in pages, alt-tabing in and out of the game, and other indignities. It is incredibly hard to connect quickly to other players. It doesn’t matter if you want to trade, view a city, or just learn about their city’s status. The game makes you jump through far too many hoops to make any of the multiplayer options worth exploring, at this point. Of course, the game has only just been released.
There are plans for new, more focused play experiences and scenarios, with specific economies and missions (like an Alpine resort). This doesn’t make much of a difference now, but if the game can be made player-friendly (in the online interactions), then I would gladly spend time trading online and visiting other cities. As it is, these features feel like novelties, tacked on to a fun if unassuming city-building game.
The Good:
Easy Peasy: I have never played a city-building game that eased you into the process as well and as smoothly as this game does.
The Bad:
And then…: Once you have been eased in to the game, there isn’t much left to learn or fo. Just watch your city grow.
The Ugly:
And after that?: The multiplayer options are still being fleshed out. As it is, do not buy Cities XL for the $10 a month trading power.
Playthrough: Played through several moderately successful cities, partook in one or two trades online. This copy was provided by Calico Media.
Recommendation: For all of that, I rather liked Cities XL. It’s fun, easy, and doesn’t punish you endlessly for your mistakes. If you’re looking for multiplayer (there really isn’t any) or interesting online functions, wait until the game has a half year’s worth of support or so. If you want a fun, easy-going city sim, step right up. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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