My time with the SimCity beta made me think that this is what players of the original X-COM went through when last year’s reboot was launched. It was familiar but it wasn’t the same. While it was nice to have SimCity back, it just didn’t feel like the SimCity that I knew and loved. But based on what the critics think, maybe I was wrong to feel turned off by the streamlined controls and the game telling me I have a slow rig.
When reading through this, please note that some reviewers trying to be the first ones out at embargo never had a chance to experience the queues to get on to servers, download issues or had the ability to download it locked out while Origin sorted its shit out. It’s also unlikely that press members on the one dedicated media server found out that your cities are locked to the server you created them on. It’s probably a bit early to be cynical about the whole thing but isn’t always-online DRM a magical thing? Read the rest of this entry →