Cities XL 2011

An ambitious city simulator that is one of the closest attempts in recent times to equal Maxis' legends. It has very impressive graphics and deeper gameplay than many other recent shallow offerings of this genre, but is let down by a lack of polish in some areas. The road system is fiddly to upgrade (requiring demolition and starting again) and despite finally having the ability to curve roads, this system leaves much to be desired (roundabouts 'absorb' cars like a building; there's no animation of traffic on them). Despite being a little longwinded and inelegant at times, Cities XL 2011 can engross any keen city-builder and is worth a look on the long wait for Sim City 5.

Cities XL 2011 on initial impressions looks great. The graphical style is really nice, there are lots of different maps to chose from and there are many different types of structures and services at your disposal in building the city of your dreams. There are some other nice features such as being able to trade resources between cities and you can also zoom right in to see cars and people at close-ups. It is also quite convenient that you can zone properties very quickly rather than having to click for each new house you would like to build. Unfortunately, the initial great impression is only skin deep and the game is at its core, quite lifeless. There is very little feedback given to you as the player, forcing you to rely merely on the text presented to you. Despite the fact you see cars and people around the city, it just feels really empty. The music while decent, has the potential to make you fall asleep, and the interface is quite clunky with many different tabs which I constantly get lost in. The game's optimisation is also not great, with even my new computer struggling once cities reach a certain size. At the end of the day, Cities XL 2011 succeeds in presentation, but lets itself down in its implementation. If you want a great city builder I would suggest you pick up Simcity 4 instead. Tropico 4 is also a good city builder option as well.

Dont buy this game! Both gameplay and interfaces are sluggish and the sound design is horrible. The game looks years old both in graphics and just about everything else. I have a high end PC so it's not that I can't use it's full potensial.

The first time I played this game, I really felt empty. It is just plain dead. Buildings just pop out and do not undergo a construction phase. It doesn't feel like a city at all. It feels more like a ghost town. Add the kiddie cartoon styled citizens and you'll immediately know that something is really wrong in this city building sim. I just don't understand why a city sim must have the kiddie cartoon style characters there. Not to mention the stationary ship on the harbour. Maybe the game developers target 6-7 year old gamers??? The only thing that is right here is the graphics engine, all others are epic fail...

I have a number of deal-breaker problems with this game and the company that made it. Overall, the game is bordering on fun, but the problems that I have run into have made it unbearable to play. First, the graphics system implementation seems to have missed a few steps in the testing process. I have a Radeon HD 5800 series video card in my laptop which is a fairly common series. Add into this the fact that I keep the drivers up-to-date and don't make drastic customizations to the display/card settings and I feel confident in saying that I shouldn't run into many out-of-the-box problems. However, I have yet to get the game to successfully change resolution. I've tried all the resolutions that my monitor and card combination will support (including an external monitor), but it all ends with a stuck on top white box and an not responding game. Since I run the game through Steam, where I purchased it, I automatically have the latest version of the game and still no change. Second, related to the first problem, is the absolute lack of support from the publisher. I've e-mailed them, checked their website, and even tried to get into their non-existent forums and the result has been total silence. No, auto-response email telling me that the e-mail I sent arrived and they will get to it when they are good and ready (not even one telling me to "check my drivers"). As with other companies I have dealt with in the past where the only reliable response was no response, I have to assume that they aren't listening and will probably appear in a short news story about another developer bankruptcy. I think that I have a pretty reasonable expectation in terms of support from most developers when I ask that they post a few FAQs and maybe a functional forum with posts about known problems. Finally, is the mixed bag that is the game play itself. I like the models and rendering that is used in the game, and I think the interface is functional if a bit simplistic. The removal of a lot of the normal city simulation micromanagement is tolerable since it has struck an acceptable balance between detailed control and needless effort. I really enjoy the supply and demand implementation that gives very quick, visual feedback concerning your addition of new services and zones. Unfortunately, the road system is very difficult manage and makes it very difficult to set up a grid system city. In addition to the overly, snap oriented road system is a camera control system that makes it extraordinarily difficult to get a useful perspective on what you are trying to do with your city. In summary, the game has great potential with poor implementation and absolutely awful technical support. I'd recommend not buying it and using the money to convince someone to make a real sequel to the Maxis SimCity games.