14 DAY TRIAL // The biggest complaints against SimCity that Maxis does not seem to be addressing anytime soon are that the cities are too small to allow for meaningful development and that the mechanics are too obscure and deliver an illusion of simulation.
So I took an older city builder with a slew of new updates out for a spin, spending some time with Cities XL Platinum, the title created by Monte Cristo that was first launched in late 2009.
The game is much more open than SimCity and offers a tiered progression system where various achievements on the part of the player open up new buildings and new options and allow anyone to create a complex megalopolis that requires a fully zoomed-out view to explore.
Gamers need to plan ahead, notice where various natural resources are located and get an idea about how they plan to build their settlement before they put down their first road.
This is an almost mathematical experience and the player needs to always think ahead, making sure that there's a clear synergy between each area of town before adding more zoning, be it worker or industry focused.
Cities XL Platinum is a very precise affair, with tiered densities for various social classes and types of buildings and clear information on how each of them is performing and their happiness levels.
Cities XL Platinum also delivers a wealth of details about the town the player is developing, with clearly structured ideas about how the overall layout can be improved and what the population categories are expecting the player to do in the future.
The game is very focused on keeping a clear balance between manufacturing, population and commercial areas and there’s little chance to look at individual citizens because the larger picture is always more important.
This is an experience focused on massive investments and big city development, with large farming areas that deliver products to manufacturing zones that could replace an entire settlement in the SimCity reboot.
If scale is what a player is looking for in a city building experience, then Cities XL Platinum delivers it in spades and allows the gamer to create a truly impressive megalopolis.
I like the game and its clear suggestions about what can be done to improve an overall situation, but I miss the organic nature of SimCity and the way it allows me to get in touch with my own citizens while they walk the streets returning from work.
In Cities XL, population is just there to offer workers for the factories and other buildings and I rarely felt that I should actually care about their needs.
My focus was always on creating a bigger city and generating more revenue and never on being appreciated by the citizens living there.
There’s also something endearing about the idea behind SimCity, that gamers will be able to work together to create something that they will then share.
Hardcore city building fans might be well served by Cities XL Platinum but, despite its flaws, I will continue to spend time with the Maxis release.
But for those who are unable to play the recent EA game or dislike its core ideas, the Monte Criso game is a perfectly good replacement.
You can also check out a video of early development in Cities XL Platinum in order to get an idea about what the game has to offer and a gallery of images.
