Cities XL

I don't normally write reviews, however this was such a miserable game it compels me to write and make sure others didn't suffer the same.
In a NUTSHELL - Cities XL Is a rip off and a pretty poor gaming experience.
In fact I would go as far as to say that for the money, the extra's for which you have to pay to gain the full misery of the game you and the internet MMO experience (a bad one at that) - IT IS THE WORSE SIM GAME EVER.
Never in a millennium is it worth £30 of your hard earned, credit crunch cash. It has some good points, I can list them on one hand - large playing environs, nice game detail, good graphic and assortment of buildings and, and, and well that's it.
The bad points - I may need a few pages. It is simplistic, lacks variation, thus making game play dull and is devoid of any imagination. The demo had bugs which were to have been fixed in the final release - they haven't been. The planet mode is disappointing and quite frankly nothing more than a… more »

I don't normally write reviews, however this was such a miserable game it compels me to write and make sure others didn't suffer the same.
In a NUTSHELL - Cities XL Is a rip off and a pretty poor gaming experience.
In fact I would go as far as to say that for the money, the extra's for which you have to pay to gain the full misery of the game you and the internet MMO experience (a bad one at that) - IT IS THE WORSE SIM GAME EVER.
Never in a millennium is it worth £30 of your hard earned, credit crunch cash. It has some good points, I can list them on one hand - large playing environs, nice game detail, good graphic and assortment of buildings and, and, and well that's it.
The bad points - I may need a few pages. It is simplistic, lacks variation, thus making game play dull and is devoid of any imagination. The demo had bugs which were to have been fixed in the final release - they haven't been. The planet mode is disappointing and quite frankly nothing more than a spruced up chat room which allows trading - utterly boring.
In summary - Monte Cristo have created a rip-off game in order to line their pocket in the hard times. Although graphically superior to other city sims, it game play is infantile, and to cap it all you have to pay extra for in game builds and an online service which is totally toilet.

I purchased this game to play solo, off-line. It rapidly becomes clear that the intention is to get you to subscribe to expensive monthly fees, without which you actually get very little. Even if you do subscribe you will have to be patient because the game is released in my view in an unfinished state. In the solo version be aware that you have to log on to play each time. Be aware that despite the company's video footage there is no mass transport element, there are no railways or buses, there is no sound or atmosphere (except the background music) no smoke or effects and what is worse there is very little challenge at all. You would find far more depth in the companys previous game City Life!

I was surprised as a city building enthusiast to be bored after a very short time, despite the very pretty graphics. It soon dawns on you that here is just very little to do strategically. And it would appear that your game will never be upgraded to include more unless you pay a monthly… more »

I purchased this game to play solo, off-line. It rapidly becomes clear that the intention is to get you to subscribe to expensive monthly fees, without which you actually get very little. Even if you do subscribe you will have to be patient because the game is released in my view in an unfinished state. In the solo version be aware that you have to log on to play each time. Be aware that despite the company's video footage there is no mass transport element, there are no railways or buses, there is no sound or atmosphere (except the background music) no smoke or effects and what is worse there is very little challenge at all. You would find far more depth in the companys previous game City Life!

I was surprised as a city building enthusiast to be bored after a very short time, despite the very pretty graphics. It soon dawns on you that here is just very little to do strategically. And it would appear that your game will never be upgraded to include more unless you pay a monthly fee.

You do get a one week trial of the "Planet" subscription offer. This was enough time for me to establish for myself that there is really no benefit or extra fun in online play. So I conclude that this is one of the most cynical marketing models I have encountered in recent times.

I only hope the company will see the error of its ways and rectify the situation in the future.

For now I could not recommend.