Just in case we get bogged down reviewing Electronic Arts' poisoning of an otherwise excellent franchise instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of the game itself, allow us to present a Cheetah Speed review of SimCity up-front (assuming EA has turned that feature back on by the time you read...

Lovely graphics; unique multiplayer component; city specializations have a great potential to add uniqueness to the game

Always-on Internet requirement; numerous game-breaking bugs; Sims lives not "simulated;" numbers don't add up; game lacks terraforming

SimCity, like an actual city, only succeeds when everyone and everything works together. And when that happens--when absolutely every system functions exactly as intended--it's one of the most satisfying experiences that exists in gaming.

Wonderful visual style; Watching Sims go about their lives is great; Social and online functionality is innovative

Glitches sometimes destroy cities; Server issues compound design flaws; Small city size might be a turn off

Since June 2012, the time the new SimCity was announced, I have lost much sleep from excitement looking forward to what I thought was to be a glorious reboot of SimCity.

Gameplay Mechanics; Multiplay

Always Online SP; Reliability of Servers; Always Online SP

Finally. After months of demands, the long-awaited Update 10 for SimCity has made the city-building simulation available for offline play. Still, it's a case of too little, too late.

Update 10 removes the always-on Internet requirement of the original game; Removal of the online DRM means that you no longer have to worry about a server going on the fritz and wrecking your city-building plans for the evening

Core game design remains focused on multiplayer elements; City size limits; multicity focus; and zoning rules are still aggravating

I remember playing it alongside other city management titles like Pharaoh or Caesar, trying to create the best settlements I could, looking out for the happiness of my citizens, while also trying to balance making a profit with causing as little damage as I could to the environment.

+ Game engine; + City building tools; + Citizen interaction

- Forced social nature; - Limited building space; - Server-related problems

In the end, I really do hope SimCity gets better, because I'm keen, eager and ready to play and experience more - just not until some of these problems are addressed. I still had a lot of fun, for a lot of hours - I just wish it didn't all fall apart later on.

When EA and Maxis announced that they were resurrecting SimCity , the franchise that put Maxis on the map so many years ago, people were understandably skeptical at the potential pitfalls of such a big-name reboot.

I love the SimCity series. I played the first one for countless hours growing up, and my younger years were filled with endless play sessions of SimCity 2000 and 3000 . I wanted to like the latest SimCity.

It's often said that sometimes, simple is just better. I learned that the hard way one night as I grabbed a cup of coffee at a nearby Starbucks. In the mood for something a little different, I added a dash of nutmeg to my coffee.

In sitting down to write this review, I spent a good long while thinking to myself, "What can I possibly say that hasn't already been said?" From one end of the Internet to the other, endless stories of server shutdowns, data-corrupted cities, and idiotic motorists have bounced around in an online...