For the past week, I've been on a roller coaster. On one hand, I really wanted to enjoy SimCity. On the other hand, the game was practically forcing me to hate it.  Maxis is really trying to rewrite the book on city simulation with this latest version, but is it successful?

I've played SimCity since its very first release back in the early 90s, and every version since. I've been playing this latest version since it's commercial release, on both Windows and Mac.

The main problem with this game is EA trying to prevent piracy by forcing you to log into their servers (which are not equipped to deal with the...

Decent game, don't let the reviews fool you. I was an avid player in the past, and this new game has some improvements that sim city 4 didn't. Only issue to me seems to be map size. Remember size isnt everything...It's all about maximizing space and running an efficient city.

There are games that define an entire genre.  In 1989, a designer named Will Wright paired up with Maxis and now-defunct publisher Brøderbund to release a little game called Micropolis that would eventually be renamed SimCity.

Graphically fantastic – the Glassbox engine is amazing in this area; Snap-on system for buildings could expand this game exponentially; The game is addictively fun; Specializations are a cool twist for the series; Regional works push player collaboration; Reaching densities to get achievements will...

No way to search for a region by name; Tiny cities means a lot of repeated ‘starter city' gameplay; Passive resources don't seem to work currently; No mod support and no idea of what that support will look like in the future; Without terraforming of any kind; some regions are doomed to giant dead...

SimCity is a streamlined and highly addictive city management and society simulation. It's been designed to appeal to fans of The Sims with a greater emphasis on social interactions as well as managing an entire region of cities.

+ Looks amazing; + Addictive gameplay; + Multiplayer; when it works; + Accessible approach

- Always online is the worst; - Various little problems - traffic; population; zoning; moving roads; - Might not be what the SimCity faithful wanted

Reviewing SimCity is a rough gig. Not because there's anything wrong with the game, far from it. Rather SimCity is a beast of a game that won't reach its full potential until it's been out in the wild for a little while post-release.

SimCity had an appalling launch. Now that the dust has settled and the servers have stabilised, Nat Crouch evaluates the game.

Strong visual design; Intelligently communicates information to players.

Issues of misinformation; Easy to feel lost and aimless; Server woes overseas.

It would be an easy job to presume what direction this review will head to. So much has been the hype around the first week of launch for SimCity that even if you'd want to avoid it by choice, I doubt you seldom would.

The launch of SimCity made headlines for all the wrong reasons and sadly has taken some of the shine off this exciting new addition to the SimCity franchise. The game should have been able to be downloaded prior to release time, which would have alleviated some of the congestion from the Origin...