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SimCity Societies

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4.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 27 critic reviews
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Based on 51 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Tilted Mill

Genre(s): Simulation, City Building

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: November 13, 2007

Summary

Featuring an all-new, revolutionary feature set, SimCity Societies allows players to construct not only the cities they desire, but create their cultures, societal behaviors and environments as well. Build an artistic city, haunted town, green city, spiritual community or most any society you want! Using the accessible, innovative and versatile city-builder, players can create their own kind of city in SimCity Societies. [Electronic Arts]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GameZone

A fun game that is accessible and seemingly geared for all members of the family. The game has a really gentle and relaxed feel to it, even when your city starts to hustle and bustle with businesses going up right and left, and the city coffers are working hard to keep up with the growth.

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Pelit (Finland)

The newest Sim City differs quite a lot from its predecessors. It concentrates more on the social atmosphere than being a realistic city simulator. Social energies is a fresh idea which works nicely although they’ve simplified the administrative side of the game maybe a little too much. SC: Societies is a nice way to waste time, but you’ll get bored with it at some point because the game starts to repeat itself. [Nov 2007]

Game Informer

SimCity Societies is ultimately a step down from its predecessors, but it doesn’t fall so far to be considered a blunder. You may not sink as much time into this installment, but the reinvention of the gameplay mechanics results in an inventive array of new problems to solve.

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NZGamer

What it’s done is added a real human element to the SimCity genre. Where before people were really just another resource to control, they now bring some personality to the places they inhabit. This makes for a much more unpredictable and interesting game, in my opinion.

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GamingTrend

I just can’t help but feel that this sandbox has plenty of toys in it, but they just aren’t as much fun to play with as they could be.

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PC PowerPlay

Marketed more towards newbies than the hardcore SimCity veteran, Tilted Mill has found an amiable balance between dumbing down some of the more difficult aspects of the classic game and creating an interesting new system of city management. [Jan 2008, p.59]

1UP

Despite its few slipups, the core of Societies is strong enough -- and the gameplay addictive enough -- that even the stodgiest traditionalist will find something to shout about.

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Games Master UK

It hangs together as a pretty building tool, but it's ultimately vacuous. [Jan 2007, p.68]

GamePro

If you're looking for the sense of depth and complexity that made the previous SimCity titles so memorable, you might find yourself feeling disappointed.

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PC Gamer

Out of the box, the game falls disappointingly short of its promise--there's plenty of content here, but not nearly enough challenging ways for gamers to use it. [Feb 2008, p.80]

Game Chronicles

SimCity Societies isn’t really a SimCity game, but it can be entertaining nonetheless, provided that it gets patched up in the near future so that it doesn’t crash every few minutes.

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PC Zone UK

There's an illusion of depth at play. [Jan 2008, p.74]

ActionTrip

Quite simply, the game is too easy. Other than balancing society energies and chasing a few meager trophies, you won't find much to entertain you here. The game is far from an "ultimate building block tool kit." SimCity has gone from a complex game to a toned down and largely underwhelming city builder with very little to hold your attention.

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GameSpot

The addictive gameplay of the SimCity series is completely missing in this lackluster spinoff.

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GameSpy

A novel game with a unique new mechanic for building towns and cities with personality. Casual players will find a lot to tinker with as they sculpt towns out of their dreams or nightmares. More serious gamers will be able to plumb the depth of the title over the course of the weekend.

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Cheat Code Central

I do feel bad that SimCity Societies is cursed to go misunderstood. It is less an attempt to steer SimCity in a new direction, and more an attempt to fuse a familiar brand and city building theme with another popular, accessible kind of gameplay.

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Thunderbolt

SimCity Societies feels familiar, but the change is clearly a move in the wrong direction for long-time fans.

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Gaming Nexus

High on visual appeal, good for first-time city-builders; low on challenge, long-term playability.

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IGN

The energy assignments don't always make a lot of sense but even when they do, the energy really has no real effect on the character of your city or its inhabitants. Without some sort of scripted challenges, it all just feels like you're just spinning your wheels.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

It’s just too simplistic to hold the attention of any serious management fan.

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PC Format

A spectacularly simplistic game, and bears no relation to the logistics of city building at all. [Jan 2008, p.73]

YouGamers

End result is a rushed and buggy software toy.

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AceGamez

Sadly, it seems that Sim City without Maxis is like a pub with no beer - frustrating, disappointing and not worth a visit.

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Eurogamer

Societies doesn't stumble just because "it isn't SimCity". Fresh takes on old concepts should always be welcome. It stumbles because it's a generally unsatisfying patchwork of a game, dragged down by inconsistent gameplay, outdated design and weirdly implemented ideas.

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Total Video Games

SimCity Societies completely forgets what the SimCity experience is all about. Gameplay depth has been sacrificed to make the title feel more like a The Sims city builder, and the result is a game with little or no substance whatsoever.

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PC Gamer UK

Sweet ideas, very poorly balanced.

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Play.tm

It is just SimCity Lite, and really provides no new challenge or choices. Of course, I did still enjoy raining a meteor shower on my metropolis - probably a little too much, thanks to the frustration I had built up while playing.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 4.5 (out of 10) based on 51 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dragan Z. gave it a4:
Perhaps I am wrong to judge this game based on previous Sim City experiences, but if Electronic Arts wanted to create something new they should have given this a different name. This game makes it painfully obvious developer Tilted Mill gave in to EA's request to dumb down the game to, in combination with the name of one of PC gaming's most respected series, attract as much profit from a sub-par product. Even the teens it is aimed at will probably think the game is boring, unchallenging and pale.

Brian gave it a4:
As a big fan of the Sim City series of games, I was very disappointed in Societies. I hope this is just a one off and they return to the original.

Jops gave it a2:
Where is Maxis!? The life and soul have been ripped out of this game. Only the cosmetics have improved. Instead of being a governor, you're now a town planner with no political decisions to make, like taxes and laws. Its just been simplified for children like Settlers was. Hopefully its a one off.

Jason M. gave it an8:
Aside from the AI pathing issues and the inability to quickly and easily locate "Problem Sims"; the game is great.

Thomas N. gave it a5:
*sigh* next time i see a game, Tilted Mill has developed, i run away as fast as i can. every single game i have played from them, is ugly, buggy, and impossible to play without constantly using the manual. and thats not what i want to do after a hard day. The game is quite fun, yes, but that stops, when you inspect the game closely, most textures are ugly, 2d or very simple, as well as the inhabitants of your city are ugly and rigid, if they dont decide to "stay at work" unable to get out. This game also stinks of EA, and their money-milking franchise. If you lot mess up spore like that, by creating another crappy game covered in makeup, then il hope every gamer in the whole world boycots EA Where is Will Wright in this?

Andrew W. gave it a0:
This game is an abomination, and is nothing like the SimCity series at all. It's far too easy, the interface is cluttered and the game just plain sucks. It's shovelware aimed to cash in on the SimCity brand.

Bill J. gave it a4:
I come to SimCity Societies not expecting another SimCity game but a good game; sadly, neither objective was fully realized. The mechanics of societal value and being able to "unlock" new and more powerful iterations could be amusing. having a city reflect certain cultural mileus also has a certain charm. But the game's downsides are many: For the few challenges teh game presents, the interface is maddeningly stupid about its choices. Youc an select a sim and scroll through their family members to see where they are in the city, which is amusing but realtively useless; however, if you want to find all of your unhappy SIMs, you can only click on a single unhappiness level and try to do a fly-through your city to hope to spot them when they are not indoors. Of course, some SIMs get stuck in their buildings for inexplicable reasons, even when the building menu suggests they have clearance to leave (avoid seaside home views, no matter how piquant it may seem to your sensibilities.) The same goes for trying to find your sick, injured, or other concerns -- teh game reports these statistics as if they are vital to your management, but if a part of your city is failing to perform, you will often be hard pressed ot figure out where the trouble is arising from. The game has numerous bugs and can crash or fail to even launch, in part due to sloppy programming and in part due to a cranky and overzealous Digital rights management scheme. Buried within SimCity Societies is a charming sandbox game -- but even the normal game has a feel of teh sandbox without "unlimited Simoleons" and other play offers -- and a lack of scripted, campaign, or challenges meant I was able to unlock almost every building and objective in my first playthrough in the tutorial. Patched and better implemented this might be a charming if short-term diversion. As it stands, SimCities does not deserve to command a premium pricing. Let us hope furtehr patching and user modifications will extend its lifespan.

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