The game has to date customized graphics. There are pretty animated, you can follow individual Sims to work or watch the river playing ball or the production process of a factory. - Pretty
The game features an online service with Origin, which keeps the game up to date and ensuring that only one person per license can play the game. One end of the process or the collapse of the connection to the server ends the game. Origin supports the buyer, because it offers the current games from the Origin Store shows at start advertising, which can not be turned off, thus the game is ad-supported.
To play you have to log on to a server - even if you just want to play for themselves - all relevant game is stored on the server - or not. This can rollback - a former storage level - the loss of a city or the whole region lead. Each server can store up to 10 Scores.
I have rated the game with 1 out of 5 for many reasons. The obvious is the online coercion and server stability. A questionable PR campaign for the appearance of a new game. After Diablo 3 with online forced a distributor of the consequences of releases should be aware. EA itself has a MMORPG - Star Wars the Old Republic with server problems in appearance had - so a debacle in-house and is still the official opinion that one could not foresee the onslaught can.
The always-on compulsion will not allow me to play the game on a train or in a hotel - except against very high additional costs.
The other problems are more subtle and only become apparent with longer playing time. Sims do not have a permanent home - they just go to the nearest free house, job, ... - You have no memory. Always take the shortest route - even if this goes through a bad congested road - and there were evasive rods. This means that you can make your city not to the drawing board or develop intuitive, but must pay attention to the algorithms underlying, otherwise a jam occurs on the street, which can break into the abyss an entire city because traffic is one of the limiting factors , On the road run not only Sims, but also goods and public service cars as firefighters or ambulance. Put these in a traffic jam, as they dutifully lining up behind, burns down a building or roommate dies. - If you have 6 police cars, run every 6 to the same crime, making other areas of the city are not covered.
At least EA itself has agreed redress in the sense of a game voucher for customer offer - details there will be on 18.03.2013.
The game had the potential to be a good simulation game and the imagination of fans kindled, the algorithms and the online service only are so poorly managed that it has become not a good game and for a recommendation much fine work the manufacturer of distress, the rare usually after the publication takes place.