My review is very detailed and not in the typical Pro / Contra or 10/10 points format, so I would advise readers who seek rather only one conclusion at the same tl; dr enter below)
I will update over time the review. If you have questions, simply comment via function under the review to write, I will answer as far as possible! I ask also to endschuldigen that all in-game terms are not Germanized because I play the game in English, consequently I can not judge the translation into German.
Almost 2 years ago, I was happy just like today on a city-building simulation, which as of Maxis and EA then proclaimed, should continue the legacy of successful SimCity series. As an old veteran was SimCity 4 I was promised a lot full of anticipation, including a completely new multiplayer experience, specializations cities, major regional projects and modular building extensions all for just 60 thematic with 3 DLCs for another 10! nagut because I wanted to save 20, I bought the game abroad. While I waited on the airmail, however recorded from only that the new multiplayer experience is actually a copy only, which also put a stop by very high-demand servers any games and also often led to problems with saving the city (I could eg 4 (!) cities just do not upload progress of several hours was lost). After I then 2 weeks of the release finally was able to play without any problems, I realized fairly quickly that I had not bought SimCity but SimVillage. All tickets were fully built by at least 3 hours, then we went only to the optimization of the existing infrastructure long-term motivation was accordingly very low, the major projects changed it much since they were simply not built without errors and also did not work properly. Many following updates did not change much on the state of the game now, you can indeed play without an Internet connection, completely free of errors, the region feature is not still and the cards are still the same tiny as in 2013. The bottom line is my greatest computer game bad buy in this decade (and I also bought Dragon Age 2 ...)
What is Cities: Skylines (hereinafter abbreviated as C: S) now different from the genre ancestor? Alone Graphically, both games are VERY similar before, some might even confuse them. In C: S are 3 different themes, which give each card its own climate and determine their color. In Nordic theme there are eg mostly conifers, while there are palm trees in the tropical theme - there is also still the sunny theme, which is a colorful environment in temperate latitudes. Generally I find that C: S is somewhat more detailed: the trees seem not quite so cloned as in SimCity (hereinafter SC abbreviated) and the bottom is provided with many grasses and does not act as bleak, there are even animals that inhabit the cities. However, I must say that SC has a greater variety of buildings and vehicle models. In C: S it is mainly used in traffic often times before that time are 6 hotdog cars in a row. There is (still) no day and night cycles, but I'm pretty sure that this shortcoming is corrected either by the development team itself or the modding scene. Because unlike SC provides C: S equal to release mod support. It is possible to add new assets (game objects such as buildings), to program new features through the mod API and create new cards by their own preferences.
Cue cards: These are considerably larger than in SC. At the beginning you will start on a relatively small piece of land in the middle of the 9 predefined maps. Gradually can then upon reaching certain milestones (eg 1,000 inhabitants) up to 8 pieces be purchased - total corresponds to the court about 36km² - Sim City has only 4 square kilometers (!). In addition, the restriction can already cut short by a modification so that all 25 pieces of a map can be used which then corresponds 100km². However, there is no region feature as in SimCity, trading across borders is only statistically simulated.
Keyword Simulation: This basically works differently than in SimCity. All residents of the city have a steady job and a home, they are called entities. In SC (and also at Genre colleague Cities XXL), however, residents are only statistically simulated. This means that all the visible inhabitants actually are not real residents but only figures that represent visually that there is indeed a population. In C: S also the education is simulated: all Cims have only in the comprehensive school and then to high schools and can not from the outset to high school like in SimCity. The simulation, which according to the developers up to one million inhabitants support is a big plus for C: S, since this system just works better and is more credible. The traffic works so understandable and predictable, giving the player facilitates planning of infrastructure.
Since we are in infrastructure: as in the old SimCity 4 all buildings with water pipes and all city areas must be supplied with high-voltage lines. In addition, there are many different types of roads (also one-way streets) and a variety of public transportation (bus, train, subway, aircraft, ships) as well as the usual buildings such as power plants, water pumps, hospitals etc .. Exposing I want the really cool dam, the dams, the dynamic water and transformed to electricity by a tear even parts of a city can be flooded.
The pity is that we have not taken the best feature of SimCity: the expandable building. So you have, for example, the same treatment plant build repeatedly instead it easy to expand with a new clarifier - this harms the cityscape and also acts unrealistic. By contrast, leaves the budget of public spending flexibly so short over- or under-capacity can be easily compensated. Furthermore, can the property tax set individually, so as you know it also from SimCity. Similarly, there are of course the usual data maps indicating where there is an immediate problem in the city and improvements are possible.
In normal difficulty, however, is the efficient management of infrastructure rather trivial and too simple for my taste; the game gets character from a certain progress sandbox. After all, can a Hard Mode in the Mod menu activate, which makes the game much more difficult and is recommended for veterans of the genre.
What is Cities: Skylines unique?
In addition to the entity based simulation methods already mentioned, there is a new feature called zoning. This makes it possible expel neighborhoods and name. Following specific local policies can then be determined. For example, manufacturers may no longer heavy trucks driving in a district or it may not be smoked there. The zoning gives each city a personal touch and allows the player to adjust the targeted taxes. Moreover, can this game feature also industrial districts identify which then for example specialize in agriculture or mining has every card that is in certain places special deposits of natural resources or Fertilities.
The price is also unique: unlike SimCity with 60, which at the start also offered equal the various themes as DLC, and CitiesXXL with 40, which is closely saw only a patch of Cities XL, Cities Skylines costs less than 30 for Release , This price I think fair for what is offered VERY, if not too low.
tl; dr: The king is dead, long live the King!
From me there is an absolute buy recommendation for the game. Anyone interested in Cities: Skylines decides get for your money a very good city-building simulation that not only looks great but also exactly provides what one wished, but did not get from SimCity (2013): large cards, functioning game features and diverse Mod Support. Sure the game is not completely perfect, but very close to it. I'm pretty sure that the aforementioned drawbacks are still beseitig either by the developer himself or the community. The performance is by the way consistently very good I had with my i5 2500K, 16GB RAM and a 770GTX no crashes or performance problems (added but it is also a right-performance gaming system).
The main reason for the disappointment SimCity 2013 pre-order again, is the transparency and community nearby Developer Colossal Order and the associated Publisher Paradox Interactive: Design decisions are communicated openly, mistakes are acknowledged and taken seriously suggestions and wishes. For example, the Chrip feature, a message system in Twitter style, made adaptable to request the Community in advance of the release - Many felt by the news that should make them really aware of the prevailing conditions in the city, disturbed.
Just as one wishes for modern games development away from the eternal pursuit of profit and close to the player base. Perhaps this is because the CEO of the development studio is a woman who does not want to define more than the sales themselves that I find super, I am then inclined nor additional content (DLC, addons) to buy. Collossal Order will provide the game certainly with many DLCs in the near future, because this is the general strategy of the publisher: quality niche titles with many DLCs but at reasonable prices. What is stopping you must each decide for themselves, but I for one feel exceptional not even like a cow to be milked
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