It's A Binary World 2.0

In the Wake of SimCity Fiasco Another Look at CitiesXL

My Cities XL Region - 1 city with 75 thousand residents
My Cities XL Region – 1 city with 75 thousand residents

I first played Cities XL in May of 2011.  I last played a year ago in April 2012.  At the time I said I couldn’t wait until Sim City came out.  However, we know what a fiasco that has become.  So, discouraged about playing Sim City I decided to load up Cities XL.  This is the first one – not 2011, 2012, or Deluxe.  The graphics are pretty amazing and rival anything in the current Sim City.

 

Cities XL - maximum zoom
Cities XL – maximum zoom

I don’t know how I never zoomed in this far before, but it’s pretty great.  I really have the feeling of having built a real city in a way that I never have before.  It’s so fun to zoom in all the way and then move around the city.  Check out how neat it looks at night.

Cities XL - max zoom at night
Cities XL – max zoom at night

Oh, and not to be a jerk, but it can actually be a big city:

 

Cities XL - PLENTY of room to build
Cities XL – PLENTY of room to build

Yeah, I think it’s going to be pretty hard to convince me to spend $60 on a broken Sim City with this great game when the latest version is about $30.  Perhaps part of the reason is that they have in-game ads.  But at least the ads look realistic.

 

Cities XL - ads
Cities XL – ads

It was hard to get back into after a year – with all the mechanics involved so I  started a new city.

Cities XL - my second city in the volcano map
Cities XL – my second city in the volcano map

The volcano map:

 

Cities XL - Deux - volcano map
Cities XL – Deux – volcano map

After a while a restaurant opens up in my city:

Cities XL - a restaurant in my city
Cities XL – a restaurant in my city

Later, around 10,000 citizens, I think, I gain medium density skilled worker plots:

Cities XL - medium density skilled worker housing
Cities XL – medium density skilled worker housing

It’s neat that you can see road usage end while zoomed all the way in.

Cities XL - zoomed in, but still seeing road usage
Cities XL – zoomed in, but still seeing road usage

 

The moon was a nice touch:

 

 

2013-04-06_00032
Cities XL – the moon!

This is an executive level low density house:

2013-04-06_00034
Cities XL – executive house

And a bridge I constructed:

2013-04-06_00036

Anyway, the point of this post isn’t really to poop on Sim City. It’s more to point out that there’s a great alternative out there that doesn’t force you to play with others and I’m actually having a blast playing it.  And, unlike with Sim City – Sim City 4, I actually am doing really well and making money without having to play the game at a really slow pace.

Eric Mesa

2 responses to “In the Wake of SimCity Fiasco Another Look at CitiesXL”

    • I have another huge post I’ve been planning for a bit – just been a bit busy. I’ll go into more there rather than commenting here.