The words you are about to read might read like one of our Verdicts, but it isn’t. I don’t think I would be comfortable granting SimCity my Verdict just yet, and I might not ever grant it one. Thanks in part to EA and Maxis’ decision to make it an always-online game it has been one of the most controversial releases in recent years. Server issues, high price and in-game bugs have all contrived to damage the reputation of the franchise. …
Not content with just one update on the woes of the SimCity launch, the head of Maxis, Lucy Bradshaw has provided another statement about the current situation. She indicates that as a result of back-end server work and client side updates various connectivity issues and game crashes are being resolved, but that they are unable just yet to claim the game is running at 100%. You can find her statement after the break. …
Maxis has always been one of my favourite developers. The Sims, Sim Ant, Sim Farm – All incredibly innovative games, (aside perhaps for their titles,) and each one of them holding a special place in my cruel, twisted heart. However, the announcement that the new Sim City would require an always-on internet connection resulted in me raising my arms and screaming ‘UBISOFT!’
Of course, I then remembered it was actually being published by EA, but my reaction still stands.
The first screenshots of the Spore expansion, Galactic Adventures, have arisen from an event last night held by Maxis. Along with that, Kotaku have done a series of impressions on what the expansion is going to contain. I have to say, it’s all going in a very unexpected direction; MMO type quests using the (dreary) creature stage as a basis? I hope it’s a little more deep than that, but at the moment it sounds like the most uninspired part of the expansion. There is, however, the option to utterly build a planet from the ground up, which was some of the strongest parts of the original game. The problem was merely not having the tools at your disposal. Hopefully this will be entirely different, instead giving you full freedom before you begin.
There also seems to be a startling amount of city building that was somewhat lacking from the original, especially the somewhat strange maze shot. Are we going to be able to create Sims-esque traps of death to slowly starve and tire our creatures to death? I do hope so, as it’s the perfect punishment for when they wet themselves. Not that Spore creatures have bladders, but I’m sure there’s an equivalent menial task they can fail at.
No word yet about reducing the annoyance of the space stage, but if they don’t, I’d be very surprised, as it’s the biggest weakness of the game so far. They’ve also announced Creature Keeper, a game which sounds essentially like Nintendogs but with Spore creatures. Presumably for children, but we’re sure there are plenty of soft on the inside, hard on the outside gamers who’d just love to interact a little more with their creations. Am I right?
Galactic Adventures is set to be released in the spring, but hasn’t been given a solid release date yet. Keeps your eyes (or eye) and ears (however many of them you have) open. Apologies for the awful pun.
