Cities XL is something really special. It goes beyond famous SimCity, and brings a lot more realistic world, huge building areas (maps), online playing as well as the offline, curved roads etc. Cities XL really gives you endless possibilities to build a magnificent city. I am not exaggerating if I say that this is the best city builder game at the moment.
What is Cities XL? Every fan of city builder (city manager) games should already know about this game. It is next generation of Monte Cristo's City Life: the game that was similar to SimCity, but far behind it in graphics, reality, in-depth development... After it was released in E3 2009, Cities XL was something really big. Everyone knew this is going to be the best city builder game online. It is actually the most realistic simulation of city development I know.
Reviewing population of Cities XL
There are four social classes in this city builder. You, as a mayor of huge metropolis will have to find a balance between them in order to preserve peace and smooth going city.
Yes, four social classes of citizens in each of your magnificent cities. Those are: unskilled workers, skilled workers, executives and elite. Every of those classes have different desires. Heavy industry and small workshops will require unskilled workers to run full capacity, but of course, elite will choose only high-rise office building to work in.
While unskilled workers will require only playgrounds, gazebos and small police stations/health facilities/fire houses for remaining calm, you will have to invest a lot more to keep the other social classes happy. This is fun, cuz it makes the game a bit more complicated in compare to SimCity genre, where traffic was mostly the only concern your had while playing that simulation of city building.
Cities XL brings curved roads in, which makes your cities look even more magnificent!
Curved roads bring personal touch to your city, isn't that right, mayor? Cities with curved roads were only a desire before this game came in, and that is why Cities XL are so important in the evolution of city building simulation games.
I was huge fan of SimCity, especially of its fourth edition. But there was one thing that was missing: I wasn't able to lay roads down the way I wanted. I had to be straight down, and no curves were allowed. Well, that is boring. That was every city was looking the same.
When Cities XL was released I was thrilled. And when I tested those awesome curved roads, I was overwhelmed. Boy, the possibilities are endless now. You have freedom to make intersection in the manner only you wish, lay the underground road, make viaducts. In the sense, whatever and where ever you want your road to be.
How important this is, can tell the fact that new SimCity (five, 5, 2013) is implementing curved streets as well.
Now we can build streets uphills too. It is easier, looks more natural, and I always loved those parts of cities that are located on the hills. You can now build your own Barcelona, or Rome, Rio...
With curves there come many other possibilities of street construction. You can build tunnels where ever you want them (even on flat terrain), you have dozens of types of bridges. You can play with levels too. For example you can build one road 5 meters above the ground as a overpass, and lay one, or more roads to pass under that road, so you don't need to intersect them. This is great for controlling traffic jams.
Monte Cristo, thank you for these curved streets!
Buy Cities XL, Cities XL 2011 and Cities XL 2012 on Amazon and PLAY it NOW:
What is so great about maps and terrain in Cities XL?
Oh, boy! When you look at those screenshots in this article, can you see how HUGE these cities are? This is second the best feature in this city builder: really huge maps for building awesome grandiose cities.
These great maps can hold up up to tens millions citizens. Not only that they are big, but also there is a whole bunch of different types of terrains. You can choose to build your city in desert. Maybe you are more like "Aspen" type of city builder. I prefer those on big rivers or coastal cities. I love to build cities with long beaches, where I will have opotunity to focus on tourism more than on the industry. Green cities are much more appealing than those industrial.
What is sure, is that you will have plenty of space to play around. Maps are really huge, and you won't be forced to avoid building big parks, squares and recreational areas in order to push your metropolis to one million citizens.
Rising Cities: New City Building Browser Game | Simulation of Real City
Rising Cities is the new browser game launched by German Bigpoint. It is free to play city building game: the best browser real city simulation game at the moment. It is cute, dynamic, multilevel paradise for SimCity lovers. You are put in the position of a mayor to control wide aspects of city's economy, industry, citizens' satisfaction and more.This allows you to build nice wide low residential areas, or suburbs. This is what makes this simulation game even more realistic. Remember SimCity and it maps? After only week or two of playing you have the city that starts with high rise tenements, and no place for houses at all. In Cities XL you can actually build nice calm suburban areas, and still have huge residential and shopping districts.
The 3D view from the edge of the map on the city is just magnificent.
Have fun, and build it big!
Transportation and traffic control in Cities XL
There are few types of transportation cervices in this city builder simulation: trains, airplanes, ferries, subways and buses. Use them wisely and with more control than ever to manage ever growing traffic problems in Cities XL!
Aside from these, they have announced to put few more transportation services in the game: trams and bicycles. What amazed the most, when I sit to play it for the first time, was the fact that you can draw out your own desired bus lines.
In other similar city builder simulators you can only go to placing individual stops in the streets, and without plotting the bus lines. In most of games you can't even place the bus stops, but they are included in the roads. So you are simply laying down the roads, and bus transportation comes with it.
Well, now you have more freedom to manage bus transportation, which is the most important commuting service in your city. You fist need to place one big but station, which can support designated number of buses. Starting from that station, you go and draw your first bus line following the streets you want. You can even decide the specific location of every bus stop. After you finish with creating your first bus line, you can go on working with the second, third, fourth etc.
There is an overview window for every single bus route in your city. It tells you what is the percentage of the use, what money does it cost you, is it more used in morning hours, or in the afternoon... You can then see if this line covers your citizens' needs, or not. I LOVE IT!.
Cities XL: Why is it the best city builder game? THE CONCLUSION:
What more there is to be said, except that Cities XL brought many new features which made it the best city builder simulation.Curved roads, great new transportation features, awesome bridges, huge maps, endless playing experience, hundreds of buildings available to you and more, and more, and more. Cities XL and its upgrades: Cities XL 2011 and 2012 are creating new brand that will live for long time, that is for sure.
There are many more features that deserve to have been told about in this article, but there is so little place for all of them. Lets save something for next post, OK?
More interesting games:
★ Rising Cities (new city builder): Presenting Weekly Events
★ Become Farmer | Farmerama: Coolest Online Farm Game
★ Grepolis 2.0: Browser War Game Placed in Ancient Times
★ SimCity 5 (2013): Random Disasters and City Services
★ Become Farmer | Farmerama: Coolest Online Farm Game
★ Grepolis 2.0: Browser War Game Placed in Ancient Times
★ SimCity 5 (2013): Random Disasters and City Services
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