Remember what SimCity was like before EA got all drunk on the idea of micro-transactions and always-online gameplay, ruining the franchise forever? You'd be forgiven for forgetting because those days were such a long time ago, but just as we were beginning to lose hope that we'd see another brilliant city-building sim, Cities: Skylines unexpectedly turned up to save the day. Skylines may not do anything particularly revolutionary, but it takes the basic features of the city-building genre - the town planning, the budgeting, the traffic management - and refines them to perfection. The size of the areas in which you can build is vast (take that, EA), and the game's constantly being updated with nifty new features - such as the recently-added Day/Night, which brings new challenges such as increased crime rates at night, and creating areas which attract night-life to keep the economy flourishing. In much the same way that the last SimCity was utterly cynical towards the series' loyal fanbase, Skylines is a game that was made with the player in mind. In some ways, it feels like Colossal Order simply looked over at SimCity's comedy of errors, listed them, then went and did the exact opposite with Skylines; kind of like copying, but not... anti-copying? Whatever they did, they got it right. Skylines is the new SimCity, and Mac gamers are invited to put their mayoral and urban-planning abilities to the test. Check out the After Dark expansion too for a whole host of night-oriented features and extra ways to micro-manage your urban utopia.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
