5. Sim City
Sim City and The Sims are games that everybody has played at least once in their gaming lives. With the new Sim City, Maxis have taken the best bits of its predecessor and some of the best bits of the Sims 3 and mixed them together to create a massively detailed sandbox with near infinite options and incredible scope. Even though the game was pre-alpha, it looked amazing. The detail of the cities is astounding. There's more options than ever before with the ability to click on individual sims who go about their lives, from talking to each other on the street, working or even complaining that they have no schools or hospitals. The world is so engrossing too. I started off in a small pre-built city consisting of small residential areas surrounding a commercial district with an industrial zone on the outskirts. As I was admiring the view and getting my bearings, a pop up indicated that there was a protest taking place over at the town hall. The Sims in the city were asking for a road to be connected from their city to the main road in the region so they could travel in and out of the region. I had to place a road to keep them happy and as soon as I did that (click and drag) I noticed my population increase and happiness levels normalize. Then another pop up indicated that the city had no power so I activated electricity from the nearby plant. You can turn it on and off anytime to save money and reduce your power consumption. Next a fire broke out so I built a fire station. The reaction from your inhabitants is hilarious. After my three completed tasks, I was able to explore the city and either help improve my city or cause mayhem. I only had a few minutes but it plays superbly. The cities are buzzing with activity which add to the immersion and the fundamentals are spot on, even for a pre alpha. It looks like its going to be another big hit for Maxis.