Product Details
![Cities XL 2011 [Game Download]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51y2n7iSqWL._SL210_.jpg) | Cities XL 2011 [Game Download] |
| List Price: | $39.99 |
| Price: | $34.99 |
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Average customer review:
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #12 in Digital Video Games
- Brand: Focus Home Interactive
- Model: 40457Cities XL 2011
- Released on: 2010-10-14
- Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP
- Format: Download
Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
System Requirements
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Customer Reviews
An Impovement but buggy depending on your system. The boxed version will not be available only download (see on the website).
* I haven't encountered any
bugs so far. I went through the forums and looked at what some are
having trouble with. So I'm reviewing and informing at the same time.
So
after a year since CXL was released by Monte Cristo, Focus Interactive
releases Cities XL 2011. They promised some changes and a transit system
complete with buses and trains (subway and elevated). The next
generation city simulator gets a makeover with these much needed
features. I liked CXL and was annoyed that Monte Cristo went bankrupt
before it could implement its new ideas ie. G.E.M.'s Transit expansion,
and a host of others. When Focus Interactive took over CXL, it seemed
like a breath of fresh air and a new chapter for the city building
genre.
Unfortunately, some (and for others, many) bugs from the
original CXL and some new ones have marred it to the point where the
forums are lit up by frustrated people. Focus has been quiet although
they did fix a bug for steam users. I recently saw a post that Focus has
no patches in place because they are working on releasing CXL '11 for
other languages. It could be a while before we get any type of patch.
They are also very quiet concerning CXL '11 and it's future. From my
point of view, it seems like they are going to crunch numbers and see if
it's viable to continue. Hopefully, they will. There has been no
attempt at creating a city-building game after Simcity Societies (not
including CXL). Simcity Societies was dreadful.
If you are
familiar with Cities XL, buying the game online has your serial number
emailed to you; and online activation. The download was pretty fast but
bare in mind, I am using FIOS. Previously, Monte Cristo told me that I
can load CXL on as many computers as I like, no limits. Focus doesn't
mention it. I heard that Starforce DRM is on it but I didn't see it
while going through installation. I've had Starforce before and it
usually says, "loading Starforce." If anyone who has this, had seen, it,
I'll change this sentence, but like I said, I didn't see it. I went
through the files as well. For people who had CXL, you have the
opportunity to buy CXL 2011 for half the price if you have your serial
number for CXL. If you forgot it or lost it, emailing Focus Interactive
Tech support is the way to go..You have to provide your username,
password and email you used to sign up CXL.
There is no online
aspect of the game. Previously in CXL, you had the planet mode. online
mode is completely left out in CXL 2011. You can trade with each of YOUR
cities or Don Madoff of Omnicorp, but no one else. It's fairly simple.
Like a point and click. You have a "earth" screen that will show where
the trades are going but it doesn't show your road network like Simcity
4. In the earth screen, you can also see the available areas to build a
city. It doesn't truly represent what you will see when you pick that
spot unlike in Simcity 4, you see what land you are getting; including
all the physical features. A wishlist here would be when you are
searching for an area to create your city, it would be nice to get a
feel of what you are getting. You cannot change the land. You can
terraform AFTER you pick your spot and name your city. Terraforming is
very expensive and a little frustrating. Simcity 4 was much easier when
it came to terraforming.
The same premise is back. You can build a
city on the CXL "planet," picking a spot with different physical
features ie. peninsula, volcano, lakes on a plain, fertile plains,
tropical island, and more. Also, keep in mind what type of resources
that each "plot" has ie. oil, water, holiday, water, farm. You give your
city a name and go through a quick tutorial of where to place your
first road, city hall, and early power/garbage zone. The tutorials at
the very beginning (before you pick where you want your city) are good
enough to give you the know-how of the basics. Again, you cannot
terraform the land after you pick it and name it. I found one bug. I
chose a peninsula and I was creating my city when I saved and closed it.
When I came back to it, all of a sudden, my city became a island with
peninsula qualities.
Many people are having problems installing
the game, starting it, and playing it. Steam was the worst but I think a
patch, fixed that. I haven't had this trouble at all. Also, people have
been reporting slow frame rates early in the game. Usually the frame
rates decrease when you have a sizable city. This is true. I loaded my
city that I exported from CXL and yes, it was slow. Not too terrible
though. It was like your large city in Simcity 4. You would think in
2010, almost 2011, the multi-core support and increased framerates for a
city-building genre would be there.
The graphics are gorgeous.
The people in CXL '11 are just like the original; not very realistic but
better than others. There is no comparison concerning graphics between
Simcity 4, CXL '11, and Simcity Societies. This one is by far better!
One
thing new, you can tax different types of zones. In Industry, you can
tax separately; heavy industry, office buildings, high tech etc. In CXL
'11 you have industry, commercial, and residential zones. Building have
been added as well as packs ie: coastal homes on stilts, Asian style
homes, European....
One of the best things done in CXL is the
idea of allowing us to create our own bus lines; up to 20 lines. The
maps show your worst traffic and how your lines are being utilized. You
can;t go crazy or else you will go bankrupt quickly. The best thing is
that the bus stops are placed along your roads; they don't take up a
tile as in Simcity 4. Perfect, since every bit of real estate is needed.
The Metro (train) works the same way as the buses except, the station
needs to be placed near a road. you can create many lines depending on
the size of your depot (just like the buses; small or large). What is
great, concerning the Metro, you can run your lines along side or under
your lines placed already. The belief in the CXL universe is that the
tracks go under the track already placed. A roundabout was added in the
roads section however, it really has no use at this time. Expressways
are now highways. One bug that had carried over from the earlier CXL is
the way traffic moves. On a multiple lane road, cars in the left lane
turn right and cars in the right lane turn left (besides going
straight). The traffic lights, again are not animated. These 2 things
too me are glowing issues especially since we are in 2010 and this game
pushes city building realism. I'm also a realism nut :) The way cars and
trucks turn is unnatural. People waiting at the bus stop looks nice,
however, when the bus arrives, they mysteriously get out of the bus and
get on. The windows on the bus look like the windows on the buildings.
For
those looking to buy Cities XL 2011, just be on the lookout concerning
the bugs; there seems to be more in this one that the previous one. In
the previous Cities Xl, Ive only experienced one lockup but in this one,
none. Like I said, I haven't come across the crashing and error
messages that others have gotten. Most people reporting the issues have
decent systems. Check the forum. You need a decent video card because
this one will wake up your video card. The game was rumored to have
multi-core support but it doesn't.
Besides all the bugs being
reported, what makes me nervous is the way the developer is very quiet.
Contacting them gets a very slow response. Sometimes, it seems like you
get a generic response also. For those who remember, Cities XL '09,
Monte Cristo was quick to respond and always had their news updated.
Even when nothing new was reported, they seem to update their website.
When emailing tech support, they responded quickly and seemed more
personable. They even took the time to let you know that they've logged
your issue and will send it to the development team. In other words, at
least they responded. When I couldn't find my serial number from CXL
'09, it took more than a few days for Focus Interactive to email me back
and even their response was kind of cryptic. You had to read it a few
times to realize what they were asking. Don't get me wrong, I'm not
blasting Focus Interactive. I'm happy that they've added some things to
CXL 2011 and cleaned up the resource trade screen. It just would be nice
if they kept us, those who bought the game in the loop ie a patch will
be coming, updates will be coming soon. It's like pulling teeth! Not
good customer service. I feel bad for those who are looking to buy this
game or have it on their wish lists but are afraid to take a chance
because they might feel, "what if I get those bugs and/or crashes."
All
and all, what is surprising is the amount of bugs being reported. If
you don't experience the bugs, you will enjoy this game. It really
requires you to thin what type of city you want to build, where, and how
big. You have to keep an eye on your finances. In Simcity 4, it was
easy to zone and expand quickly without any problems. In CXL '11, you
can't expand quickly. When things become available, sometimes it's best
not to immediately place them because it will put you in the red
quickly. The passage of time in CXL '11 is by cycle, not month/day/year
like in Simcity. I happen to like CXL way of passage of time. By
default, the day/night cycle is turned off, but you can change it. The
city looks nice as night as well as the moon and sun during the day. The
water graphic is spectacular. I will be adding to this review the more I
play it. I've been playing it since it was released last week. You can
read this review and my CXL (original) review to get a sense of this
game. There is only one edition of this game unlike the previous one
which had the original and limited editions. I have this game a score of
just under 4, I would give this one about 3.9. If they fix the bugs and
support this game (Focus is very very quiet), I would give it a 4. With
bugs and crashes, I would give it about 3.7. This is including the lack
of support. The only support you will get, is through the forums. I've
added a few bugs that I saw (doesn't effect my system but looks
unrealistic) and I had no response on the tech forum where you report
the bugs. After a month, Focus is probably looking to see the numbers
and going over the next course of action but like I said, they are
extremely quiet. Hopefully it won't be abandoned.
My system
specs:
Vista 64-bit edition
Intel i7 920 processor
eVGA x58
motherboard
WD Velociraptor 300GB
WD 1TB Caviar Black Sata II
drive
LG x22 DVD-R-RW drive
X-FI Forte sound card
6GB GSKILL
ddr3-1600 RAM
Logitech g15 gaming keyboard
Logitech Z5500 5.1
digital speakers
HAF 932 Full Tower Case
24" LG widescreen 1080p
monitor
*Latest news concerning patches and updates: "Focus Home
Interactive is presently making CXL '11 available in other languages, no
patches are scheduled at this time."
It
is the only in-depth city-sim in the post-SimCity world
Years ago the folks at
Electronic Arts decided to let the excellent SimCity franchise wilt and
slowly die. This left a niche for some other company to fill, and with
"Cities XL 2011" Focus Interactive has come the closest to filling it.
The graphics are an excellent modernization and improvement over what
SimCity left off with. With Cities XL we have the ability to zoom from a
regional perspective all the way to a closeup of a citizen's face. The
detail in the buildings, roads, landscapes, and vehicles is very
well-done and this makes wandering around at street-level in your custom
made city a pleasant diversion.
Fortunately, I have experienced
no technical problems. The download from Amazon was speedy, the game
installed without angst, and I have had no crashes or hang-ups yet.
Something
that gives Cities XL 2011 a long replay-life is the capability to
install community-created mods. Mod creation is easier with Cities than
it was with SimCity, and therefore I expect more clever
community-created mods will become available over time.
The game
is not perfect hence I give it 4 stars. I hope in the future some
additional capabilities are added to the game such as multiplayer, and a
wider range of architectural styles to choose from.
Getting better
This is how the first game
should of been released much better game and more things to do. Really
do hope they continue the series as they a foundation to work with now
and if they listen to the consumers could make an amazing city game to
stand the test of time. The game is ok and fun to play just wish we
could have online again but either for free or a small yearly fee.
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