Metareview: SimCity

Well, it's been two weeks since the calamitous launch of the SimCity reboot and the game currently has a Metacritic score lower than the abysmal Resident Evil 6. A small blessing for developer Maxis? SimCity dodges being the highest profile stinker of this still burgeoning year thanks to the dishonor of the utterly broken Aliens: Colonial Marines.

• GameTrailers (80/100): "Aside from some issues with its online requirements, bugs, and restrictions on city size, it's still a satisfying and addicting simulator that will grant dozens of hours of entertainment with one well-designed city alone."

• GiantBomb (60/100): "And while I expect many will fall head-over-heels in love with this SimCity's cooperative design, at its best, the game feels more like a really thoughtfully designed multiplayer mode for a larger, single-player capable game that, sadly, doesn't exist."

• Gamespot (50/100): "The bugs will probably be fixed, the wrinkles smoothed, and the online problems sorted out. What hurts most, though, is that it didn't have to be this way. SimCity's makers looked to MMOGs for ideas on how to bring players together, but didn't absorb the lessons MMOG developers learned long ago on how to implement practical online play."

• Eurogamer (40/100): "There was a time, perhaps eight or nine hours in, when I wondered why SimCity was so easy. Nobody ever complained about the air pollution, while using my depot to sell my recycling netted me endless profits. I kept playing because, back then, I kept having fun, I kept trying new things and I kept convincing myself that I was a good Mayor. Now I know that it was never really down to me."

• Destructoid (40/100): "I wanted to like this game, I really did. At first I started to enjoy it, but soon all I found was frustration. I can't recommend this game to anyone, and I don't want to play it anymore myself because I am afraid of seeing all my efforts lost due to server issues."