SimCity review roundup: Bigger, better, and a whole lot busier

SimCity, the sixth installment in the SimCity franchise, debuted today on PCs in the US (a global release will follow on the 7th, with a Mac launch sometime after that). Because SimCity requires an Internet connection to play – or at least to save your progress – many outlets have decided to hold their reviews until the Electronics Arts servers are really up and running.

But a few reviews have trickled out nonetheless. Here's what we know. 

The graphics 

Thumbs up, says Dean Takahashi of Venture Beat. "The 3D graphics for the game allow you to maneuver and view your city from any angle," Takahashi writes in a generally enthusiastic review. "When buildings appear, they magically rise from the ground in an animation that is fluid and fun. And the buildings aren’t just generic. Each building home, and store is different. They have unique names and you can drill down and find more information about them. You can insert beautifully rendered landmarks into your city. You can make streets that have curves." 

The world 

IGN has published a "review-in-progress," at least until the launch is complete. Still, that "review in progress" is pretty dang positive.

"SimCity is super-dense with rich art and style," writes Dan Stapleton of IGN. "It starts with the elegant, mostly intuitive interface, and extends to graphical nuances like sunlight reflecting off solar panels and the unique ambient sounds that play every time you select a building like a police station. The music that accompanies everything is delightful, a cheerily optimistic and industrious tune that shifts enough to avoid becoming monotonous. It all made my first hours after founding a city a constant stream of astonishments at the level of attention Maxis has slathered over every inch of this thing." 

The gameplay 

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