A lot has changed since the release of the "nightmarish" SimCity Societies. Various additions have greatly fixed the game; many of them were devoted to precisely those moments because of which she received such a low rating from critics and players.
And yet, a lot of serious flaws were not fixed, as a result of which Societies remained stuck in the void between a nasty launch release and a game worthy of the SimCity crown. And now we got Destinations, the first expansion.
His idea is to create a city that attracts tourists and develops business activities beyond its borders. New "collective" buildings have appeared, for the entertainment of "sims" - from large and small hotels to parks of culture; all this is needed to stimulate tourism, which should invest in the budget.
Some objects are used exclusively by tourists (they need to settle somewhere), while others are also used by local ones, free of charge (but a fee is charged from visitors).
That's all. That is, they ask you for money for a new game mode. And when you consider that you've already paid for the original version, that's a bit too much. Especially when you consider everything that was added to SimCity Societies with free add-ons.
The biggest flaw in the original Societies game was that it was outrageously easy to play. In every city, with minimal effort, we could unlock all achievements, maximize capacity, and have citizens screaming with delight, plus a budget bursting at the seams. This is now called "creative mode" and is nothing more than one way to play.
"Strategic Mode" increases in complexity dramatically. The first and most important change is the maintenance costs. Almost everything you build requires a daily investment; you will have to plan your budget extremely carefully. You can set the cost level for each type of building, looking for a compromise between saving and turning the city into ruins. This innovation is very important, it changes the whole game. However, when a bank gives 1000 coins a week, but demands 672 in order not to close, it is not too difficult to make a decision.
In the updated version of Societies, "sims" work longer and visit "public" buildings more often, which means they have less free time and need to entertain them thoughtfully. In general, it has become much more difficult to maintain a good mood in these insects. Plus, the number of any monuments is now limited - one per city. However, there is also the universal achievement "Jack of all Trades". The result is a devilishly difficult game. It feels like, moving away from the blissful simplicity of the first version, the authors have decently missed the golden mean.
There are other recent finds - for example, buildings with a certain radius of action, and scenarios (which were not previously in Societies, which, of course, is unforgivable). In addition, the authors allowed themselves to fool around, it invigorates and refreshes. A failed experiment to create an improved "cheeseburger" leads to the birth of a "monster burger" that emits rays of death and creates mini earthquakes with every step. We love this.
And what do we dislike? The main absurdity of Societies is the ability to seed the map with various "decorations" in order to get points in certain categories. Stick a dozen shrines in the lower left corner of the map, where nothing else is built, and the points are still yours. The UFO crash zone can still replace the school. And worst of all, there is almost no sense of feedback. In a city built almost entirely of "public" buildings, there are still brutalized residents who riot because they have nowhere to go. What do you mean nowhere ?! Moreover, the game records some as “embittered” because of unemployment, and the unemployed are children.To top it all off, the engine at times does not cope with the work, falling into a state of prostration even in a medium-sized city. Fix it!
The old "creative" regimen has received a boost in the form of tourism and various improvements. It became more interesting (although still too easy). It takes several hours of work to get everyone in the world to visit your city. And a few more hours to impress people visiting your city. The "strategic" mode needs to be balanced much more carefully - I hope that this will be done in the next update. If you want complexity, then here it will fall on your head with a stream.
It is difficult to recommend Destinations. But, on the other hand, the costs will pay off with each "update".
