Another Year, Another Update: Cities XXL Review

As I sit down to write this review, I must confess that my experience with Cities XL has been nothing short of frustrating. While Focus Home Interactive has released several updates to the game since its initial release in 2009, I have come to realize that they have been more of a tease than a substantial improvement. However, their latest release, Cities XXL, has finally fixed some of the performance issues that plagued me during my time playing the game, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

But before we dive into the details of Cities XXL, let's take a look at the history of the series. Cities XL was released in 2009 as a sequel to City Life, developed by the now-defunct Monte Cristo. The game was ambitious, but ultimately flawed, featuring a massively-multiplayer online planet to build cities on. Focus Home Interactive bought the property the following year and re-released the game sans multiplayer under the name Cities XL 2011. They released several more updates, including Cities XL 2012 and Cities XL Platinum, each adding new maps and features but still feeling like the same game.

Now, onto Cities XXL, which adds a few maps and features but is otherwise the same game as its predecessors. But wait, isn't that exactly what I've been saying about the previous games? Yes, it seems that Focus Home Interactive has been stuck in a pattern of releasing updates with minor improvements but still feeling like the same game. However, I must say that this time around feels different. The game's graphics engine, which looked amazing back in 2009, has been improved, and the frame rate is no longer chugging along at a snail's pace.

One thing that I've noticed about Cities XXL is that the gameplay has indeed been improved. The user interface has been slightly augmented, with more options for sorting through buildings, and the requirement for things like leisure being lessened, making them less annoying later into the game. There are also several little tweaks and refinements to the game's various systems and dependencies, which combined with the better performance and 30-plus new buildings, make for the most solid entry in the Cities series yet.

As someone who has played every city builder I can get my hands on, Cities XXL is a game that very heartily scratches my urban planning itch. However, the fact of the matter is that I've been scratching that itch with the same basic backscratcher since 2009. Existing fans of Cities XL have been herded from one title to the next for years, and many potential new fans have been confused and put off by this whole ordeal.

But what about the cost? Cities XXL costs a whopping $40, unless you own one of the previous games on Steam in which case it costs $20. I must say that I'm not sure if this is a problem for everyone. On one hand, the game is actually playable now, which is something that was normally expected to be patched in for free. On the other hand, Focus Home Interactive has added some new features like new buildings and maps, some rather enjoyable music, additional skyboxes, Steam Workshop support, and painting the menus gray instead of blue.

So, is $40 worth it? If you ask me, no. I wanted most to be able to play the game I paid for, knowing that I could do so several times over. Now that I can, it feels like treading water instead of diving deeper. Which makes this difficult to recommend, even though it's genuinely the best game in the series to date.

If you've never played the previous games, then this is a nice choice. Now's the time to play it. But if this is not your first rodeo, then think hard about whether or not $20 is worth it for what is primarily a performance patch. And if you enjoyed this video on a Cities game, then you might enjoy my other videos that I've done on SimCity or any other subject that I've covered here on LGR.

New videos are released every Monday and Friday, so subscribing would be beneficial if you'd like to see them. You can also walk the social walk by following me on Twitter and Facebook. And if you'd like to support the goals of this show even further, you can join my Patreon. Thank you to Focus Home Interactive for giving me the opportunity to say their game isn't worth the money.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enAnother year, another update to Cities XL,the SimCity-esque city builderfrom Focus Home Interactive.This time, going by the name Cities XXL,meaning the game has an even harder timefinding shirts that fit than ever before.Full disclosure here:while I've not been paid to do this video,I was sent a copy of the game by the company.That being said, Cities XXL is a freakin' ripoff.Except it's also not,and is arguably the best one in the series.Which I know makes no sense,but bear with me for a moment.First, a wee bit of history.Cities XL was released in 2009as a sequel to the game City Life,developed by the now-defunct Monte Cristo.It was hugely ambitious but hugely flawed,featuring a massively-multiplayeronline planet to build cities on,but ultimately falling flat on itsface for a variety of reasons,especially in regards to performance.Focus Home Interactive boughtthe property the following yearand re-released the game sans multiplayerunder the name Cities XL 2011.It added a few new maps and features,but was otherwise the same game.Then they released Cities XL 2012,which added a few new maps and features,but was otherwise the same game.Then they released Cities XL Platinum,which added a few new maps and features,but was otherwise the same game.Now they've released Cities XXL,which adds a few maps and features,but is otherwise the same game.Yeah, I don't know if it's just me,but I'm sensing a pattern here.So in case you're not familiar,the Cities games are about, uh, cities.You know, urban planning,zoning, taxes, skyscrapers,crime rates, traffic statistics, and all that stuffthe SimCity set into motion back in 1989.But the overall gameplay is a bit different from SimCity,with more of a focus on balancingthe social classes of your citizensand participating in global trade,without worrying about passinglaws or fighting off disasters.And it does this with a graphicsengine that, back in 2009,looked amazing with its 3D visuals,and the ability to zoom allthe way down to street level.But the problem with this was thatthe game ran like absolute trash.It was plagued with instability, a lack of multithreading,memory leaks, and all sorts of performance problemsthat just made the game unplayable,even on the highest-end computers up to this day.Thankfully, this has been fixed,and in my time playing Cities XXL,I haven't had any crashes.The frame rate is still all over the place,but at least it doesn't chug to death like it used to,and it's more than playable during normal gameplay,even on huge cities.I never really had a problem with the gameplay itself,It was just the performance that hindered my abilityto enjoy the game the most.Even still, the gameplay hasindeed been improved here,with a slightly augmented user interface,more options for sorting through buildings,and the requirement for thingslike leisure being lessenedso they're not as annoying later into the game.There are also a slew of little tweaks and refinementsto the game's various systems and dependencieswhich, combined with the far better performanceand 30-plus new buildings,make for the most solid entry in the Cities series yet.As someone who has played everycity builder I can get my hands on,Cities XXL is a game that very heartilyscratches my urban planning itch.But the fact of the matter isI've been scratching that itch with thesame basic backscratcher since 2009.Existing fans of Cities XL have been herdedfrom one title to the next for years.And many potential new fans have been confusedand put off by this whole ordeal.While some of these frequent updates have been free,Cities XXL is not,and costs a whopping $40.Unless you own one of the previous games on Steam,in which case it costs $20.Why might this be a problem?Well, it depends entirely on what you're looking for.XXL's largest selling point really is the factthat the thing is actually playable now,but that's something that is normallyexpected to be patched in for free.To try and justify the price, they addedthings like new buildings and maps,some rather enjoyable, if melancholy, new music,additional skyboxes, Steam Workshop support,and painting the menus gray instead of blue.You can tell they put some effortinto trying to add value here,but is it $40 worth?If you ask me, no.What I wanted most was theability to play the game I payed for.You know, years ago? Several times over?Now that I can, it feels like treading waterinstead of diving deeper.Which makes this difficult to recommend,even though it's genuinely thebest game in the series to date.Here's my verdict:if you've never played the previousgames, then this is a nice choice.Now's the time to play it.But if this is not your first rodeo,then think hard aboutwhether or not $20 is worth itfor what is primarily a performance patch.And if you enjoyed this video on a Cities game,then you might enjoy my othersthat I've done on SimCity.Or any other number of subjectsthat I've covered here on LGR.There are new videos every Monday and Friday,so subscribing would bebeneficial if you'd like to see them.You can also walk the social walk.Twitter and Facebook are things.As is Patreon, if you would like tosupport the goals of this show even further.And thanks to Focus Home Interactivefor giving me the opportunity to saytheir game isn't worth the money.And thank you very much for watching.\n"