Cities in Motion is about public transportation, so I wouldn't compare it with SimCity, but they do have some similarities. CiM have deeper control of public transportation and superficial control of the city. You need/should accept the problems of the city as challenges to overcome and not something to change. Otherwise you might get disappointed as some players. Don't expect to tell the city where industries should grow. You are owner of a public transportation not the major.
In CiM 2 you have the power to create/destroy roads and the city can expand to new roads you created and areas that already exist can develop or change to something entirely different (residential to industrial). Then its up to you to modify your routes to accommodate the changes, not the opposite.
Expect a steep learning curve. There are many tutorials out there and if you are not afraid of reading and thinking you won't have a problem. However navigation in the game and understanding what does what and how to do is very easy.
If you know the old Traffic Giant and like it, you will love CiM. If you like any transportation game such as Industry Giant or RT2 you will also like CiM, but its about urban transportation, not cargo.
I would recommend start with CiM 1 because then you can enjoy both, 1 and 2. While 1 have lots of limitations that 2 doesn't; CiM 1 have a great atmosphere and if you are not in contact with the game yet, you can certainly enjoy the game a lot, and then come to CiM 2 where you have many missing features of 1.
Single player is mostly sandbox for me. I do not enjoy the campaign or missions of the game. But I also didn't like the very elaborated campaign of RailRoad Tycoon 2, so I'm not a good example.
Transportation games are all about sandbox anyway, since you can be in the same game for months, missions are not what keeps the game interesting.
Multiplayer works quite well, but there aren't many players. You have to know someone that would enjoy the game as much as you do and also that are willing to dedicate hours to play with you. The game is by nature time consuming and slow paced, so you will need a dedicated partner.
Multiplayer can be competitive or cooperative. In competitive mode you will have faster matches, but in cooperative you can play for months. The multiplayer game can be saved and resumed later.
In multiplayer you lose the ability to destruct parts of the city. That is to avoid a mean competitor to ruin your routes.
What annoys and enjoys you
What I enjoy most is to see the city coming alive while you give the citizens a transportation service. Solve traffic issues is even better. Look at an area clogged with traffic or a bus stuck in traffic and think on how can you make it better.
This is a good example.
Before and
After.
I also like to look at the cims
going on their business, while I take a break from the hard thinking.
I also like map editing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDoShpNCZ4w
All those videos are from CiM 1. I will eventually fill the gap of CiM 2 videos.
- What annoys me is the fact that ticket prices perception changes way too fast. That means the citizens that now think your prices are OK, in 2 hours will think they are too expensive. CiM 2 pricing is quite complex: you have different social classes having different perceptions of what is cheap what is expensive, you have zoning system and you have price perception according to distance of trip and monthly tickets. Still I would like the issue to be addressed again, maybe an option to simplify it, just like we can choose with or without city grow.
- There is a scenario editor, and it annoys me that there are no variables to trigger missions. A more raw scenario editor would open a lot of possibilities, instead what we have is a click, click done type of thing.
- Day and night cycle is a great thing, but why night can't have a sun?
I like the sun and the fact that the night makes the game dark it annoys me. A simple option to freeze the sun in the sky would be appreciated for those with eye issues.
I would recommend a lot the game for those who like transportation type of games. Don't play with your mind wrapped around SimCity because you are going to get disappointed.
