Digital Chumps: "SimCity is going to go down as a 'what could’ve been.' What could this title have been if the developers (and publisher) weren’t so adamant about the always-online business? How good would it have been if the size limitations weren’t so stringent, instead, allowing players to build sprawling cities that could be seen from space? How good would this game be if the silly AI issues concerning sim behavior and vehicular pathfinding were much improved? How much would the backlash decrease if players had an option to save their cities on their own computers, instead of relying on a server to keep it safe, and said server isn’t accessible, thanks to bumrush of players trying to logon? Perhaps these are all common sense questions (and solutions), but apparently, these aspects were either willfully, or accidentally ignored by Maxis and EA, and the final product, one that has so much potential, is suffering for it."
Some games force online-only measures onto people. It sucks! Especially when some titles, like these seven, 100% didn't need it.
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of The Secret History of Mac Gaming, “Simulated.”
EA has something of a reputation when it comes to awkwardly handling much-loved franchises. Here are 7 that Screen Critics feel they ruined.
Need for Speed as well. Here's to hope that the new one will be a return to form for the franchise.