True enough, but that's unfortunately the inherent risk of any pre-order, correct? Look at Aliens, it's "demo" was completely different then the final product (and it also got ripped to shreds).
I'd say the biggest mistake EA made here wasn't that of SimCity, it's not offering full refunds to anyone and everyone that wanted it, digital or otherwise.
I think the point is that it WILL work, and EA is giving away additional games as a "sorry we screwed this up, give us some time to make it right".
I wrote this review, glad to see it sparking some discussion :) Even if the game doesn't "tackle the hard issues" as well as the best films or books, the fact that its ambitions go way beyond most games was enough for me to applaud the effort. It handled those themes very well.
I agree that the boss battles left a little bit to be desired, especially towards the end, hence the lack of a perfect score.