SimCity Societies: no, thank you

After much thought I have made up my mind: SimCity Societies will be the first SimCity-branded game that I do not wish to play nor own. I honestly think that EA really dropped the ball on this game. One thing I loved about the SimCity series was that it got progressively more complex and realistic with every new iteration. Societies has an interesting concept with the idea of "societal energies," but EA has thrown out the baby with the bathwater by using this to replace the urban planning concept, rather than having it as an augmentation.

Not much else to say on the subject. Oh, I have plenty of ideas for the SimCity game I wanted to see as the sequel to SimCity 4, but said game is not going to materialise.

On the up side, I still have the opportunity to get much more play time out of The Sims 2. I've yet to get the Seasons and Bon Voyage expansion packs (I'm not so much interested in the "Stuff" packs - no one needs that much "Stuff") - and once I buy them and a RAM upgrade for my computer, I'll actually install and play them.

I'm still a bit disappointed in the turn SimCity has taken - I play that and The Sims for entirely different reasons. While the former allowed me to unleash my inner road geek and urban planner, the latter allows me to indulge my not so hidden desire to play god. In fact, I think The Sims may very well prove the existence of a higher power; suffering isn't the result of man's inhumanity to man or the fact that universe is inherently chaotic, but a sign that our gaming overlord was bored and demands entertainment, else the plug gets pulled. So I'm not exactly a benevolent deity, okay?