When I was a kid, I had something of an obsession with the Sim series of games that Maxis seemed to come out with in rapid succession during the ?90s. From my introduction to the series with SimTown to my later experiences enjoying SimCity, SimFarm, SimPark, SimTower, and yes, even freakin? SimAnt, I couldn?t get enough of building my own structures and ecosystems?even if I didn?t really know what I was doing. Fast-forward to the current year, when I was very excited to review Cities: Skylines. I?d heard it serves as a sort of spiritual successor to the SimCity crown after Electronic Arts? botched handling of the most recent title in that series. And while Cities does have an excellent game at its core, I once again found myself feeling a familiar combination of excitement and anxiety ? the former from the wide available of options at my disposal, and the latter from not really knowing what on Earth I was doing. The only difference is that I?m not sure it?s really my fault this time.

Some Tutorials Would Be Nice
Cities: Skylines is all about making a set of complex systems come together in a harmonious way ? you know, rather like building a real city. The key difference, of course, is that real cities have tens of thousands of people working together in a variety of areas of expertise, while this simulation puts you in the position of being an expert on everything from waste disposal to medical treatment. Of course, that doesn?t mean you?re suddenly going to take a break ...