Cities-XL posts

Cities XL 2011 is the same game as Cities XL.

That's really all there is to this game. There are a few differences (very few), but in most cases, Cities XL 2011 is identical to Cities XL. It uses the same art assets, same tutorial, and same gameplay mechanics. The primary change only really affects people who played the last game, and while it's certainly a good change, it's not something most people will understand, appreciate, or care about. In essence, with Cities XL 2011, we are revisiting a game after a year and seeing just how our opinion has changed since the fresh look. While it's got some of the dings smoothed out, it's still a rusty, half-built junker that only the most dedicated of enthusiasts will love.

Earlier this year publisher Focus Home Interactive announced that it had bought the Cities XL game franchise from the now defunct developer Monte Cristo Games. The next game in the city building simulation series, Cities XL 2011, is due to be released via download on October 14.

However if you already own a copy of the original Cities XL game you will be able to get the new Cities XL 2011 for a whopping 50 percent discount off its normal price of $39.99 from the game's official web site. You have to get your pre-order in before October 14 to get the discount and you have to have your Cities XL CD key. Both the original and limited edition versions of Cities XL are eligible for the discount.

It's Tuesday which means some PC games are getting some price cuts for one or two days. Steam now has both the regular and limited edition of 2009's city sim game Cities XL on sale from now until Thursday. The regular edition is priced at just $4.99 while the limited edition has a $6.24 price tag on the PC game download service.

Over at Direct2Drive they have three games on sale from now until 1 pm Eastern time on Sunday. The recent racing game Split Second has a 50 percent price cut to $19.95. In addition, two of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. first person shooters (Shadows of Chernobyl and Call of Pirpyat) are being sold in a bundle for just $9.95.

The PC game download sites are starting up the post-Labor Day sales a little early this week with Direct2Drive, Steam and GamersGate all holding mid-week sales:

• Direct2Drive has two titles on sale until Wednesday. CitiesXL is on sale for $19.95 while Tropico 3 Absolute Power has a price cut today to just $9.95.
• Steam has put Puzzle Quest 2 on sale from now until Thursday $13.39, which is 33 percent off its normal price.
• GamersGate has put three Electronic Arts games on sale until Wednesday. Both Mirror's Edge and Dead Space are priced at just $7.98 while Need For Speed Shift is on sale for $14.97.

Earlier this year we reported that Cities XL developer Monte Cristo Games had shut down operations, leaving development of their city simulation game in limbo. Today Focus Home Interactive has announced that it has purchased the Cities XL franchise and will release the previously announced Cities XL 2011 this October. The announcement comes with the first screenshots for the game.

The new version of the game won't have the MMO aspects of the original (which shut down even before Monte Cristo Games closed) but Focus Home Interactive states the new version will have 700 new buildings to choose from along with 45 buildable maps. Focus also plans to have a special offer for the game but details have yet to be revealed.

The development team behind the city simulation-MMO title Cities XL has announced that it will close its doors this week. In a message board post on the Simtropolis fan site, a representative from France-based Monte Cristo Games announced the shut down of the developer. However the message stated that Cities XL will continue to be sold by another unnamed publisher and that the online login required to play the game will still be in place.

Established in 1995 Monte Cristo Games developed and released quite a few PC titles in its existence. In October 2009 it released Cities XL, an ambitious mix of an urban city simulation and an MMO game. However the game failed to reach a large enough audience. In January 2010 the MMO portion of the game was closed. The developer also announced plans for an updated single player game, Cities Xl 2011, but with Monte Cristo's shut down it looks like those plans are on indefinite hold.

It's a new year and the first month of January 2010 was a busy one for PC gaming news. Part of the reason was the annual Consumer Electronics Show where there were a few interesting announcements that concerned PC gaming. However there were also plenty of other news items in the past 31 days that will affect us in the coming year.

In fact our normal top 10 list was so full of things we could report that we managed to stick in a couple of extra items as honorable mentions. If this list is any indication 2010 will be a very busy year for news in our industry.

Click on the image above to continue reading The Top 10 PC Game News Stories For January 2010

Monte Cristo Games' launch of their city simulator Cities XL last fall had both a single player aspect as well as a MMO feature that allowed for potientially thousands of players to build their cities on a virtual planet. However it appears that there was little interest in an city sim MMO. The game's web site has now announced that due to a lack of subscriptions, the MMO aspect of Cities XL will be shut down on March 8. No new subscribers will be taken after February 1.

A anew FAQ page gives more details on the MMO shut down and how it will affect players of the game. It also reveals that Monte Cristo plans to launch an all new single player online game called Cities XL 2011. Until that game is released the original Cities XL won't be getting any new content updates.

[Via Voodoo Extreme]

Monte Cristo Games continues to release new content items for their urban simulation Cities XL. Today they have announced that a new batch of items is now available for players of the game. People who play the online (Planet) version of Cities XL can now add a bus system to their cities of 50,000 or more inhabitants.

Planet players can also add a mega ferris wheel to their cities as well as a New York City map with the Statue of Liberty, some of the cities famous skyscrapers and a full road layout. Both Planet and Solo players can add two new buildings (City Hall and Central Library of The Hague) and Solo players can put in an Omnicorp price drop.

Monte Cristo Games' recently release city simulation game Cities XL contains both a offline single player mode and a persistent online mode where you build and trade with other players and their cities. Now Monte Cristo Games has announced they are offering three different versions of the game, each with their own emphasis.

The Discovery Pack version will allow gamers to play the full online portion of Cities XL and five slots to create your urban locations. The $9.99 fee covers the first 30 days. After that you can continue to play the online version with either a monthly or three month subscription fee. You can also switch to the offline only (Cities XL Solo) version of the game which costs $39.99 or buy the Premium Pack which gives access to both online and offline versions, plus a three month subscription, for $57.99.