Review: SimCity Societies: Destinations - PC - 7.9

Destinations is somewhat of a godsend for the Simcity Societies base game. It takes the core gameplay and improves it, making it a better game and elevating it above the level of mediocrity and providing more depth and better fun.

Travel and tourism is the focus of Destinations, meaning you\'ll have to dedicate time and resources to make your city attractive to the outside world. Most attractions are bought and built, but some are already placed and need to be visited by your Sims before they become open to tourists. This mechanic is built on a system of traveler star ratings, giving you something to focus on and genuinely improve, a lacking element in Societies.

Another addition is the Strategy mode, deepening Societies initially-unengaging gameplay by adding econmical sliders and policy choices. While still not reaching the richness of previous installments in the Simcity series, Destinations makes the core Societes game more challenging and customizable.

The graphics engine has undergone a slight overhaul, with better performance and preserving some good visual fidelity.

Destinations is a must to own if you have Societies. The amount of gameplay and technological enhancements it brings to the table help elevate Societies to a deeper and more engaging game.

Gameplay: 8 - Improves the core gameplay to a point that it becomes challenging and provides a focus in the form of traveler star ratings, encouraging you to make your city attractive to tourists
Presentation: 7 - Great-looking buildings and detailed Sims animations, there are some problems with the game\'s interface.
Graphics: 8 - Improves original\'s engine and features marked performance upgrades

Sound: 8 - Typical Simcity fare, some interesting soundtracks and detailed city sound.
Value: 8 - The Sandbox nature of this game allows people to really mess around with making a variety of cities.

Final Score: 7.9 - Destinations brings the Simcity: Societies gameplay standard up and brings it closer to resembing the addicting depth of SimCity 4.

Marcin Skok
Editor-in-Chief
"The Gaming Corner"