One of the newest of the Facebook games, SimCity Social, has all of the favorites for fans of the Sims and Facebook. The free online game has content similar to previous Sims games but also features new developments that are made just for Facebook and that come from the newest and upcoming Sim game.

In SimCity Social, the focus is on socializing and city-building according to All Things Digital. The city-building is similar to previous Sim games and to Facebook games such as CityVille and FarmVille. However, unlike the Sims there is no need to take care of the utilities within the city and there are no taxes.

The city-building in the game happens through using one’s resources wisely. The game currency is called simoleans, which can be used to buy things like houses. Diamonds are also used as currency but they are normally used for upgrading factories or larger projects. Players can buy game diamonds with real money in order to get a boost in the game. Some of the things players can buy include things that one could consider advertisements, such as Dunkin’ Donuts or a billboard advertising a Mercedes.

The game has several features, including 3D graphics and even more creative freedom than in previous Sim games according to IBN Live. There are no set paths, although players can gain experience points from completing certain tasks and building new things in their cities in order to reach the next mayor level.

SimCity Social provides the players with real social issues to deal with spontaneously such as natural disasters and climate change. Players can also experience different scenery depending on whether they choose to be in German, British, or French style neighborhoods.

SimCity Social, even more than city-building, is about socializing with friends. Within SimCity Social, players can interact with their friends and send gifts to each other – much like in FarmVille. Players can hire each other for certain tasks and can become allies or enemies with different cities. A player can also visit a friend’s city in order to get an energy boost and can receive more resources and higher property values if a friend visits his or her city.

Jami Laes, Vice President of Playfish Global Studios, claimed that the game provides many different options for every path a player could want to choose when interacting with his or her friends. Laes stated, “whether you… [act through] kindness by helping put out a fire or through mischievous acts like helping a criminal escape, the decisions you make with your friends will determine how the story of your city plays out.”

Currently there are around 750,000 Sims Facebook fans. The game creators have announced that if someone is playing the game and adds his or her ‘like’ to the Facebook page they can receive free access to exclusive content from the next Sims game.

SimCity Social is essentially a prototype version of the latest Sims game that will be coming out in 2013. In the newest version there will be multiplayer support and will allow up to sixteen friends to play together at once.

According to Kotaku, what SimCity Social lacks is the depth of the PC version of the game. Because the game focuses more on city-building, making it similar to Facebook games like CityVille and FarmVille, other aspects such as the collection of taxes and taking care of utilities that made the game more complicated are lost.

Kotaku states, “[it's] strategic enough to distract players from the fact that they’re caught in an endless cycle of earning enough residents to expand their city, buying new land, and starting the whole process over again…SimCity Social is a cute and capable social city-builder. It’s also a shameless attempt to capitalize on the success of Zynga’s wildly popular CityVille, slapping a powerful name on a game that could never live up to its legacy.”

However, Kotaku does admit that the upcoming PC version of SimCity Social will be much more exciting and complicated. “What’s exciting about this new Sim City is how alive it feels, how much it makes the earliest games in the series feel as static as board games. This one feels alive.”

It looks as if most fans of Facebook’s city-building games will enjoy this latest addition, but fans of previous Sims games should wait for the next PC version.

Image Courtesy of   SimCity Social

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It’s almost that time of year again. The new Formula One season is just days away, and if you believe the rumors the battle is set to be closer than ever. Sebastian Vettel is looking to win his third consecutive world championship, whilst the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and even the returning Kimi Raikkone will be looking to make sure that doesn’t happen.

2011 had to go a long way to match the drama of 2010, and despite Vettel’s dominance throughout the year, the season still provided some great racing and some great races. But people now believe 2012 could be even better. Minimal rule changes mean there’s not much to discuss on the technical side, but the biggest change is the one which could affect how the season pans out early on.

Blown Diffusers have been banned this year, causing the majority of teams to re-think the design of their cars and how to get the most out of what they are allowed to work with. There is also a new front wing height rule in place, meaning most teams, except McLaren, have gone for an ugly-looking front nose cone which significantly dips down past the driver’s feet. It doesn’t look pretty unless you are a McLaren fan, and most believe the cars will be back to normal in 2013.

Smaller, yet still important rule changes include a change to the proceedings behind the Safety Car. Something that had bugged me for a long time was thinking a yellow flag period would make the race more interesting, only to find two HRT’s and a Virgin stuck between Vettel and Hamilton, allowing Vettel to fly away whilst the Brit got stuck behind the lapped cars. This year, the lapped cars can overtake the Safety Car and re-join the back of the pack, meaning closer racing at the front.

Now, on to the men that matter: the drivers. There aren’t any major changes in the line-ups this year. We say hello to a couple of rookies, but at the front of the grid, all remains as it was. Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari & Mercedes have stuck with their 2011 line-ups, meaning Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Massa, Rosberg & Schumacher will fight it out for the top spots.

But don’t rule out Lotus. Yes, Lotus. Not the ones who have been running at the back of the pack for the last two years. The Lotus team is now the old Renault team, but they may as well be a new team, as they have two new drivers this year. Kimi Raikkonen has returned to F1 with Lotus, and will be partnered by GP2 champion Romain Grosjean, who had a brief period in Formula One in 2009.

Pre-season testing would suggest Lotus had left the midfield trailing, and we may be talking about a top 5 team this season, rather than a top 4. But the fight in the middle should still be a closely run thing, with Force India, Sauber, Toro Rosso, Williams & Caterham (previously Lotus) fighting it out. Force India have retained rookie of the year Paul Di Resta, but Adrian Sutil is out and replaced by former Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg.

It’s as if you were at Sauber with Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez still behind the wheel. However, the biggest change comes at Toro Rosso. Everybody thought the drivers of Sebastien Buemi & Jaime Alguersuari were safe, particularly the young Spaniard, but both were dropped after 2011 and have been replaced by ex-HRT driver Daniel Ricciardo, and young Frenchman, Jean-Eric Vergne.

It was the end of an era at Williams, with Rubens Barrichello departing F1 for IndyCar after almost 20 years in the sport. His place has been taken by Bruno Senna, the first time a Senna has raced for the team since that fateful day at Imola in 1994. He partners Pastor Maldonado,who keeps his place with the team. At Caterham, things look much brighter for the former Lotus brand.

The team seems to have stepped up a gear for 2012, and could be ready to challenge the midfield this year. Heikki Kovaleinen has been kept on, and has been joined by former Renault driver Vitaly Petrov for 2012. It’s a strong line-up for Caterham, and they’ll hope for some good early outings.

At the back of the pack, it’s not looking so good for Marussia (formerly Virgin) and HRT. Both have once again had rocky pre-seasons, failing to test their news in any of the three testing sessions, meaning neither team has attended a pre-season test with a new car for the three years both have existed in Formula One.

It seems each year both teams manage to take a step backwards before moving forwards. HRT have signed up experienced Spaniard Pedro De La Rosa to partner Narain Karthikeyan, whilst Timo Glock remains at Marussia, and is joined by rookie Charles Pic.

It’s all set for another bumper F1 season, plenty of close racing should be guaranteed, for the first time ever we have six world champions on the grid, and even a new race. Formula One returns to the USA after a stint away from the states, with the pack heading to Austin, Texas towards the end of the season.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/julien-reboulet/

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