Townopolis Review

Normally we only do positive reviews on this site. We don't like wasting space to give bad reviews, we simply just don't review it if we don't like it. I have to say, though, I really did not enjoy Townopolis. I had really high hopes - it looked like a sort of updated version of SimCity mixed with Time Management. Maybe that was the pitch to the executives. However, it fell far short for me. One thing that turned me off in the beginning was the undercurrent of suburban homogeneity that game implied - everyone wants to live in big-box, upper-middle class land, where everyone demands a security system on their home or they aren't happy. And God forbid someone should have to live near a post office or shopping center. The concept of mixed-use was clearly not in the scope of these city planners.

Normally we only do positive reviews on this site. We don't like wasting space to give bad reviews, we simply just don't review it if we don't like it. I have to say, though, I really did not enjoy Townopolis. I had really high hopes - it looked like a sort of updated version of SimCity mixed with Time Management. Maybe that was the pitch to the executives. However, it fell far short for me. One thing that turned me off in the beginning was the undercurrent of suburban homogeneity that game implied - everyone wants to live in big-box, upper-middle class land, where everyone demands a security system on their home or they aren't happy. And God forbid someone should have to live near a post office or shopping center. The concept of mixed-use was clearly not in the scope of these city planners. Not that there is anything wrong with suburbia, but it would have been fun in the context of the game to be able to create more urban environments as well. Besides the message of the game be a little tweaked, it was really the gameplay that ultimately didn't engage me. I often found myself just sitting there waiting for money to accumulate, so in that sense, it wasn't very fun. I also didn't like that you once you bought a permit, you had to purchase it again later, especially when they were pretty expensive. So, sorry Townopolis. Mission failed.