SimCity Societies…is it any good?

     I’ve been sitting here at work the last few days doing some research on the new game “SimCity Societies”. Does anyone know if it is any good? I’ve read some critic reviews and they are generally pretty low, but I’m interested in hearing some first hand info from people who have actually played the game. I have loved the SimCity franchise for years, and I am a bit disappointed that they have completely changed it. For those of you who have not heard, they game play has changed, and it is now more focused on the societies that live in the city. There are different energies that you can manipulate, and some say it has elements  that are similar to  “The Sims”. You actually place every individual building down yourself – which I think is a plus, but the maps are smaller and  there is no more zoning – features that us “SimCity Fans” have grown to love. It is definitely a difference direction for the owners of the SimCity franchise but they say they are willing to take that risk. After watching some of the videos of the makers talking about the game, I can’t help but to think something is very peculiar about this release. No one seems to be very excited about it – even the footage I saw of the creaters doing a walk through of the game was very melancholy, and they seem a bit insecure when they talked about the features. However, they do admit that if this title does not take off, they will be reverting to the classic game play that we have all enjoyed.