Game Reviews

City of Wonder

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City of Wonder

City of Wonder is the latest social game to make the jump from Facebook to iOS.

It's a civilisation-builder that sees you attempting to transform your fledgling society from a tiny village into a thriving civilisation through a combination of social elements and city-building gameplay.

Despite the game being heavily influenced by Sid Meier’s Civilization series, the limitations of both the social features and the basic gameplay mean that it falls short of fulfilling its potential.

Civil Service

A series of tasks gently introduces you to the various elements of the game, the chief among which is construction.

The different buildings you can erect naturally serve different purposes: the choice of structure available is determined by your level - increased by earning XP from various tasks - and the amount of research into new ideas and technologies you conduct.

Residences increase population, cultural buildings increase happiness, while markets, ranches, and quarries generate income.

Goods that take a shorter time to manufacture generate less revenue and spoil quite quickly, but they can, of course, be produced at a faster rate.

Military bases, meanwhile, improve your attacking and defensive capabilities, which becomes important when you interact with other societies, as explained later on.

Socially acceptable

Once you're acquainted with the finer points of city-construction, you'll want to reach out to fellow civilisations. Friends or friendly strangers can become allies, who are then used to expand your city or construct marvels without having to use gold.

You can also explore random cities and either attack, trade, or initiate a cultural exchange with them. The success of these actions depends on the military, trading, and cultural power of your society.

Transforming your city into a thriving metropolis is a satisfying reward for your work, and the controls and menus mean that City of Wonder is a pleasure to use. The game also strikes a fine balance between free and paid-for content, as in-app purchases supplement rather than restrict the experience.

However, once the early stages of the game are completed, things can get rather repetitive, since ever-increasing amounts of time are required to construct more ambitious structures and complete advanced research.

Social interactions also become gradually less interesting as the game turns into a tedious succession of taps, meaning that the promise shown by this city builder is unfulfilled.

City of Wonder

City of Wonder is a competent city-building social game that does not rely heavily on in-app purchases but is not one for the impatient.
Score
Steve McCaskill
Steve McCaskill
A crippling addiction to Football Manager threatened Steve's education and social life for much of the past ten years, but he has come through it with a history degree and an unparalleled knowledge of zonal marking.