Can't wait to see UFOs terrorize your SimCity Societies town? Well, you'll be happy to know that  this feature along with many others are now available through the game's third update. If you want to find out more, head on over to the full article where we discuss a few of the key features of this update.

Download: SimCity Societies Game Update #3

Aspiring leaders playing Electronic Arts and Tilted Mill's SimCity Societies will soon have more reasons to be loyal to their virtual lands and citizens, because the next patch is sure to make their jobs a bit more satisfying. New features that aid in micromanagement, better performance, and UFOs are inbound. Details await at the full article.

If you ever looked at your own town and said, "I could do a better job of running this place." Then you might want to check out SimCity Societies. If you haven't heard of the game, then you might want to check out the new Christmas themed trailer for the game.

Want to see the full video? Be sure to head on over to the full article for more details.

  

If you think SimCity Societies is just another conventional SimCity game added to the long-running franchise, then the developers from Tilted Mill Entertainment are working hard to prove you wrong. Doing away with the trademark "build-by-zones" system, SimCity Societies instead concentrates on the six "social energy" aspects as the title of the game implies when building your empire.

The game feels more like a large-scale life simulator rather than the traditional city builder which made SimCity famous in the video game world. Players concentrate on the six "energies" which help shape the budding society that you start with. These six energies include productivity, prosperity, creativity, spirituality, authority, and knowledge.

The developers give us an in-depth look at two of these aspects and how it can literally change the face of your city. Players who prefer a spiritual approach to their society will notice that their citizens live their lives according to the morality of their faith and have little value for worldly goods. This reflects in the kind of buildings that evolve from this sort of lifestyle, such as pagodas, monasteries and other spiritual buildings.

Authoritarian players might be pleased to see their society grow up into a structured society under the government's thumb. Societies focused on Authority will have a population that is efficient, but not necessarily out of their own choice. From the screenshots below, you can tell the somber atmosphere the Sims living under an authoritarian rule feel like.

SimCity Societies definitely reflects an innovative kind of deviation from the series in general. PC gamers can expect SimCity Societies to hit shelves on November 15.

  

From the humble beginnings of a simple top-down god game, SimCity for the PC has reached epic heights. Or at least, SimCity Societies by Tilted Mill looks big enough to devour us whole. Just looking at the trailer we found makes us want to try our hands out on creating such a lively and realistic city.

Hardcore fans may drool at SimCity's new look, but the game is set to attract new players that are yet to familiarize themselves with having the power to build the neighborhood of their dreams from the ground up. With so much graphical details, it can get complicated - but politics wouldn't be so shady if managing a huge place was a walk in the park.

While waiting for the game's November 2007 release, stimulate your desire to play god by watching the video below.

 

There are a few games as revered and as profitable as Will Wright's Sim City franchise. We all know that a new iteration is in the works, but we've got some fresh details today to keep you updated on just what's happening behind the scenes right now.

As you probably know by now, the working title for this game is SimCity Societies. Although it's under the EA publishing banner, it's not being developed by Wright, EA or Maxis. We're told that the old gang have their hands full with Spore at the moment, so they handpicked seasoned city-builder devs Tilted Mill to shoe in. Tilted Mill is best known for their work on Caesar IV and Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile.

We learned that the core of the game remains to be that classic formula that immortalized this line of games. Like a city that has aged, however, there will be some renovations to be done. For one, Will Wright himself said that the series has evolved in such a way that it's gotten a little too complex for beginners to hang on to it. The goal for Tilted Mill this time is to create a game that won't scare off the casual gamer but won't make it seem like a travesty for the hardcore fan.

Like the title suggests, the Sims will have a major impact in your tenure as the city's leader. there are six values that you can emphasize on. An example of which is obedience. If you're not paying attention to it, your turf just might transform itself into a graffiti-emblazoned haven for crooks. Bottom line, love the people but don't love them too much.

Hold your breath, hardcore fans. The familiar SimCity adviser will be gone and instead of laying out zones where buildings spring up, you can now build your own. Before you turn your back in disappointment, know that this all ties in with the new system which will make you more sensitive to the citizenry. The main indicator will now be the people's behavior instead of text windows. Not a terrible trade-off when you really consider it. Goal-orientedness is the new emphasis, and maybe that's what the series needs for its new direction.

Certainly, there are a lot of tweaks being set in place with a new team at the helm, whether it be for good or bad remains to be seen. Right now, the only thing we can suggest is to give the new game a chance. You can learn more about it if you follow the read URL.

Mystic Game Development announced today that their EMotion FX character animation SDK has been licensed by Tilted Mill for use on their current projects. Titled Mill is known for their work on real-time strategy titles such as the recent Caesar IV.

"Using EMotionFX as the framework for our model and animation system on our current project has allowed our programming team to focus on the engine details needed to make our game unique." said Chris Beatrice, President of Tilted Mill Entertainment.

Used by leading game developers such as Mythic Entertainment and Sigil Games Online, EMotion FX 3 was build from the ground up to harness the power of multi-core and multi-cpu consoles and PCs.

"EMotion FX 3 has eliminated the need to create custom animation and model systems for our game," said Beatrice. "Their support team has been one of the most responsive 3rd parties we've worked with - their rapid assistance and ready-made tools for our art pipeline have made all aspects of our development go very smoothly."