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A few years ago, Maxis, the developer behind the hugely popular SimCity franchise, brought many gamers' dreams to life when they announced they would reboot SimCity. However, the excitement leading up to the launch was quickly crushed when players experienced game-breaking bugs and issues at launch. This failure is part of what led to EA being named Worst Company in America in 2013.

Fortunately, another developer reignited a spark of hope in the hearts of city-building simulation enthusiasts everywhere last year when it announced a potential replacement. Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive – known for their city management simulation games Cities in Motion and Cities in Motion 2 – revealed they were bringing a new city-building simulation to market called Cities: Skylines.

Since the announcement, however, Cities: Skylines has received very little attention - until now. Publisher Paradox Interactive posted a new release date trailer that shows off the game's building, managing and customizing mechanics.

After watching the video, we freely admit the game looks a lot like SimCity, albeit with a few tweaks. But honestly, we don't really mind that much. After Maxis and EA dropped the ball with their SimCity release, many gamers have been chomping at the bit for a better city simulation option. We feel this could very well be it.

Cities Skylines Preorder Items

The official release date of Cities: Skylines is March 10, 2015, so less than a month away. Those gamers who are brave enough to pre-order the game will be rewarded with a few in-game bonus items, including a basketball court, botanical gardens, merry-go-round, bouncy castle and dog park. They will also receive a digital art book and four digital postcards.

Those who are weary about Cities: Skylines experiencing similar issues as SimCity can rest assured Colossal Order understands your fears. That's why they've made it crystal clear that their city-building simulator won't require a constant online connection in order to play. We can only imagine they took copious notes about SimCity's faults and will do their best to avoid making those same mistakes.

It's imperative for Colossal Order to get everything right at launch for a couple reasons. The biggest reason is it will set them up to benefit from Maxis's struggles. They have a unique opportunity to capture those gamers who were disappointed by SimCity's faults.

The second reason is because Colossal Order's small team won't be able to rebound from a huge flop the way Maxis and EA can. In fact, many gamers may be surprised to learn that Cities: Skylines was developed by a team of only 13 developers. That's definitely an impressive feat. However, despite the small team, if they don't deliver where SimCity failed, Cities: Skylines may find itself lost among the many games that can't capitalize on their potential.

What do you think about Cities: Skylines? Is it the SimCity you've been dreaming of? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Cities: Skylines will release on March 10, 2015 for Windows, Mac and Linux. It will cost $29.99 at launch.

Source: Paradox Interactive