My disk problems continued when I fired the game up a day later and encountered errors in saving my games. A series of error messages would pop up, and my games don't get saved. I noticed however, that this only occurred during Free Mode. I've notified CDV about these technical problems and they've been working on it.

Actual game play is not exactly a picnic either. Not surprisingly, there's a lot to learn in building and micromanaging a city. The main screen has lots and lots of menus, which can be overwhelming for beginners. Although the game comes with a printed Quickstart Guide and an in-game tutorial, I didn't find them very helpful. I found that reading the Quickstart Guide while trying to play at the same time was distracting. Meanwhile, the in-game tutorial is a simplified version of the Quickstart Guide - nothing more than just a step-by-step description of what to do.

Because World Edition is a complex game with a steep learning curve, a playable tutorial, a la Warcraft III, (in which you play a brief round covering the basics while a voiceover tells you what to do and describes the menu items) would have helped, especially for those new to this genre. Therefore, I highly recommend reading the manual and Quickstart Guide cover to cover a few times before playing. Still, expect to restart your game several times.

I had to warm up a lot to City Life: World Edition. Like many gamers, when I get a game, I like to hit the ground running and play it right away. I don't like having to read lengthy text manuals and menu options on screen. Hence, the need for a playable tutorial - you're playing but learning the game at the same time. Only after many restarts and rereads of the manual and Quickstart Guide did I start to get the hang of it and actually have a little fun. I'm a big fan of Sid Meier's Civilization series, so I'm no stranger to complex games that feature lots of micromanagement. However, City Life: World Edition provided little enjoyment compared to the amount of frustration it produces.

I did learn something from my experience - after having played City Life: World Edition, I realize that I never want to become mayor. It's too much of a hassle!

City Life: World Edition is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB for Mild Violence,
Alcohol Reference.