City Story Metro

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on September 02, 2012

City Story Metro is a free iOS application that gives players the important role of becoming the mayor of an imaginary town. You make the rules and get the whole business rolling; in other words, it's a good strategy game with a well-designed, uncluttered interface, providing onscreen help at all times. It has all the necessary spice for a fun game, with helpful tips all the way around.

We liked how the developers introduced the help file through a virtual assistant called Anne, who will join your journey right from the start and guide your steps to make your town the most profitable in the area. This type of innovation is particularly welcome in this type of game, where you need guidance, at least during your first steps. During our testing, the online app performed very well. We were able to enjoy building our city, which can be diversified with multiple elements, which we liked, as it enhances the building experience. However, every move is related to money-making and profit, since as a mayor, you need to make your town profitable. In addition, the application keeps you up-to-date with what is happening around your city through push notifications. Furthermore, the app has social interaction routes; the newsfeed will list all the players who have visited your city, and they can also leave messages for you.

What we liked during the testing was how the game gives you a free guide on how to get a business rolling. It gives players the basics of a successful scenario; it teaches you how to make money, and how and where to save energy, for instance, as it is critical to the game.

Overall, we enjoyed playing around with this easy-to-use game, and it might easily become one of your favorite activities where everything works according to your rules.