Urban Empire Reviews

I do think there is fun to be had playing the game and that is why I recommend it but I also agree that there are lots of problems with it. Because of all the bad reviews which again I do think raise valid points I only dared get it on a big discount because I was very curious to try it out. And after just a couple playthroughs I do think the game has a very interesting and enjoyable concept, it could have been a great game really if it was just a little bit better balanced. Unfortunately the game is simply too punishing. You have to raise money in order to build improvements to keep the population happy to keep them productive and raise more money. It's a simple loop and it is actually quite enjoyable and interesting in the beginning, the game throws you different situations and options to make each playthrough a little different. The problem is that the upkeep of the improvements quickly becomes too expensive to maintain. So what you do is you raise taxes. Council will not let you raise taxes too high however (and it's a good thing they don't let you because it would choke your economy, the council is actually pretty smart and most of the time following along with it rather than opposing it too strongly is a good strategy). If you start defying council too much it will lose you political goodwill with the different parties... and then you risk getting voted out and game over. So it's very easy to get stuck in little depressions and recession downward spirals and then you're not progressing and you have to spend a full era just rebuilding your economy to start progressing again and what should have been fun and rewarding instead becomes agonizing and frustrating. So do expect to get disappointed if you get it and just enjoy the bittersweet taste of what could have been a great game.

It's an unfinished and abandoned game. It crashes half the time. Steam should remove this game. It is a ripoff. Probably won't waste my money on anything else from steam because of this.