With lost buses, weak security measures, and waterlogged venues, the temptation to build your own Olympic City in London is probably as desirable as eating a lukewarm Cornish pasty in a crowded, filthy tube station.
But, nonetheless, you can now build your campus in a new Facebook game lazily titled “Olympic Games City.” The game’s point is to build a city filled with athletic venues, attract fans and collect coins. With all the criticism the real London-based facilities are getting, one could build a better city during a rain-induced nap; but the game doesn’t make it easy to do that.
The Olympics-sponsored game, which is a clear knock-off of the more popular—and more fun—SimCity Social, is difficult to use and not very fun. Users just build roads and add desired venues (like a tourist information center or a sandwich shop) to collect points.
Interestingly, the game is sponsor-free, so you disappointingly can’t build the world’s largest virtual McDonald’s. It also encourages your friends to join in on the “fun”—but if you like your friends, send them a SimCity Social invite instead.
Uh, that’s really it, I guess. It’s really terrible. It’s hard to navigate around the screen, the sound effects are annoying and the orchestra music that plays on a loop sounds like it’s from a DVD welcome screen for a James Cameron movie (if Cameron had his band use a MIDI keyboard).
Judging by the game’s Facebook page, the Internet has given it the same reception London locals are giving the Games. There are fewer than 1,000 fans and not a lot of comments.
We’re only ten days away from the opening ceremonies, and the best way to catch the spirit is to play SimCity Social while listening to sound clips of Bob Costas from past Olympics.
Photo via Facebook
