On a practical level, the map sizes justify the construction of lengthy and lucrative train lines between fare zones. It's also a roomier world, with maps four times larger than we saw in 2011. Those of us in the United States aren't so accustomed to Cities in Motion 2's European vocabulary of trams, water buses, and metros, but seeing them in action quickly gets the point across. Other little details add spice to the faded palette, such as the way fire trucks plow through red lights or the way you can hear the wind rustling through the trees and the water lapping on the shore when you zoom in on a lakeside forest. But it'd be wrong to deny that there's beauty here as well.Zoom in all the way to street level, and you can follow individual citizens (known here as "Cims," humorously enough) going about their daily commutes to gain clues as to where you'll need a new bus or tram stop. In the first few hours, even the streets and sidewalks are largely empty of pedestrians, and significant traffic and the combined effect of this initial desolation and an earthy color palette that would look at home in Fallout 3 is not unlike watching a flyover of Pyongyang, North Korea.
Paradoxically, this look has made it seem like an older game. Gone, for instance, is the colorful and seemingly hand-drawn art style that graced the original in its place, developer Colossal Order has carpeted the sequel with drab, blocky cityscapes that sacrifice personality for greater realism. Indeed, it sometimes feels less like a game than some staid city-planning simulator tool at the city hall of a major metropolis.
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