Fun, but not the same as previous generations

The new SimCity Societies has much better graphics than previous generations, and it's based on a different playing format as well. You can place buildings where you like without having to zone an area first. Power plants can be placed wherever you like, and you no longer need to stretch power lines to zones or building. Road placement is more intuitive and easier, but a bit quirky at times - the software seems to want to place roads everywhere when you're simply trying to click and drag a straight line. I've encountered a few buggy episodes since I've gotten the software a week ago - it will suddenly lock up or boot me out all together. The autosave feature may or may not help you at this point, depending on when it last saved your game. I'm not sure what's causing this problem, but I'll write an updated review once (if) I discover the cause.
You may need to read the manual or play the tutorial first, because the rules for the previous incarnations of SimCity no longer apply here. There is a lot of information packed into the game, and you need to know where to look to get the most bang for your buck.
One of the features I miss is having pre-made cities for you to play with. I liked not having to start from scratch, but this software makes it fun anyway.