Cities XL 2011 is a city simulator developed by Focus Home Interactive

Focus Home Interactive

Focus Home Interactive is an independent publisher of computer games based near Paris, France. Founded in 1996, Focus has published and distributed original titles such as Blood Bowl, Sherlock Holmes, TrackMania and Runaway and sports games like Cycling Manager and Virtual Skipper.On June 25, 2010...

. Cities XL 2011 is the second game in the Cities XL franchise. The game focuses on a single-player mode, and was released on October 14, 2010. New features include more buildings and maps, improved public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

, an enhanced tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 system, and better trading

Trade

Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...

 options.

Development

The game was officially announced by Focus Home Interactive, who took over the game license when Monte Cristo

Monte Cristo (company)

Monte Cristo was a French computer game developer and publisher, based in Paris. It was established in 1995 by former Credit Suisse First Boston vice-president Jean-Marc de Fety and former Mars & Co strategy senior consultant Jean-Cristophe Marquis. The company was led by Jean-Christophe Marquis...

 shut down due to the poor sales of Cities XL

Cities XL

Cities XL is a city-building computer game developed by Monte Cristo, which has prior development experience in City Life. It was originally scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, but was eventually released on October 8, 2009...

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Reception

Cities XL 2011 received average reviews. IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 describes the game as "much like its predecessor, minus the multiplayer" and concludes that it "doesn't have much new to offer". The review did however praise the game's tutorial

Tutorial

A tutorial is one method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture; a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task....

 and graphics. GameZone

GameZone

GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...

 compared Cities XL 2011 to Civilization IV

Civilization IV

Sid Meier's Civilization IV is a turn-based strategy, 4X computer game released in 2005 and developed by lead designer Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and Meier's studio Firaxis Games. It is the fourth installment of the Civilization series...

 and concluded that "while the lack of a game-winning goal or story won't sit well with some players, it by no means disrupts the addictive nature of Cities XL 2011". Aggregate review websites give scores of 75.13% on GameRankings, and 70 (out of 100) on Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

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