Cities XXL trailer is adamant that size is everything

If you were disappointed by the size of SimCity's metropoli (metropolises?), your eyes are about to bulge from your head. And I mean that literally: the above teaser trailer has been known to cause eye-bulge, so watch it at your own risk. Cities XXL is the latest game from the folks that made Cities XL, and if that extra X didn't clue you in, it's aiming to renew its position as the "world's largest city builder".

"Cities XXL features low-level city management mechanics, such as local air and noise pollution levels illustrated with the new stream-lined UI, and beauty hot-spots suitable for holiday locations to supplement cash-flow. At citizen management level, you'll be able to track a person's route to work in order to best manage transport from sea, underground and over-ground rail, or air. Cut-down on traffic queues with the park and ride and buses, or even bike hire—reducing that carbon footprint!"

If, like me, you find the naming conventions of citybuilding games a tad confusing, know that Cities XXL bears no relation to Cities: Skylines, Colossal Order's similarly promising, but less embiggened, game of metropolitan management and building placement. Either way, fans of citybuilders are going to be spoilt for choice next year.

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.