Metamoki或许曾对Zynga借《暴徒战争》推出《黑手党战争》（游戏邦注：这是迄今为止最成功的社交游戏）之举颇不认同。但通过自主开发游戏，来同游戏界的领头公司们相抗衡并非最佳战略。事实上这一战略只会令小工作室力量消耗殆尽。《CItyZen》是Metamoki最近刚推出的游戏，同时这也是公司推出的第二款游戏。这款游戏怎么看，都是《CityVille》的翻版。但《CItyZen》确有添加其他有趣的功能，如在盖房子和开建公司期间，玩家得在附近地区来回通勤。《CItyZen》缺少《CityVille》的众多功能，所以我们只能说这款游戏是个克隆作品。

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《CItyZen》没有虚拟商品，侧重房屋和企业的均匀分布。游戏并没有足够的新鲜元素，将其与《CityVille》区分开来。如果玩家有玩《CityVille》，那么体验《CItyZen》纯粹是习惯使然。玩家得盖房子、建公司，以便实现创造繁华都市的目标。然而每家公司都是由当地住户直接管理的，玩家只要将公司的雇员分配到位，那么公司就会自动盈利。游戏邦发现，公司只要覆盖至雇员所住区域，就可获得当地住户提供的生产奖金。这是《CItyZen》最有趣的游戏机制，该机制添加了少许的现实主义元素，这颇值得Zynga借鉴学习。

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当然玩家也是受限于能量（Energy），他们可以拜访朋友，给朋友奖励。和《CityVille》一样，玩家可以参照现实生活中的纪念碑在游戏中创建地标（Landmarks）。但是和《CityVille》玩家得不断邀请朋友到家中作客不同，《CItyZen》玩家可以通过聘请朋友管理自己的公司，从而邀请朋友参观自己的城市。这样一来公司可以提高自己的生产力，这一比例高达25%，双方均可获得5000美元的奖金。但这里也存在一个陷阱：如果朋友没有每天拜访你的城市，他们将会马上被解雇。游戏邦认为，虽然这款游戏并不像《CityVille》的Franchise系统一样具有扩展性，但其仍旧是款独一无二的游戏。

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虽然Metamoki试图让《CItyZen》走出竞争对手的阴影，但这款无疑是将矛头直指Zynga和《CityVille》的。如果说有什么东西是值得开发商借鉴的，那就是要避开竞争对手的优势之处。这对于整个行业的发展也徒劳无益。游戏邦认为，模仿是最好的奉承方式，但却非最佳趣味所在。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

CityZen on Facebook: A CityVille clone joins the march

Look, Metamoki, we know you felt burned when Zynga took Mob Wars and spun it into Mafia Wars, one of the most successful social games to date. (And rightfully so.) But trying to beat the bigwigs at their own game is not the best route to a come back. In fact, it works to your detriment. CityZen is the second and latest game to come from Metamoki, and upon first, second and third glance it is an attempt to copy emulate CityVille. CityZen does introduce some interesting features like commute proximity when building homes and businesses, but its lack of features found in CityVille only emphasizes that this game is a clone.

Aside from the omission of Goods and focus on even distribution of homes and businesses, CityZen doesn’t do much else to differentiate itself from its more established … inspiration. If you’ve played CityVille, this game will come as second nature. Players must build businesses and homes in conjunction to create a thriving city. However, every business is directly employed by the population that each home provides–a business will generate money automatically after its employees are assigned. Each business covers an area in which, if homes are placed there, employees from those homes will provide a production bonus. This is the most interesting mechanic in CityZen because it adds a thin layer of realism, and it’s something Zynga can learn a great deal from. In fact, the company is probably working on an “adaptation” of it as we speak.

Of course, players are governed by Energy and can visit their friends to provide bonuses. You can even build Landmarks inspired by real-life monuments–just like in CityVille. But instead of requiring players to fill the staff of their buildings with friends, CityZen gives you the option of introducing players into your city through hiring them as managers. This will increase your business’s productivity by a whopping 25 percent and score both of you $5 thousand. Yet there is always a catch: If your friend doesn’t visit your city every day, they’ll be fired immediately. It’s not as expansive as even the broken Franchise system in CityVille, but it is unique nonetheless.

Despite the few attempts that Metamoki makes to stand CityZen outside of its competitor’s shadow, this game can’t help but be seen as a direct, almost vindictive response to Zynga and CityVille. If there is one thing developers seem to have learned–or we hope will learn soon–it’s that trying to beat the competition at exactly what it does best will get you nowhere. Not to mention it will do nothing to move the industry forward. Imitation may be the finest form of flattery, but it’s far from the finest form of fun.（Source：Games.com）