EA and Maxis are aware that they dropped the ball pretty hard with SimCity’s infamously terrible launch, and they’re hoping they can get back into gamers’ good graces by giving away some free games.
Starting on March 20, SimCity users will be able to download one free game out of a selection of eight EA titles: Battlefield 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Plants vs Zombies, or SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition. In order to qualify for the offer, you must register your copy of SimCity with Origin before March 25th.
The selection of games that EA is giving away is pretty good: Battlefield 3 is still one of the better multiplayer FPS’s on PC, and despite what the internet may tell you, Dead Space 3 and Mass Effect 3 aren’t completely terrible games, either. I suppose you could also choose to download SimCity 4 and get your city-building fix with that classic while you wait for the new SimCity to get its act (or maybe just its servers) together. Oh, and one last recommendation — don’t pick Medal of Honor: Warfighter as your free download. It’ll probably just make you get even angrier about this whole situation.
Source: Polygon