Ever since its launch, SimCity has been generating headlines, and not always positive ones.

The game, which requires always online play, has infuriated gamers who purchased it on launch, as server issues have stopped many gamers from experiencing it. Issues first cropped up with the American launch, with EA stating these would be fixed for the European launch.

The same thing happened again though, with players struggling to start the game once it had installed. We tried on the hour for every hour over launch weekend and couldn’t get on at all (although it should be noted that our sister website Nowgamer was able to play for 20 hours in the same time frame with no problems. To make matters worse, EA began taking out key aspects of the game as it was fixing problems (although it should be pointed out that these have now been reinstated).

The debacle has reinforced people’s opinions of always online games and has caused further fallout within EA with its CEO, John Riccitiello, stepping down at the end of this month. EA were also made to look foolish when someone hacked the game so it could be played offline, after EA claimed this wasn’t possible. All in all there has been a lot of egg on EA’s face lately.

To make up for these recent issues, EA is offering a peace pipe in the form of a free game. If you register your copy of Sim City on Origin before the 25th of March you’ll receive the option to buy one of eight games: Battlefield 3, Bejeweled 3, Dead Space 3, Mass Effect 3, Medal Of Honor Warfighter, Need For Speed Most Wanted, Plants Vs Zombies and SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition.

It’s good to see EA stepping up to the plate and giving something back to the customers who have rewarded them with over 1 million sales of SimCity, but if the supposedly needed online authentication hadn’t been included in the first place this never would have happened. Still it’s certainly a step in the right direction and should help placate eary adopters of the game.

Electronic Arts, Trip Hawkins and Bill Budge lead Retro Gamer’s cover this month, but what’s inside?

If you’ve yet to pick up the latest issue of Retro Gamer then here is just some of the fabulous content you’re missing out on.

The Origin of Electronic Arts

Founder Trip Hawkins and influential ex EA staff reminisce about the fledging years of one of videogames biggest publishers.

The Making of Tempest

Arcade veteran Dave Theurer discuses the creation of his vector masterpiece.

The Never Ending STory

We explore the strengths and best games of Atari Corporation’s 16-bit computer, the Atari ST.

On the Trail of Mire Mare 

We investigate the mysteries surrounding the Sabreman sequel, and try to uncover if this mythical beast really existed. 

Also inside…

-          The Dungeon Masters – we speak to the team behind the influential RPG series.

-          Cheap As Chips – The Lion King

-          From The Archives – Image Works

-          Minority Report – Sword Of Destiny, GG Shinobi II and Astal

-          Future Classic – Jak And Daxter

-          History Of Controversial Games

-          The Making Of The Daley Thompson Series

-          Desert Island Disks Special – Most Chosen Games

-          Retrorevivals – Super Soccer, Dynamite Duke

-          Jim Bagley, Eugene Jarvis, John Romero, Iain Lee, Paul Davies and much, much more

Want a more in-depth peek at our content this month? Then take a look at Darran’s YouTube video.

EA has just announced that BioWAre is rebooting Richard Gariott’s Ultima franchise.

Ultima Forever: Quest For The Avatar has you returning to the popular series and playing as a fighter or mage. Little about the core gameplay has been currently revealed, but we are rather concerned that it will be using EA’s new Play 4 Free system, meaning that it’s unlikely to be a traditional RPG in the style of Bioware’s usual games.

Could this be EA making a new Facebook/Social media browser based game? Or will it be in the style of hits like Skyrim, or even Knights Of The Old Republic. EA and BioWare are keeping quiet at the moment, so it’s hard to know for sure. This isn’t the first time that EA has returned to the franchise, so it will certainly be interesting to see what Bioware’s involvement will actually be. Sign up for the Beta now to find out.

A brand new game based on the classic C64 hit M.U.L.E. has recently launched on fund-raising site Kickstarter.

Alpha Colony: A Tribute To M.U.L.E. will not only include a faithful remake of Electronic Arts’ popular C64 and NES game, but will also include a brand new iteration, that features trading mechanics popularised by the excellent gateway board game Settlers Of Catan.

The game itself is being planned for various iOS and Android devices, as well as PC, Linux and Mac versions. As with many Kickstarter projects there are a variety of perks to choose from, ranging from a digital copy of the game if you pledge $10, to creating your own race for use in the game and a developer credit if you pledge $5,000 or more.

The total fund needed is $500,000, and Alpha Colony has currently secured $36,082, meaning there’s quite a lot of work to be done over the next 20 days. We’re confident however that there’s enough love of there for the original game to ensure it days happen. Pledge now by visiting the website.