Updated: SimCity purchasers can choose one of eight free games

Have you played SimCity yet? We know from Joaby's excellent review that he found it enjoyable, if flawed - and for what it's worth I had a lot of fun with it over the weekend too. Others have enjoyed it significantly less however, to which Joaby wrote an outstanding reply on Friday. Last week we learned that EA would give all SimCity owners a free game for their troubles during the game's sorry launch - and in an official blog post today they have announced what those games are.




If you were on the fence about SimCity until the additional second game pushed you over, you have until next Tuesday, 5:59PM EDT (6:59AM GMT) to register or buy a copy through Origin. The games you will have access to are:

• Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)


• Bejeweled 3


• Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)


• Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)


• MOHW (Standard Edition)


• NFS Most Wanted (Standard Edition)


• Plants vs. Zombies


• SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

The free games will be available to pick from in waves - unfortunately it seems we'll have to wait until Saturday at 11am EDT (Midnight GMT) before they roll out over here. You'll then have until 5:59PM EDT on Sunday March 31st to collect your free game. Update: If you log into/restart Origin now you should be able to access your free title.

Clearly if you want the most bang for your buck, Dead Space 3 is the way to go, with Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled 3 being utter lunacy. EA have you covered if you are angry SimCity was not a remastered version of the older games too, with SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition (which includes the Rush Hour expansion.) And of course, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3 and Need For Speed: Most Wanted are all great choices too. I'll probably go with Dead Space 3, because I like to feel like I am getting a bargain. Which one will you go with? Let us know in the comments below.