Is the first game good? I hear it a lot but not play yet
I'm really fond of it. The ambiance is great, and the story mode really captures the dread of an apocalyptic setting. Like any other city-building game, the learning curve is a bit steep, but nothing too insane or difficult to grasp. My only criticism of the gameplay is that the original doesn't seem to encourage different ways to build your city, at least not for me since I always leaned towards the most efficient method.