Facebook Game CityVille Heads Downtown

Cities expand, and so does CityVille, as developer Zynga rolled out an expansion to the Facebook game, CityVille Downtown, giving players more space to add buildings, as well as new premium businesses.

CityVille players who unlock the Downtown Portal will gain access to a 10-expansion-by-10-expansion area, as well as a free premium business in the form of an exclusive rooftop bar.

Other premium businesses include boutiques, wine bars, amphitheaters, stadiums, and skyscrapers, and new characters include Harry Hipster, Rebecca Realtor, Susie Shopaholic, and Frank the Commuter.

The Downtown Portal is only available to players at level 20 or higher who pay to unlock it, and Zynga said it is continuing to roll the option out to users.

Players who build out their CityVille Downtown areas will receive a Downtown Value score, which, in turns, leads to larger bonuses for their main cities.

CityVille General Manager Scott Koenigsberg told Mashable:

One of the big things our community has asked for is that they want to build more. People have spent so much time and energy playing that they don?t want to delete things off their game board. We?re pushing out a ton of new features.