Railroad Tycoon returns in all but name as Sid Meier reinvents the series and business sims in general with completely real-time gameplay and surprisingly impressive graphics.
The lowdown:
This may be the latest in a long line of Railroad Tycoon games but it actually plays very differently from the slow paced turn-based games of old. Everything occurs in real-time as you race to compete one of the preset objectives from around the world and from the 19th century onwards. Starting with a single train depot in the middle of nowhere you have to build up your rail network until you control not just transport but all the industries connected to it. This becomes particularly important when you’re playing online against real players as you all compete to service the biggest cities and be first to take advantage of new technology. The premise may sound dull but the game itself will make a trainspotter of anyone.
Most exciting moment: As complex as the game may sound what makes it popular with ordinary gamers is that it’s actually extremely easy to play. Despite the influence you have on cities and factories you only ever actually lay down tracks and stations and the computer handles the rest automatically. It also helps that the graphics are really good for what initially sounds like a dull strategy game.
Since you ask: Sid Meier, the man behind Civilization, pretty much invented the business simulator with the original Railroad Tycoon in 1990. Developer Frixais, which Sid help to found is now owned by publisher Take-Two who also own the rights to the Railroad Tycoon name. Oddly the company decided not to reuse it for this revamp.
The bottom line: Sid Meier returns to the age of steam with the biggest train set ever made.
Product Features:
Real-time action laid track, route the trains, and the world comes to life. Easy to get started laying track is as easy as clicking and dragging. It's all about the trains! over 30 trains to use, from the primitive 0-4-0 Planet to the Super powerful 4-6-6-4 Challenger Loco Builder design your own steam engine from the ground up. We've got the goods over 20 different goods to harvest, produce, and sell. Something for everyone build your dream train layout in train table mode Multiplayer Ruthless real-time LAN and Internet play.
