From the opening of the American west to steadfast reliability of British Rail or the speed of modern bullet trains, for nearly 200 years railroads have captured the hearts and minds of thousands.When I was asked to go and look at Microsofts Train Simulator, the very words filled me with a kind of quiet dread.How could anyone think about taking a form of transport that is fundamentally boring in the first place, and actually try to simulate that boredom.Alternatively, you can just take a passengers eye view and spend the time admiring the digital scenery.
This puts you in the driving seat on routes such as The Flying Scotsman from Settle to Carlisle in the 1920s, or a modern-day freight train through the Rocky Mountains. Each train requires a different style of driving, from extending the flange valve and cranking up the ratchet handle on the steam locomotives (which will undoubtedly be the games strongest selling point), to the random button pushing and dial watching involved in manipulating the current electric beasts. Train 2012 Plus Terraform AndThis will allow you to create your own rail routes and locomotives, plus terraform and decorate the landscape to suit your whims. Expect to see new routes, locomotives, landscapes and buildings, spreading like Internet wildfire after the games release this spring. But lets hope it stops there; a couple of years from now I dont want to be previewing Caravan Sim -all the thrills and spills of open-road caravanning from the comfort of your bedroom. I eagerly awaited its arrival for many months, but always had a concern about a game on rails. Would it be too limiting After playing it now non-stop for the past three days, I can assure you it is not. I have rescued a stranded passenger train, hauled goods through the night in a snow blizzard, shunted cargo cars through a massive network of junctions and sidings, and at one stage lost control of the train on a steep hill and smashed into a buffer at 50mph. Personally, love it and have been playing it for more than a week. Its a really entrancing and relaxing game, and I think you were absolutely spot on with your review. Many thanks for not marking it down simply because of its theme. Its that sort of impartiality that makes me read your magazine above any others. When you think about it, though, its not really all that strange. Just take a look at the success of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000, in which you get to pilot a plane from one airport to the next (In real time), during which your most dangerous obstacle is the occasional stray pigeon, and youll understand what Im getting at. To a certain extent we all try to live out some of our dreams through games. Our very own Chris Anderson, gets to fulfil his boyhood fantasy of being an all-powerful bearded necromancer with a pointy hat and a ridiculous beard every time he plays EverQuest, while Rhianna regularly indulges her sadistic desires by torturing pixies in Dungeon Keeper 2. Then theres Steve Hills well-documented obsession with Championship Manager. The same thing can apply to Microsoft Train Simulator, well sort of anyway.
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