Railroad Tycoon II

"Sweet think!"

(First forgive my grammar and spelling. I'm not great with the key board but I'm ok and I do try to edit)

I love thinking games and simulations. And that whats what this is all about. Build your own rail system through hundreds of real places and build it right. I know it sounds cliche but it's actually very addicting and informative.

Plot: 10/10
The other reviews say its a classic tycoon plot but its not. The plot differs from level to level. Sometimes tour connecting two towns within a time period others your company needs to make money to beat a competitor. Its addicting because it's hard sometimes and you get sorta mocked for failing which makes you want to try again.

Graphics:8/10
When you're looking at a computer made map it actually looks 95% like an actual geographic map. Everything is in the right place and you can easily distinguish landmarks. (Real rivers, lakes, mountains, etc;) You can't really see your rails but you shouldn't be looking at them from there.... When you zoom in you can see great graphic on your trains, cars, buildings, etc. The only bad thing is that when a train goes up or down a grade or around a turn the cars bunch up or sorta go off track.

Sound:10/10
When you start playing you see actual footage (well mostly) of trains with great sound. After that on all the menus there is the voice of an old man who helps you out. And after you start a level there oldies music to listen to. When you hover over buildings you hear whats going on in them. (e.g. When you hover over the barracks you hears soldier) When you hover over the ocean you hear like the roar of water on the rocks. Very good sound. (this isn't really sound) Since the game is small you can also play your own music and it wont bog down the computer.

Controls:9/10
The controls are easy enough to use. Basic click and drag or type a label. The annoying part is that in freestyle rail dropping it goes all funny on detail work. It's easily canceled but rather annoying when your on a time limit. You can choose the speed of time in the game (0-10) which I use a lot. It's also easy enough to choose routes and trains.

Replay:10/10
Every time you open the same map its different. the building are moved around so it's impossible to have the same setup and actually 'beat the game' just get all gold medals. And even if you complete the levels given there is an editor to make a new level. (OH OH OH look at the screen shots on gamespot.com. There is a pic of and algebra book thats actually a custom map.) Thats all fun and the games never ending unless use cheats then it gets boring.

Overall:9/10
Its a thinkers game. and a patient one at that. You should really make sure you have at least an hour to devote to a couple of level. Unless you want an action game. Then devote about 15 seconds to not even trying this game. Good game, good sound, decent graphics. all round good.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/27/06