PC, Reviews

Review: Railworks 2: Train Simulator

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One genre of games that has been ignored since the advent of console gaming has been the vehicle simulation game.   Long gone are the days that Microsoft Flight Simulator was a top selling game.  It is good thing that simulation games still exist on the PC and Railworks 2: Train Simulator is one of the better simulation games I’ve played.  When a simulation is both fun and a good representation of the craft it is simulating it deserves praise and this game manages to do to that.

As far as gameplay is concerned, there isn’t a lot to do beyond getting your train from point A to point B but this lies well within expectation.  Like a good simulation game should, Railworks 2 focuses on the controls for the train and they did something both interesting and smart.  They have two different control schemes to choose from when you start your route and those are simplified and normal controls.  In simplified mode you only have to worry about 3 things, acceleration, brake and direction.  After that the train does everything on its own.  This simplified control scheme makes this game accessible to everyone but there still exists the normal control scheme for people that want to take things to the next level.  Either way I was impressed with the control options available to both new and old players and I think it allows this game to appeal to the masses beyond train enthusiasts.

The game has a fair selection of trains to choose from including electric, diesel and steam powered trains.  I am not a train enthusiast myself but I found it interesting how different each train type was.  Steam powered trains took a long time to get going once you came to a stand still while electric trains were very quick to accelerate.  It is thelittle nuances that train enthusiasts will come to appreciate most and I believe that this game will greatly appeal to that audience.  From the stations to the signals it looks and feels accurate and anyone that’s ever taken the train will see lots of familiar sights.  Even the scenery itself seems to be an accurate representation of rural and urban Germany, where all the routes take place.

Unfortunately the game does have some flaws that I should point out.  The graphics engine on this game is a little under-powered for what they were designing.  More often than not textures will pop in and out depending on the view you take and is most noticeable when you take the viewpoint of a pedestrian on the side of the tracks.  You’ll get the basic shape of what is there but it takes a few seconds to see the textures but by that point the train has moved forward and you have to take a new vantage point.  Even when the textures do pop in, they aren’t as crisp and clean as I would hope for.  I also noticed that there were a number of lengthy load times when loading or restarting a route.  Load times are expected when taking those actions but these load times get up between 30 seconds and a minute which seems lengthy.  Lastly I would have liked to see a little variation of locations.  All the locations available from the retail box take place in Germany and it would have been nice to see some systems from other areas in the world.  You can purchase DLC packs with other locations but a little variety on the retail disc would have been nice.

All in all Railworks 2: Train Simulator is a solid game.  It is also worth mentioning that anyone that purchases Railworks 2 will get a free upgrade to the next version of the game, Train Simulator 2012, due out at the end of this month.  I, for one, am excited to see what they added and upgraded.  For the time being, Railworks 2 will give you a good train simulation experience whether your interest is a passing one or for those that are passionate about the hobby.  I found the game to be quite approachable and I would definitely recommend this for anyone with an interest in trains or for those that want to mess around with a quality simulation title.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 


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