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Best Ever Business Sim

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: January 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a great business sim involving realistic issues of supply and demand, investment, the stock market, etc. Much better than games like Capitalism or Startup (that one's probably out of print).

I also like it better than Tropico because there are victory conditions. You know whether you did well or not in Railroad Tycoon and you can work to improve your performance. In Tropico, as good an economic sim as it is, too often you feel like the game just ended without any particular success or failure.

And aside from the business sim issues, the railroads and historical context make it fun on another level.

It is not, however, for kids (as one reviewer suggested). The stock market element and the semi-complicated supply and demand issues would be way too complicated for even a nine year old.

Stick with RR Tycoon 2, This Version Sucks.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: May 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm a BIG fan of the Railroad Tycoon franchise, having played all versions since and including the original RRT. I have spent many hours crafting railroad empires, accumulating vast fortunes and scheming to drive rivals into bankruptcy. It was therefore with much anticipation that I purchased version 3 and man was I ever disappointed! Graphically, it's a beautiful game. But it seems to me that gameplay was sacrificed for the sake of lovely pictures. It simply isn't as much fun to play version 3 as it is version 2.

To be fair, I haven't played it all that much because I find the interface more difficult to use than RRT2. Maybe it will grow on me over time and, if so, I'll be happy to return and modify this review. But for now, I'm sticking with RRT2 as my game of choice over this one.

WARNING! Copy Protection Scheme prevents installation

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 34 / 57
Date: November 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The copy protection prevents installation on my machine. I am not alone. I have also read that there are problems for people who are able to get the program installed. I understand the problems with Piracy, but to put down big $ for a game that won't install is the worst.

Fun but not as indepth as I would have liked

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 23
Date: March 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I prefer more complex games that keep my attention for long periods of time.

The game is entertaining and runs smoothly on my computer. I have yet to have a problem with bugs.

Here are problems that I have with the game:

1) Can't specify hauling multiple loads.. can only be one commodity so if I'm hauling things to my factory which requires more than one input commodity.. it takes a few runs.

2) The AI of the competition is awful. They jam up the tracks with a ton of their own trains so that you have to disconnect from their track and lay your own with your own stations just so get your trains through.

3) There needs to be more overview information. I don't like playing a game where I have to keep paper nearby to make a list of where the demand is headed. The game requires a bit of guesswork as well.. I wish it would tell you what cargo will be given first priority when it comes to loading your train. This is probably my biggest complaint.

4) Overly simplistic business aspect. A little more depth would have added a lot.

Overall the game is entertaining and I played it a couple of weeks before I became bored with it. I would recommend someone to buy it.. but perhaps not pay full price.

gooses review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: June 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game does the railroad industry great justice. The original railroad tycoon was made sometime in the mid 1980s which shows that this series actually made a name for itself being older than any tycoon game I know of. People who like to look at trains or moddel train sets will probably like this game a lot. Also those people who like railroad museums will like this game as long as they know how to use a computer even if they don't like playing games on it. After playing railroad tycoon 2 this game was hard to get used to. The 3d look made it hard for me to get a grasp on the playing field and some things dissapear when you zoom out on the map. If you never played the first or second railroad tycoon game and you have good vision theres no problem with that. Probably the most important thing about this game is that its the only one you can find exciting that also has trains in it. Another important thing to note is the nastalgic single player campaigne. People who study American history knows that this nation was built on the back of the "iron horse" and this game gives you a unique insight into this pivatol factor in the progression of the world in the 1800s to about 1950.

Repeats all the mistakes of version 2 and adds more.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 18
Date: June 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Having logged hundreds of hours playing previous Railroad Tycoon games I couldn't wait to get the latest. Unfortunately I was greatly disappointed on several levels. It fixes none of the problems with RR Tycoon 2 and adds a bunch more. If you want a real railroad feeling or care anything about real trains get the original Railroad Tycoon or Railroad Tycoon 2. They are both better that this version.

1. From a gaming perspective it has been dumbed down greatly so one doesn't even have to think about proper cargo routing. Just throw trains in between the towns and the cargo will ship itself.
2. The track laying routines remove all hope of getting really good routes. The new 3D interface might be great for looking at pictures but not for engineering a railroad. The words that indicate the amount of money a particular segment will cost is always exactly in the way of where one needs to see. Routes will get laid in that don't really connect, which you can't tell until you try to put a train between those two towns. Even double tracking doesn't just overlay the single line but tries to relay it. Then the track removal code is buggy. Remove the wrong piece and the whole game crashes.
4. From a railroad perspective the game is clueless. Even the introduction mixes American style locomotives and track with European style "bumper" cargo cars. Anyone who knows about real locomotives will be disappointed with the performance and beauty characteristics assigned by the game designers.

The only good think I can say about the game is that it has better graphics for people who like looking at cartoons of bogus trains.

More fun than RT2 and it's 3D now

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

They have taken a lot of the busywork out of the game. You spend more time working on your routes than trying to micromanage the cars. You can manage down to the car level if you wish but game does pretty good job of matching up cargos. You can set the min/max cars per train per station. Overall play is pretty similar to II. 3D effects are really good, you can zoom down right into the trees and buildings. Great new feature, you can click on a train and ride along. Great to have a birds eye view of your train as it rolls. Worth the price of game by itself. I have spent quite a bit of time just watching... and not tending to the game. I think it is a solid improvement over RT2. Be careful, it's addicting.

Amazing Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: August 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is an amazing game. It one of the best tycoon games ever made. There is an accurate and easy-to-read budget with all factors taken into consideration. I like how you can put trains on auto-consist, so they pick up whatever will make money. However, if you have too many trains, it slows down your computer gameplay, like it does on my 128 Ram comp. There are many fun maps and scenarios to play. Supply, demand, price, competition, and other things are fun to manage. There are informative maps that show the supply and demand of certain products and the prices, so you can decide where to run trains to make a lot of money. However, you don't have to only run trains, you can buy industries, farms, and ranches, making them even more profitable by running products to and from them with trains. Stocks, bonds, profitability, controlling expenses versus income and other things make this game amazingly realistic and makes a unique challenge at any hardness level to be the ultimate tycoon. Also, there are no rules to regulate you from using underhanded maneuvers to stab your opponents and fellow tycoons in the back, or take over, or become chairman of their company. The graphics aren't great, but this is an amazing game and I would strongly recommend it for anyone who likes tycoon games.

Railroad Tycoon 4

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: May 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It's clear that PopTop was trying not to "screw up" all the fan loyalty they'd built with RRT2. And I agree with everything written so far concerning graphics, etc. - that part is just great.

PopTop was also trying to take the obvious elements out of business sim play. Let's face it: business sims are sort of at a crossroads right now. I love 'em - I've played business sims since RRT1 in the early 90s, or even "Utopia" on Intellivision (giving my age away). Given the fascination with business sims, how many elements can be programmed:

1. Starting conditions: resources and constraints
2. Gameplay rules, varied to make gameplay interesting
3. Random environmental events
4. Opposing AI play

The designer has to make these things "seem" realistic and yet not frustrate players trying to climb a learning curve.

In that regard, RRT3 has done very, very well.

Rise of Rails

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: June 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have played this game for a long time, since it came out several years ago. This game is all kinds of fun, from I would say early to mid teens to adults. The detail of this game is amazing, immersive and generally intuitive. The control system is quick to master and the options leave the ability to pretty much do whatever you want with your tracks if you have the money to do it.

The core of this game is the historical gameplay ranging from the very birth of railways to the future in some scenarios. Maps range across the world and are realistic, with high Alps, long low plains and oceans and rivers to be bridged. As far as business goes this points out the days of cut throat business before pesky anti-trust and monopoly laws. This is a game where you are encouraged to destroy your competition and drive them into the poor house. Its as close as you can come to pulling the still beating heart of your enemy from his chest in a E-Rated game. The music is enjoyable mostly and the sound and visual effects are truely beautiful, with lapping waves, smoke from smoke stacks and fruit on trees. The effects can be turned down of course to let your computer run more smoothly.

The game originally was slightly bug ridden, not terrible, but frustrating, fortunately the Coast to Coast Free Expansion from the manufacturer solves many crashing issues as well as including a huge number of new maps, scenarios and even some trains, including some Soviet ones, which is pretty amazing.

Buy this game, try it out, play the life out of it, conquer your competition and sit back with a quiet smile knowing that you have just been put on par with the Big 4 and other great railroad tycoons.

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