Railroad Tycoon 3

Some say railroads were the backbone that countries across the world were built upon.  Without railroads, cities across great distances would have never been connected to each other.  Trade and the shipping industry could have never been as successful as they are without railroads.  With Railroad Tycoon 3, now you have the opportunity to see how well you can create and manage a railroad.  You decide if you want to maintain regional operations, or try connecting railroads across several states.  How big, how small and how successful you become are dependent on yourself.

The ultimate goal in Railroad Tycoon is learning how to manage a successful railroad company.  However, there’s more to running a railroad company then just having a train track connected between two cities.  How successful you become can depend on several areas: the cargo on the train, the number of passengers you have, and how appealing your train is to the passengers.  Learning how to manage these skills and at the same time becoming a savvy investor will help you become a true Railroad Tycoon.

The two predominate gameplay modes are Single Player and Multiplayer.  The Single Player mode included 16 scenarios that pit you against Railroad Tycoons of the past.  The different scenarios consist of different locations across the globe for you to build your empire.  Each scenario has three different goals: bronze, silver and gold.  Before you start each scenario, the computer explains the qualifications to reach the different goals.  For example, the qualification to earn the bronze goal is complete the scenario with ten million dollars in profit.  The silver goal would then be earned by having twenty five million dollars at the end of the scenario.  The gold prize would have a qualification of 50 million and your company as the sole surviving railroad.  The multiplayer mode allows you to compete against other players over the internet.  The goals for the multiplayer mode are much easier so you’re not bogged down with all of the details in the single player mode.

Other options available in the game are a tutorial mode, sandbox mode and map editor.  The tutorial mode offers players a short overview of how to play the game.  The tutorial mode consists of two different scenarios, one for building your railroads and another for the economics of the railroad industry.  The building scenario explains to you how to build a track, and what is needed for the different tracks.  The economics scenario offers an overview on how cargo, the stock market and bonds can impact your railroad business.  The tutorial mode is a great first step for a novice Railroad Tycoon player.  The sandbox mode allows you the opportunity to just build tracks.  You don’t have to worry about keeping your company profitable; you can focus on just building railroads for fun.  The map editor gives you the control to develop your own scenarios and maps.  Instead of worrying about the 16 scenarios included in the single player mode, now you can create your own scenarios with your own goals.

With the different assortment of gameplay options available in Railroad Tycoon 3, the biggest question then has to be “How does it play?”  Well the answer to this question is easy, “Great.”  Laying down tracks between the two cities is a breeze.  The interface offers descriptions as to each button you’re about to push, to avoid mistakes.  There is even an undo button to remove a track that you might have just laid down.  Once a track has been laid down, you then have to build a railroad station and purchase a train.  Once again this is a breeze to do.  Just click on a railroad station you can afford then pick a location near the railroad track to place the station.  It’s very important to choose a location that either covers most of the city you’re in, or covers the entire city.  After the stations are purchased, you then select which train to run on the track.  You start out a scenario with a few trains you can select from, with each train having its own ranking based on dependability, gas mileage, speed, etc.  After you’ve selected the train, then the game takes over for you.  You can then sit back and enjoy the view of your train running on your railroad track. 

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the different options you have control of during the game.  To be a successful tycoon, you’ll need to venture deeper into the controls.  You will need to decide what type of cargo or freight your train will haul from city to city.  Included in the game is the ability to determine which cities produce a specific cargo, and which cities are willing to purchase this cargo.  Supply and demand!  By giving an underdeveloped area access to coal, or steel, the amount the city will pay for the cargo increases.  It’s all about increasing the value of your railroad.  But you’re not limited to just the railroad, you can purchase other industries including anything from a milk farm, clothing warehouse, to a brewery.  If you don’t wish to purchase these other industries, you can then build your own hotels, restaurants and taverns near your railroads.  Remember it’s all about increasing your profits.

Increasing profits is the number one goal, but your survival also depends on the profits of the company.  You run the company, but there is a still a board of directors that have invested in the company.  They have the ultimate yes or no vote as to whether you stay on with the company.  If you run the company well, they will reward you with a raise.  If you run the company to the brink of bankruptcy, then you could be terminated.  This feature plays well during the game, but sometimes the comments from the board were strange.  Even if I increased the profits of the company by 25% to 30% from the previous year, the board would cut my pay.  But then the following year, with the same results, the board would be pleased and increase by salary. 

With all of the gameplay options listed, Railroad Tycoon 3 offers an entertaining package.  The excellent controls, detailed graphics and engaging scenarios should please almost anyone that loves a good game.

Gameplay 8.7 

Most simulation games can be difficult to understand, especially with the amount of gameplay options.  Railroad Tycoon 3 offers just as many options as other simulation games, but offers a solid, easy to use interface that doesn’t take away from the game.  No one should have a problem jumping in and learning how to build their own tracks, purchasing a train, and building their own railroad empire.  All of your choices can usually be done with just a few clicks of the mouse.  Once you have a train running on the track, you can either leave the train alone, or change a few settings for the train.  The settings will range from the amount of cargo to carry, upgrading the train to a better model, or increasing the routes the train travels.  All of these changes are easy to understand and easy to perform.  It’s all very simple to use and simple to understand, which helps tremendously with the gameplay.  Probably the only true complaint about the controls is when you have a large number of trains and tracks; it can be hard keeping up with changes you need to make.  But you can slow the speed down of the game so you have more time to see how well each train is performing. 

Graphics 8.6 

The graphics for your train, the tracks and the different cities in the game are impressive.  Each city has its own unique look and each geographic area is detailed with their own unique landscape.  For example, the Texas map has several dry wastelands type areas, while the Midwest and Eastern United State maps include lush trees and mountains.   You can also zoom in and out on the game play maps, with the graphics still remaining detailed.  You can zoom in almost over top of your train and see the details on the train, track and geographic areas.   Even with a large number of trains running on each map, the graphics always remained smooth and detailed.

Sound 8.0 

The sound effects for the trains come across very clear during the game.  You can tell the different between the sound of a train starting off from the station, to a train running at full speed on the track.  Each train also has it’s own whistle that you will hear throughout the game.  The best part of the sound effects for Railroad Tycoon 3 was the music that would play in the background.  All of the tracks are classic songs from the time period represented in each scenario.  The music adds to the overall mode of the game and is a true timepiece that helps you revert back to these long ago eras.

Difficulty Medium 

The game includes an option to change the difficulty from easy, normal and hard.  The difference between the settings determines how ruthless the computer will run his business and the wear and tear on the trains.  With the easy to use control system and tutorial mode, no one should have a problem with the difficulty.  One item that added to the difficulty was the lack of an in game status mode.  Sure the game gives you the goals for the scenario you’re playing.  But, if you select another mission or goal to achieve from the computer, during the scenario, it can be difficult remembering what the goal was about.  The game didn’t offer a way to track these additional goals that you had to complete.  If the game does offer a way to track these goals, I could not locate it.

Concept 8.8 

The concept of running your own train company isn’t new, especially since this is the third in the series of Railroad Tycoon games.  However the way the game plays and presents the different ideas in Railroad Tycoon 3 is impressive.  The fact that you will need to focus on other aspects of business, instead of the railroads, is an interesting idea.  Do you want to issue a bond to raise money to build more railroads?  What happens if you can’t repay the bond when it’s due?  Do you want to file for bankruptcy in hopes you can recover before the scenario ends?  After you’ve built a large railroad system, you can spend most of your time focusing on the business itself.  Try to diversify the company to see just how successful you can become.  Also a big bonus is the map editor that allows you to create your own scenarios and maps.  If you think you have a better idea for a scenario, give it a try with the map editor.

Multiplayer  8.0 

The game allows you to play against other Railroad Tycoon online.  Essentially the game plays similar to the offline version, but with different criteria for winning the game.  The different criteria were designed so you don’t have games lasting two or three day, which is how long one of the offline scenarios could take. You can either compete against someone over the internet or on a LAN setup.  Up to seven players can compete against each other during a game.  The servers weren’t too busy when I was logged on; there were maybe three or four people.  Entering multiplayer mode is a very easy and simple to use, just like the rest of the game. 

Overall 8.4 

Playing Railroad Tycoon 3 was a breath of fresh air compared to other simulation games.  The easy to use interface, excellent graphics, quality music, and wonderful gameplay adds up to an impressive gaming package.  The game even includes brief history lessons on how the railroad industry has changed throughout existence.  Each year a newspaper comes up with a new flash regarding the game.  Some of the news flashes are based on historic events that had a huge impact on the railroad industry.  The only minor issue with the game is the controls when you have a large number of trains to control.  Keeping track of your large empire can be a little confusing, but it’s something you will get used to.  Railroad Tycoon 3 is a great addition to anyone’s library and should please railroad and non-railroad fans alike.