Locomotion has big shoes to fill - It's the sequel to a game nearly 10 years old, that was the best game of its kind for a very long time. Following up such a great game is a hard thing to do, especially when all the core elements of gameplay have remained almost identical, and the graphics have only been slightly refined. So, let me start off with some of the cool features this game brings to the table. Locomotion has pretty graphics - while essentially the same as in older Tycoon games, they have been given a little polish, as well as a high range of resolution choices. Resolution range from 640 x 480 all the way up to 1600 x 1200. Color depth can be in 16 or 32 bit, and there are several levels of zoom, with customizable detail level. The only real addition to core gameplay since Transport Tycoon seems to be the ability to build tram cars and tracks, and heliports and helicopters. This is in addition to the previously available Trains, Busses, Trucks, Boats, and Planes. Of course, as in most games in the genre, you can customize your vehicles to maximize their effeciency. For instance, you can make a train with two passenger cars and a mail car, or, a train with 4 boxcars for goods and 2 flatbeds for lumber. Airplanes and boats can be refitted to transport whichever good you want, or passenger or mail. The game plays out as you and your competitors build up a transport empire. Generally, you begin picking parts in cities to be bus stops, and get a few busses going back and forth. You also usually start up a train going from one facility to another. As you bring in money, you continue with this process. The towns which you are importing and exporting goods from then start to grow rapidly, and you have to provide them with better passenger services. This continues almost infinitely, untill you have reached the goal of your current scenario. In general, this is a very fun system and it works well. But now for my complaints. The most important thing in Locomotion is building a network of train tracks and moving trains on them from point to point. There are several problems that arise in this system. Firstly, instead of dragging and dropping tracks like you would in Sim City or the original Transport Tycoon, you make tracks like you made coasters in Rollercoaster Tycoon. It can be very aggrivating at times, even though it does allow for more possibilities of tracks. Secondly, trains get confused very easily when there is more then 1 route they can follow, and placing signals or editing the route data for the train often doesnt help at all. It can take you as much as a half hour to design the apropriate track layout that doesnt confuse your trains. Lastly, your trains sometimes pick up loads you dont want them to. For example, i had a train going from a forest to a paper plant. The train was told to pick up lumber, drop it all off at the paper plant, and go back for more. Instead, the train loaded up on paper after it delivered the lumber, and then couldnt sell its cargo at the other station, and thus was nothing but a loss of money. In essence, this is a great game. After you figure everything out and get going, its a lot of fun. Hopefully a few patches will come out soon to fix some of the stupid problems the trains seem to have. It also might take you a while to be able to contend with your competitors - they're hard even on easy, as they can make the trains do everything right the first time. Is it worth the price tag? Yes. Im sure Locomotion will keep anyone interested in the genre busy for a very long time.
Other Helpful Reviews for Chris Sawyer's Locomotion
When I heard about Locomotion for the first time I was thrilled. WOW! Finally after almost 10 years Chris Sawyer made a successor to Transport Tycoon! Without hesitation I’ve downloaded the demo. When the main me... Read Full Review
I suspect that many fans of Transport Tycoon will be very disappointed in this game. I was a big fan of the original and really enjoyed the gameplay. I was only fustrated with Locomotion and did not enjoy the gameplay at... Read Full Review
