Remember this saying: “Either the skis don’t go, or I’m a little crazy”? Well, I didn’t have a train. You succumb to traction – it does not go. You check all the levers, keys and indicators – it does not go. Again open and close the door – does not go. From desperation, you press with all your foolishness on the button to activate the locomotive whistle – it does not go. You look at the clock. Two minutes ago, I should have been at the next stop, but my locomotive has not yet moved from the previous station for a reason incomprehensible to anyone but the locomotive itself. You are terribly furious.
cursing Train Sim World with all available swear words and tearing the levers. And now, from the tenth attempt to catch up with traction, it turns out – the train moves from its place. Even when neither you nor your virtual passengers need it. You should not rejoice: after two, three, five, seven stops, sooner or later, the situation will repeat itself. Maybe I’m really a little crazy.
but this problem is relevant only for routes in Leipzig. In London and New York, everything works correctly: if the handles are set correctly, “pull” will mean pull. But the mood is already spoiled. And to such an extent that you don’t want to scold the game – you want to laugh at it. But first, let’s write Train Sim World seriously and, if possible, objectively.
The game from Dovetail Games contains not so much for the project at a price of 3600 rubles (on PS4): three real railways in Leipzig, London and New York and six no less real trains, four passenger and two freight models which I will not paint, so as not to clutter up the text. Actually simulation of routes and technical equipment of trains is the strongest part of Train Sim World.
The cabs of the locomotives are covered with sensors, knobs and buttons, all of which have their own purpose and can be pressed and felt. The bad news is that most of them the player will not need at all and they are not needed to complete the tasks. Simulation for the sake of simulation, with no practical value. Add-ons to the game, giving the gamer access to two more routes, may well hang a red attractive label “Horse price!”. Ask yourself in digital stores and envy the greed of Dovetail Games.
And what to do with three real-life routes and six no less real trains? There are two options: tasks (including tutorials) and “Trains” mode. Perhaps the tutorials look more interesting than the main missions: they introduce us to locomotives, and this is something like a short interactive railway encyclopedia. There are few main tasks (five to seven per route), and they all come down to two actions, depending on the type of train: transporting passengers to stations or exactly the same transport.
but cargo. We get experience for completing missions, but why we need it is a mystery. But the “Trains” mode is a local sandbox, but in its worst incarnation: you have to entertain yourself exclusively on your own. You can run on your own two feet, get on any train, tired of being a passenger – welcome to the driver’s seat, go wherever you want and at any speed. Or take pictures of a few sights. Collectibles are also scattered along the routes: shovels (!), railway signs and other junk. The best thing, if you don’t value your time at all, is to ride as a passenger on a virtual train, sitting as a real fifth point on the couch.
Promised about the mission: the developers tried to make the tasks a little more diverse than just a route from point A to point B with the necessary stops, but it turned out so-so. For example, in one of the tasks, you need to secure another driver, and you need to get to where he is stuck, but for this we first pass the passenger to the destination station (see the end of the previous paragraph). Or you are driving a freight train, but there is another train on the way – we run to manually switch the arrows. In general.
some little things that irritate rather than add zest. It does not happen here that you go to the desired station, but it is NOT. It does not happen that suddenly a thousand zombies appear on the platform, and you, the driver, will have to save humanity. You load the ghouls into the wagons, leave for the final one, block the doors, install atomic charges, activate them, and you yourself scamper on the wagon from the nuclear fungus. So…
…Train Sim World is nothing more than a content-poor driver simulator, whose work, in its essence, is not something from the “pure action” category, and therefore the game itself is unremarkable in terms of gameplay. Yes, when you understand some of the nuances, but still do not understand all the boredom of what is happening, it is even fun to drive the train, follow the schedule and keep the speed limit, but it quickly becomes boring.
Also because the action takes place in real time. For example, if you are ahead of schedule, then you will have to wait two or three minutes of REAL TIME before you are allowed to go further. What are these gaps to occupy? For example, I went out for a walk along the platform or watched the passengers – that is, again you entertain yourself. Here two girls in exactly the same clothes enter the car – well, I think they will definitely fight right now. Or I sit down with a group of passengers, and in it only Asians and blacks. It looks like refugees, because this is Germany after all.
And anyway, what the hell is a train travel simulator? Smoking is not allowed in the vestibule. It is impossible to thump with demobilizations. Bed linen is not delivered. It will not work to pester the conductor either – there are no conductors here. So here’s an idea for you, Dovetail Games: make a simulation of Russian railroads with the above attributes and introduce survival routes, similar to the 24-hour races in some parts of Gran Turismo. Moscow-Vorkuta, for example. And on the “platinum” – “Moscow-Vladivostok”. It would hardly have helped the game show good sales, but at least the hypothetical Train Sim World Russian Edition would have made it to the lists of the most avant-garde projects of the generation.
