Trainz
                   Demo downloaded from 
          www.gamesdomain.com/demos/demo/1605.html
           Official site at www.strategyfirst.com

                     Reviewed by Sue

If I'd been born a boy, I'd have asked Father Christmas to bring 
me a train set. It's something that's always fascinated me. When 
I was little, my friend Richard Downs used to take Eagle 
magazine and get the annuals for Christmas. One year, there 
was an article in the annual about building a train layout using 
sponge for the tree tops, and coloured sand for texture. I was
fascinated. When we went on holiday, I would make a bee-line 
for model railway displays. I also used to enjoy the old film
showing the London to Brighton line from inside the cab. 

So whenever I see a game about trains I have a go at it. Trainz 
is one for frustrated train drivers everywhere. The main Driver 
section comes in three parts.

First is Consist. Here you decide what train and carriages or 
hoppers you want. The demo only contains one British and one 
American train plus a few carriages plus full and empty hoppers.  
The current consist is displayed at the bottom of the screen. You 
can move the items round to change their order and save 
several consists for later recall. You can also have several 
consists on the same track. 

Second is Terrain. Only one map is provded with the demo. This 
is called Britain. It's a rolling country scene with a few stations, 
bridges and level crossings. 

Thrid is Settings. Here you can tweak features like the weather. 
Is it changeable? What time of day does the simulation start? 
How likely is it that a train will be derailed? When you're happy 
press the green button to start.

This launches the main screen where you see the train travel 
through the landscape. There are three views - inside the cab, 
chase view or tracking. While the train is moving you can also 
hit the Map button, switch points if you like, and follow its 
progress from above.

You need a fairly good machine to run the game adequately. My 
Athlon 800 just about coped until I put the weather to heavy 
snow and the detailed snow flakes made it a bit jerky. I also 
needed to use the Configure option on initial loading to tweak 
the settings and get it runnign in the first place.

But there's more. You can use Surveyor to create your own 
terrain. There are options to raise and lower the land, paint it, 
add buildings and plants etc and, of course, position the track. 
Several scale layouts are allowed. The full game has loads 
more options but this will give you a  good idea of what the 
program can do.

Finally My Collection lets you look in detail at all the rolling 
stock on offer.

A must for trainspotters everywhere.


 















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