The Wargamer

Introduction, Presentation, and Plot

Sometimes sequels arrive and though they share the namesake, they seem a much different game than the original. That was how Railroad Tycoon 2 seemed to me when it was released (see our review), in that it was a fine, fun game but didn't evoke the same kind of thoughts and play that the original Railroad Tycoon (and Deluxe) brought. I brought that same mindset into playing Railroad Tycoon 3 and instead was surprised to find myself making very favorable comparisons to Railroad Tycoon Deluxe (which I still have on my hard drive and occasionally play).

Installation & Technical Issues

Continuing the trend for all the PopTop games I have played, there were no installation issues. The hard drive footprint of the game is a little over 1 GB. The only glitch I found was during the first playing of the introductory cutscene, when it halted approximately ¾ of the way through. It ran fine after I restarted the program, so I suspect it was only a glitch on my system.

Documentation

The documentation is comparable to most currently published games as the manual is the typical 'fit in the CD box' variety, but still does a solid job of covering the basics. It details the specific tabs of information and what kind of information or actions that can be accomplished from each. Combined with the two-part tutorial, it is very easy for someone unfamiliar with the game system to quickly learn the basics. The tutorial is broken into actual railroad construction along with the financial manipulation of the gamer's railroad empire and is an excellent walkthrough for those unfamiliar with the game. It can also assist experienced players in understanding some of the changes in the economic aspects. However, I discovered one problem with the tutorial: when moving through it- if you happen to click into an area that wasn't intended or happen to open up a different tab- you wind up stuck in that spot. The reason is that the tutorial doesn't recognize the go back/close buttons for any of the unintended menus.

Graphics and Sound

The mournful whistle cut through the chilly mountain air as the train surged out of the tunnel and on to the bridge spanning the narrow valley. It sounded and looked like many of the westerns I grew up watching, but this time I was viewing the Avalanche Express chug its way through the Rocky Mountains in Railroad Tycoon 3.

The graphics overhaul offers an impressive improvement to the overall look of the game. The fully zoomed details are excellent for the trains themselves and the city structures, but the trees lose a bit of their luster when down close and look better from above. The terrain retains its features whether viewed low or high. The scalable graphics engine deserves recognition for its ability to tailor itself to a wide variety of PCs - from the top of the line to the old and slow - without a significant loss in displaying the game. One concession to this scaling appears to be that cities are limited to a few scattered buildings. That is certainly a forgivable choice given the detail of the buildings. An element that sneaks into most PopTop games is their subtle humor. I enjoyed the fully zoomed out view shaking and the wind howling - as it might if looking down from the top of an exposed mountain peak.

Unfortunately, there still are a few graphic elements and choices that pose as drawbacks to the game. For instance, a day/night cycle in a strategic game where the timeline is measured by months seems ludicrous. The only plausible explanation for this might be to showcase the sunrise/sunset scenery when zoomed down to the train level. The same reasoning seems to apply to the rain and flashing lightning. While these are undeniably attractive, they fail to fit with the game's scope, focus and presentation. The night cycle actually detracts from play, because even with the lighter gamma setting available, it remains difficult to see the ground level without zooming down to very near the terrain.

Another problem I encountered might be directly related to my PC, but nevertheless I found the interface buttons to be somewhat fuzzy. They don't appear in the sharp detail that I was used to seeing in Railroad Tycoon 2 and this made it difficult to quickly determine what buttons I needed. However, after practice this became only a minor problem, but it did contribute to a slightly higher learning curve. I suspect higher end PCs or those with better graphic cards than mine may not encounter this problem.

The sounds and music in the game are superb. Unlike most games, I left the music playing after the initial exposure as it does an excellent job of highlighting and enhancing the atmosphere of Railroad Tycoon 3. The sounds alert the gamer to specific events as they occur like the distinctive train whistles that help keep track of what the trains are accomplishing.