A Train

Although it may be a great tool for budding engineers, A Train just doesn't roll with the same FunFactor of other sim games. The graphics are simple, with two-color plains to construct your railroad on, and the happy-go-lucky music isn't helpful. This game won't appeal to many, so rent it first. For better sim fun, try choo-choo-choosing another title, like Theme Park.

Sim-heads take note: Maxis, the whiz-kid-kid company behind such classics as SihCity, SimWorld and all the other SimGames out there is at it again. This time, the objective is simple: Become a business mogul by creating a huge railroad empire.

A-Train works the same as all other Maxis sims. You start with nothing and build Lay down track and buy up land to ensure you have the controlling interest in the area. As you grow, the town around you grows. Soon, if you're lucky, a bustling city will have developed around you.

This is a another fantastic sim from Haxis. All of the excitement of creating your own world is there. Careful planning and savvy business deals will ensure your success. Reap the benefits of smart decisions by seeing a wonderful metropolis expand around you. One of the cooler features in this game is a first-person, 3-D trip in one of your trains.

You can travel along one of your routes, check out the scenery and see how things are looking.

All in all, A-Train is an enjoyable game that, while not for everyone, will certainly appeal to fans of other Maxis tides.

Along the same lines as SimCity and Railroad Tycoon, A-Train allows you, the city's leader, to layout, design and build a civilization of your choice and manage its resources. Your job isn't as easy as it sounds, however. Many problems will arise that you will have to find solutions for. Balancing a budget, managing materials and keeping the population happy are just a few of the duties that will consume a good portion of your time. This is just some of the fun to be found in A-Train though.

Although the control will take a while to get used to, it is efficient and offers a quick interface to build structures of your choice. Common to sim games like this are the many menus that seem to dominate most of your decisionmaking time. They provide groups of selections that are cataloged in an organized manner. Some of the city structures include roads and train tracks as well as aquariums, churches and golf courses to keep the people happy at their new residences.

Graphically, A-Train is based on a one-square grid, object which is the smallest unit that you will be adding to your city. There will, however, be areas such as airports that will demand multiple grid squares touching each other for them to work properly. These tax your land supply and in some cases you will have to buy land from private land-owners in order to build your desired structure.

Graphically A-Train is superb. While a populated city consists of a lot of small details, when you go to a larger map to see the overall picture, the game is still visually sharp. This allows you to see exactly what is going on in any part of the town by simply scrolling to your land's borders.

If constructing the perfect civilization with your own balance of design and function appeals to you as a player, you will really get into A-Train. Be sure not to miss the opportunity to give this public transportation-based simulation a try.

CHANGING LOOKS

Most simulation games have a hard time adding that special feature which brings your newly created city to life. A-Train gives the player a visual indication of a constantly changing time of day that reflects the gameplay speed you have selected in the settings menu. Besides the darkening sky with the prominent city lights that come on after-hours, weather changes also occur, occasionally pouring rain on to your civilization and drenching its inhabitants day or night.

KICK BACK AND RID

While you have the ability to build and place railways and streets like in other sim games, in A-Train you also have the opportunity to go for a ride on your public transportation and view your city in the first-person perspective as your inhabitants do. This free ride on the busses and the trains lets you see how you have placed your structures aesthetically and how well they fit in with their surroundings. In addition, breaks in the railroad tracks that aren't connected can also be found when you take some time out of your busy building schedule and view the city from the residents' eyes. Tunnels, bridges and twisting tracks come alive as you follow their trails. Another unique feature is you can change your line of sight by using the keypad to orientate yourself in the direction you wish to look.