Railroad Tycoon 2 Gold

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Meticulously detailed trains and buildings might make Railroad Tycoon 2 Gold look like a simulation aimed at model railroad aficionados, but don't be fooled. The real heart of the game is its detailed business simulation of 19th and 20th century railroad empires. At the beginning of a scenario or campaign you form a railroad company, and it then becomes your job to meet the expectations of your shareholders by supplying the goods and services demanded by the game's cities and industries.

It isn't easy. Those pretty trains chugging across the bucolic landscape have to be maintained, repaired, and replaced regularly or you run the risk of experiencing an expensive breakdown or crash. As the years tick by you must also adapt to historical demands. New industries spring up while others become less important. The passenger and mail routes that generate so much cash at the beginning of the game don't even cover your expenses once the automobile steals the show. The availability of new trains (the game models over 60), the fact that demands wax and wane over time, and the inclusion of a fully functioning stock market simulation that allows for hostile takeovers add up to a game where players always have something to do.

This Gold version of the game includes both the original Railroad Tycoon 2 and the expansion pack Railroad Tycoon 2: The Second Century along with 12 bonus scenarios and an electronic version of the strategy guide. It's enough to keep fans of business simulations and strategy games occupied for months. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Accurate yet fun business elements
• Always something to do
• Nice graphics and a terrific blues soundtrack

Cons:

• Micromanaging cargoes may be too tedious for casual gamers

Railroad Tycoon 2: Gold Edition includes the blockbuster strategy-simulation hit Railroad Tycoon 2, the acclaimed expansion pack Railroad Tycoon 2: The Second Century, 12 new scenarios created by the PopTop design crew, and the Official Railroad Tycoon 2 Strategy Guide in electronic format (HTML). Now with Railroad Tycoon 2: Gold Edition, players will find themselves immersed in several new ventures, including the construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad through the Appalachians. Gamers are also challenged to connect New York to Los Angeles--using futuristic, magnetically levitating transcontinental railroads--and rekindle Scottish pride by laying the tracks for the Flying Scotsman from Edinburgh to London.