Locomotion is a game designed and developed by the legendry Chris Sawyer the man behind the hugely successful Rollercoaster Tycoon. Locomotion is pushed as being the spiritual successor to Transport Tycoon. Transport Tycoon and Locomotion have a lot in common. The basic game play, interface and premise remain the same. Locomotion is basically a newly updated version of Transport Tycoon. Fans of the original will know how addictive it was and how many hours were spent playing the game.

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Game Play

Locomotion takes all the aspects which made Transport Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon such a success. The game has over 40 pre-designed scenarios which have a set objective to complete in a given timescale. The game plays exactly as Transport Tycoon did. Basically the game involves you building and creating transport links between cities, towns and industries using buses, trucks, airplanes, ships, trains and trams. Scenarios are set in different time periods ranging from 1900 to 2000 and are split into different difficulty categories so the game brings you in gently.

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The early scenarios can generally be completed rapidly and have no competition to hinder your progress. However as you get onto the harder scenarios you begin to compete against a number of other AI controlled competitors. The number of competitors varies with difficulty of the scenarios but can reach up to 14. Each scenario is set in one of three areas of the world, North American, British, or Alpine. As well as the built in scenarios you can create your own. As in Rollercoaster Tycoon, after a scenario has been completed it’s possible to carry on playing. As some of the early scenarios are so short and easy it’s nice to be able to continue if you get hooked one night.

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Building of roads and rail track is very similar to RCT in that you place each piece of track separately rather than the old Transport Tycoon way of dragging the track or road. While the new construction method is easy to follow and pick up the older method was much quicker when building long stretches of track or road. The main reasoning behind the change is down to the engine which is the same as Rollercoaster Tycoon.

Locomotion also introduces trams. These can be built as an alternative to buses and offer something new to those familiar with the games predecessor. The signalling in Locomotion has been enhanced to allow for a more realistic approach to railroad design. The game now features stop, caution and go signals

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While Locomotion isn’t such a great leap forwards from Transport Tycoon it still shines as one of the best transportation games currently available. Locomotion is very simple to pick up and offers a great deal of very addictive game play for all ages at all levels. It’s very easy to get carried away and end up spending all night every night playing. It’s easy to see why Chris Sawyer decided not to add too much new to the game because the original was so good. The need for some kind of logic to passenger travel should have been high on the developer’s new additions so it’s a shame it didn’t make it into the game. As in Transport Tycoon passengers don’t have a destination and will quite happily get off the first stop your bus or train stops at. This really affects the strategic element of the game but doesn’t detract from the games addictiveness.

The main problem with Locomotion is its dated feel. This is mainly because we have seen most of it before in Transport Tycoon. Locomotion isn’t really different enough to warrant the price tag. Those that own Transport Tycoon Deluxe may be disappointed with the lack of new features. Also the game suffers from the same annoying problems. Aircraft and buses still get stuck. At one point an aircraft had broken down and got stuck in the air with three other aircraft all rotating on the same spot. The save game feature isn’t very good either. If you work through the majority of the scenarios, save the games then reinstall the game another time the game still thinks you haven’t completed any of the Scenarios.

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Although Locomotion does offer some new and interesting features some have also been removed from the original Transport Tycoon. For example Depots are no more. Vehicles are directly placed. As vehicles get older their reliability goes down. This inevitably means after a few years you will need to replace your fleet. If you have a load of buses and trains the task of replacing your vehicles gets very tedious.

Locomotion does offer a multiplayer mode for two people to play against each other. This is great fun and probably one of the best features of the game. Once you have completed all the scenarios and thrashed the AI computer players it’s nice to be able to play against a friend. The only real limitation to this is the fact you can only play against one real opponent. It would have been nice to have games between 4 or even 8 players.

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Graphics

The graphics are very similar in style and detail as those from the original Transport Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon. However it would be cruel to say they haven’t improved. The level of detail in Locomotion is very high but look a little outdated now. It’s a crying shame the graphics couldn’t have been worked on. Ten years have passed since the original transport tycoon. Look at the difference ten years made on Doom 3 compared with the original Doom.

Even though the graphics aren’t first class 3D rendered they are functional and don’t interfere with the overall enjoyment of the game. Locomotion is based on great game play. The interface is very well designed and aids you in your construction rather than hinders. While graphics are important to most gamers while playing Locomotion you don’t really think about it as the game play is so addictive. While there is no night and day in Locomotion the trees and ground do change dependant upon seasons.

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Sound

The sound in Locomotion consists on background music which is appropriate for the time period the scenario is based upon. The amount of music available in the game is good. The sound effects in the game are pretty much identical to Transport Tycoon. The quality is exceptionally high and overall there is a good feeling of atmosphere which draws you in to the world of a transportation tycoon. Each vehicle in the game whether it be a train, bus or aircraft sound exactly as the real thing. This again helps draw you into a more believable world with familiar sounds.

Overall

Its evident Chris Sawyer has put an awful lot of effort into Locomotion on the interface, sound and game play. The game is a great improvement in many areas over the original Transport Tycoon, but in 2004 feels slightly dated which is mainly due to the graphics engine. The game play remains as addictive as ever and it’s hard to leave the game alone. The addition of new features is great to see, but removal of old valued features is not. Existing owners of Transport Tycoon Deluxe may be disappointed as the game is too similar. The relatively low spec and superb game play however should appeal to the majority of new generation transport genre fans.