The game is won by prestige, not money, so as long
as you're earning prestige you're not necessarily hobbled when
you're in debt or bankrupt. Prestige accumulates as you build
landmark routes, lay rails, earn money, and transport cargo and
passengers. Since the bottom line isn't the bottom line, Rails
doesn't play like your typical economic sim; it has a flow all
its own and a snappy pace that doesn't bog down if you happen
to run low on cash. This isn't a game like Tropico that will suddenly
and rudely end if you're not playing well. Like SimTex's brilliant
conversion of Avalon Hill's 1830, Rails across America is a strategy
game you don't have to win to enjoy.
Although Rails only has a single map that can be
played freeform with variable starting conditions, but Flying
Labs has plans to include a number of scenarios in the game highlighting
historical moments in railroading. Rebuild the rail lines after
the Civil War, carefully manage your way through the Depression,
race to connect the two coasts, or struggle to adapt during the
conversion from steam to diesel engines. There are even some hypothetical
scenarios. What if the Civil War was a draw and two separate nations
were competing to expand into the West? Or what if the Mormons
in Utah had the financial backing to carve out a place in the
desert with their own railroad company?
The designers of Rails across America are two guys,
Paul Canniff and Russell Williams, who left Microsoft to form
their own company. 'From Microsoft?' you may ask, 'What do Microsoft
refugees know about games?' Interestingly enough, the last time
I wondered the same thing, it was about a fellow named Gabe Newell.
Rails across America isn't going to be any Half-Life, to be sure
-- this is a sophisticated strategy game that will probably have
a limited appeal -- but it does look like it'll be yet another
feather in Strategy First's crowded cap.
You can go to Strategy
First's download section to get the demo for Rails across
America.
Back to Early Hours
