Reviewed: August 30, 2008
Reviewed by: Jeff Gedgaud
Publisher
Paradox Interactive
Developer
Auran
Released: June 10, 2008
Genre: Simulator
Players: 1
8
8
8
10
8.5
System Requirements:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Auran, makers of some great Train Simulators over the years, has compiled a collection of their best and most recent train simulators in one package, the Trainz: The Complete Collection. While not the most authentic or highest detailed even the older Trainz packages have a lot going for it with nice railroad simulations.
There are four or even more components to these railroad simulators that have a lot going for the railroad enthusiast in both operating trains and building your very own train layout. You can drive prebuilt train layouts and tool around in some of the old time steam locomotives or drive the latest maglev trains.
Let loose with your imagination and build your layout complete with all the rail yard pieces like roundhouses, switches and plenty of buildings. Paint your own train schemes on your locomotives, cars and passenger trains using the customizing solutions of the Trainz Paint Shed to create your very own train collection.
You can do a lot with the Trainz collection and it only takes a few minutes to load three complete sets of Trainz simulators. The collection includes Trainz, Trainz 2004 and Trainz 2006 with three sections to each game plus additional content only available through download previously.
The first section is the surveyor or your train layout builder that allows you to create your very own train layout. You start with the actual land and build everything from there including laying your track, roads, towns, animals and people.
While the first Trainz surveyor may not have all the graphics and better looking additions it is fun to work with a simpler and easier surveyor. You get a chance to not only to get an idea of what you’re doing but to create a simpler layout without all the work.
You can move on to the better surveyors in the other Trainz collections to add more features and better graphics for more complete and better train layouts. You can add features like train simulations of your own to drive and tasks to complete just like those included in the Drivers section.
The Drivers section allows you to take the controls of a train and run them around either premade layouts or ones you create. There are tutorials in each game so you learn about switching, train building or how to add cars on, and actually driving the trains.
With your driving you can use the automatic driving mode or do it the hard and realistic way by actually setting the switches and levers. This simulator will teach you how the real life trains operate to get the train to do what you want it to.
The games include over 50 driver scenarios from simple tutorials to complex tasks like delivering several loads of cargo or tidying up a rail yard that was left in chaos. The Drivers section is a fun way to learn about the railroads and what they used to do and what they still do today to keep our economy moving.
There is also a section of just driving and having fun with no set tasks to complete and gives you a fun chance to explore the layouts on your own. You can also add your layout to this section for some fun driving of trains or use the included interface that ties you into the community of Auran.
The Ultimate Trainz Collection has a lot of content that you would otherwise have to download from their site all in the DVD discs. The Ultimate Collection adds things that the company Auran or enthusiasts have added to their site like scenarios and locomotives, new scenery and objects.
While this whole collection is not anything new it adds all the best that Auran has put out in the past several years for a complete collection for railroad simulator enthusiasts. Trainz The Complete Collection is a three disc collection of the three games as well as additional content since the last game came out in 2006.
Graphics for the Trainz 2006 is just how I remember it with the previous versions being a little aged as you would expect. They still look pretty good and it is fun to play around with some of the older games because it gives you a good variety.
You of course will not be getting anything that is so very recent but the graphics and effects do look good with nice texturing and a good variety to all that a simulator would include. Nice effects include being able to use rain and lighting effects as well as thunder if you want on scenarios or driving sections.
The trains themselves are not only good looking but have good effects like the older steam ones with the smoke out of the smokestack and steam from the running gear. The environment is good but not totally realistic, water does need some work but it looks good overall.
Most of the sound for Trainz is related to the engines but you do get some other subdued sounds here and there like crossings. You can’t hear people or animals but the sound of trains is very realistic and true to surround sound; move the camera around the engine and the sound will move according to the view.
The sounds of an engine regardless of the type is realistic and very well done but that is about it for the sound, they left most other sounds out of this simulator. There are a few background noises other than those of the engines and cars as well as the related items for trains like crossings.
You do get some weather related sounds and ones from large objects like rivers and waterfalls but that is it, the rain and thunder do sound convincing though. The sound is all handled very well and with the surround sound being accurate I do give it high marks.
Driving the tutorials and other task based sections would take weeks of actually performing all there is to do but you don’t have to stop there. You also have the very well laid out and complete layouts you can toy with in surveyor to redesign some of the great scenarios or you can start your own.
The surveyor layout creator is fun to play with for any would be railroad layout builder and a fun way to design your own without getting your hands dirty. If you are ctually wanting to build your own layout for real in one of the scales like HO or N you can use the surveyor as a blue print designer.
There is a lot here and even more through the Auran website using the downloader and with user create objects from the community for easy sharing of your creations or theirs. Trainz The Complete Collection is a great way to get a lot of content in one simple package for any train simulator enthusiast.
If you have not looked at the Auran Trainz simulator before this collection is an easy way to get a complete set at a good price. If you do not have any of the Trainz simulators and are looking for the full package with a layout design program and the community interface as well The Complete Collection is what you need.
Auran has a pretty good train simulator and The Complete Collection is their three most recent games in one set for plenty of train simulation fun.