Transport Fever 2 is a celebration of the value that transport networks bring populations. It is a “builder” simulator, but similar to the likes of the classic Transport Tycoon and A-Train, you don’t build the building directly. You build the road, train, ship and air transport networks that the cities then grow around.
Build well, and bring the cities the resources that they’re looking for, and the cities will grow rapidly. Furthermore, build good transport networks, with road vehicles and trains to link cities together, and watch as the entire region’s wealth grows. As that happens, so does the wealth of your business. I frequently joke about how I want to send Australia’s politicians a copy of these transport games, because they desperately need to figure out the value of public transport. In the last couple of weeks alone Sydney’s train network has completely collapsed, multiple times, leaving people with $1,000 Uber fares just to get home after work.
I would like to think that if they saw the cities in Transport Fever 2 crumble and shrink from poor transport infrastructure, they might get the point… but given that they’re Australian politicians, they also probably would not get the point.
But anyway. I already reviewed Transport Fever 2 in some depth for its PC release. It has picked up a new publisher on console (it’s a Nacon product now, because I think Nacon acquired the developer), but aside from the splash screen at the start of the game, that doesn’t change much. I recommend you check out my review of the PC game, as I’m not going over all that again, but to summarise it:
As with any good simulation, there are a lot of data feeds going on in Transport Fever 2, and while the interface is enjoyably clean, remembering how to make good use of it all is still a process. Thankfully there’s a lengthy campaign mode (with a surprisingly amusing sense of humour in its storytelling), which is careful, patient, and teaches you all the systems in a logical, efficient manner. There have been other transport network simulators (A-Train), where I’ve felt overwhelmed while learning the ropes, but with this one the developers clearly thought very carefully about the on-boarding process, while making sure that those campaign stages were entertaining enough that you’ll want to play through them. The side-missions within each campaign mission, for example, are there purely for laughs, with my favourite being one mission where you needed to design a route to look like a pentagram at a “mystical” place on the map. With most simulators I beeline straight for the sandbox mode, but with this one I did play through the entire campaign.
I can’t think of a single thing that truly disappointed me about Transport Fever 2. It’s elegantly presented and understands that some efficiencies are required for the sake of playability – for example, in a game like A-Train if you’ve got two or more trains sharing a track you better be good with designing timetables, but with Transport Fever 2 the game automatically makes these calculations for you. At the same time at no stage does this game insult the intelligence, and nor does it let you off the hook if you make mistakes. Ultimately, as with any simulator, the core requirement is that you’re able to watch your efforts grow with pride, and I tell you what, of all the sims I’ve played this year, I’ve loved zooming right down to monitor the successes of my work at street level more with this than anything else.
As for the console release itself, the interface works nicely with a controller. It’s very easy to lay down tracks, drop little bus stops in, or finely tune the rotation of buildings so you can place them in at just the right angles. The engine allows for the easy snapping together of roads and the like, so there’s minimal risk of frustration and trying to line things up properly. Almost as importantly, the visual engine works fine. One of the really fun features of Transport Fever 2 is the ability to jump into the driver’s seat in every single vehicle and watch the trip that you’ve just laid down, and looking around and seeing the city and landscape rolling out in front of you (and the cities growing over time), is a really enjoyable way to see the results of your labour. The level of detail is quite impressive too. Individual people look a little like animated versions of the plastic figures you see in train dioramas, but the buildings look great and between the vehicles and crowds, you get a good sense of a bustling city.
What is truly disappointing is that there are still no AI opponents in the game, and this leaves the sandbox mode in particular feeling rather dull to play. This was the one thing that was wrong with the PC original, and while it might have been a bit much to expect a console port to include such a major feature, it’s something that should really have been patched into the console as well. Some simulators are totally fine without competition – Sim City and the like – but transport games are much stronger when you don’t have a monopoly on travel routes and need to think about how to effectively break into new markets (cities) that already have a strong player.
Perhaps that’s a feature for Transport Fever 3. Putting aside my disappointment at the lack of AI competition, Transport Fever 2 is every bit as good on console as it is on PC. And since it’s a very, very good game, you’ve got no excuse to skip it for the second time.
