A-Train

A-Train (Japanese A列車 で 行こ うA Ressha de Ikou ) is a Japanese video game series, which was developed from 1985 by the developer Artdink. Some parts have been sold by Maxis in the U.S. and Europe. It appeared implementations for Amiga, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Windows, DOS, Mac OS and the Xbox 360 versions for the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine and the Nintendo DS released in Japan only.

In winter 2011/2012 the latest PC version, A-Train 9 appeared as The Train Giant in Germany. For the German version of a http://www.bahngigant.de/patch.php is available, which complements the existing trains only 14 in the German version of 200 vehicles from the Japanese version.

Game content

The player takes in this game, running a railway undertaking. There is no rival companies and the outcome of the game is open. The goal is to achieve the highest profits; this can be done in the first step with the transportation of passengers or the sale of building materials. Prerequisite for the production of building materials and the associated growth of cities is the construction of factories. The factories and built warehouses have a certain influence area - outside this range can no buildings be erected. With the earned money and the material produced, the player can buy their own land, on which he can build buildings such as hotels and shopping centers, for which they received an additional monthly income. Furthermore, the player can invest the money in stocks in order to profit from rising prices.

In addition to the building of profitable railway lines, the player can build a road system, passengers can carry on lorries and buses goods. Stations used by the respective vehicles as loading and dumping. All stops and stations can be modified in detail. So it is possible vehicles turn at certain stops or to have passed through or limit trips in time.

Implementation

The A-Train series is very popular in Japan. Motivated by Maxis released several games for the PC ( DOS), Macintosh and the Amiga - with limited success. Also released in 1996, the game AIV Evolution Global for the then relatively new PlayStation 1 could not prevail in the western world. A Score occupied an entire memory card, which at that time was quite expensive at the equivalent of 45 euros.

Opposite to the similar gameplay of SimCity no social issues such as education, crime, health and fire hazards, pollution, or even water and electricity are included in A-Train.

Some games of the A-Train series possess in addition to the pre- scenarios an editor that allows the player to create their own game worlds. In addition, some versions are provided with a camera mode in which it is possible to enjoy the scenery while riding a train or bus in a 3D view.

Publications

  • A Ressha de Ikou ( 12/1985, FM -7, PC-8801/9801, X1Turbo, MZ -2500, MSX2 ( Pony Canyon ), Famicom ) Japan
  • Railroad Empire ( Take the A -Train II), 1988, PC - 9801, X68000, 1989 DOS
  • A-Train ( A-Train III) 1990 PC -9800, X68000, FM Towns, 1992, Amiga, DOS, Mac, other platforms later NEC, SNES, PS, Virtual Console, DS
  • Take the A -Train MD (1992, Sega Mega Drive)
  • A-Train IV (1993 PC - 9801, FM Towns, 1995 DOS)
  • A-Train IV Evolution (1996 PSX )
  • A-Train IV Evolution Global (1997 PSX )
  • A- Train 5, also under the name of CEO, AIV Network $: train to train to success, AIV Network $ and A4 Networks known (1995, DOS)
  • A- Train 6 (2000, PlayStation 2)
  • A-Train 7 (2005, Windows)
  • A-Train 8 (2008, Windows)
  • A Ressha de Ikou DS (2009, Nintendo DS)
  • A-Train 9 (2009/2010, Windows)
  • The Train Giant (2012, Windows) German version of A -Train 9
  • A-Train 9 Version 2.0: Professional Edition (2012, Windows) contains the contents of previously released in Japan 2 enhancements, and bug fixes and additional objects and features such as. Overhead lines and steam locomotives
Video game publisher PlayStation (console) MS-DOS MobyGames
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