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Summary - Rawn Shah rides the virtual rails and finds plenty of gaming excitement in Loki Software's Linux-friendly version of Railroad Tycoon II, the railroad-building strategy game. (3,300 words)
I never grew up with toy trains. In fact, where I grew up, there weren't any trains at all. Hence, I could not understand the fascination of some other kids with toy trains and railway sets. It is possible, however, that this particular fascination has been lurking dormant in my psyche since childhood -- and has been awakened now that I've come across Railroad Tycoon.
I saw Sid Meier's original version in action probably six or seven years ago, but in spite of my intense fervor for strategy games like SimCity and Civilization, it never quite caught my attention. Years later, on first trying Railroad Tycoon II on a Windows machine, I was hooked. I didn't buy the full version and only tried the demo, but that still made for hours of fun. Now I'm overjoyed that Loki's come out with a Linux version as well, allowing me to fully explore not just the original game but the latest Gold version, which isn't even out on Windows yet.
I had a friendly chat with Scott Draeker, CEO of Loki Software, at the LinuxWorld Expo. In front of Loki's booth, where the company was demonstrating several of its games,(thanks for the T-shirt, Scott and Kate!), we talked about Loki's raging success in the business, and the intensity of its game-release schedule. Loki's first-year plan is to put out eight titles either previously or simultaneously released for the Windows platform. On track this year is the third and latest title: Railroad Tycoon II Gold Edition (RT2GE). Others also demonstrated at the show included a beta of Eric's Ultimate Solitaire. My T-shirt also says that the Armored Mech-style game Heavy Gear II is forthcoming in the fall. If Loki keeps to its schedule -- which it has managed to do almost perfectly so far -- we should expect a few more titles to be on shelves by the Christmas season. Scott rather ambitiously declared that Loki would do sixteen new game titles next year.
Playing the Game
RT2GE is a game that J.P. Morgan would have assigned as...