Railroad Tycoon 3 review:5 stars (gooses review) - This game does the railroad industry great justice. The original railroad tycoon was made sometime in the mid 1980s which shows that this series actually made a name for itself being older than any tycoon game I know of. People who like to look at trains or moddel train sets will probably like this game a lot. Also those people who like railroad museums will like this game as long as they know how to use a computer even if they don't like playing games on it. After playing railroad tycoon 2 this game was hard to get used to. The 3d look made it hard for me to get a grasp on the playing field and some things dissapear when you zoom out on the map. If you never played the first or second railroad tycoon game and you have good vision theres no problem with that. Probably the most important thing about this game is that its the only one you can find exciting that also has trains in it. Another important thing to note is the nastalgic single player campaigne. People who study American history knows that this nation was built on the back of the "iron horse" and this game gives you a unique insight into this pivatol factor in the progression of the world in the 1800s to about 1950. 1 stars (Repeats all the mistakes of version 2 and adds more.) - Having logged hundreds of hours playing previous Railroad Tycoon games I couldn't wait to get the latest. Unfortunately I was greatly disappointed on several levels. It fixes none of the problems with RR Tycoon 2 and adds a bunch more. If you want a real railroad feeling or care anything about real trains get the original Railroad Tycoon or Railroad Tycoon 2. They are both better that this version.

1. From a gaming perspective it has been dumbed down greatly so one doesn't even have to think about proper cargo routing. Just throw trains in between the towns and the cargo will ship itself.
2. The track laying routines remove all hope of getting really good routes. The new 3D interface might be great for looking at pictures but not for engineering a railroad. The words that indicate the amount of money a particular segment will cost is always exactly in the way of where one needs to see. Routes will get laid in that don't really connect, which you can't tell until you try to put a train between those two towns. Even double tracking doesn't just overlay the single line but tries to relay it. Then the track removal code is buggy. Remove the wrong piece and the whole game crashes.
4. From a railroad perspective the game is clueless. Even the introduction mixes American style locomotives and track with European style "bumper" cargo cars. Anyone who knows about real locomotives will be disappointed with the performance and beauty characteristics assigned by the game designers.

The only good think I can say about the game is that it has better graphics for people who like looking at cartoons of bogus trains.
5 stars (Railroad Tycoon 4) - It's clear that PopTop was trying not to "screw up" all the fan loyalty they'd built with RRT2. And I agree with everything written so far concerning graphics, etc. - that part is just great.

PopTop was also trying to take the obvious elements out of business sim play. Let's face it: business sims are sort of at a crossroads right now. I love 'em - I've played business sims since RRT1 in the early 90s, or even "Utopia" on Intellivision (giving my age away). Given the fascination with business sims, how many elements can be programmed:

1. Starting conditions: resources and constraints
2. Gameplay rules, varied to make gameplay interesting
3. Random environmental events
4. Opposing AI play

The designer has to make these things "seem" realistic and yet not frustrate players trying to climb a learning curve.

In that regard, RRT3 has done very, very well.
Railroad Tycoon 3 Features:
Computer Games
Action
Simulators (Simulation)
Strategy (Strategic)
Simulations
World Building (Builders)
CD
For 1 player
Create a booming railroad industry, exploit the stock market
25 challenging scenarios with improved, streamlined UI
3D graphics
Modify landscapes with World Editor

Railroad Tycoon 3 is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 19.99USD.