While some of the more modern games have more complex product/creation systems (See my Factorio review as a good example) the physics and maintenance elements involved in the micromanagement adds a magnificent difference to the genre. If that isn’t enough the fine people of OpenTTD also allows for local networking and online gaming with over 250 other people, ya’know if you want absolute chaos in your life. OpenTTD turned it up to 11 providing a variety of different opponents ranging from the remarkably stupid to the cocaine fuelled mastermind embodying the true cooperate machine. If you are lucky enough to retain the original Transport Tycoon you’ll find it has only one AI which I have affectionately named “Dumb but annoying”. The animation on the other hand really does show a fair few wrinkles, but the game is heavily focused on logistic systems so the graphics can take a hit and still provide an enjoyable and challenging time for any gamer. Graphically the game seems to retain its charm unless you make the disastrous choice of zooming in fully.

This means most of my review will be based on this copy, for no other reason than my old copy doesn’t work on my PC anymore. This has allowed a dusty classic to be remade fully functioning using the beautiful GNU General Public License battling the rolling introductions of new operating systems while throwing more herbs and spices into the mix. Furthermore, this game has been running through an open source project called OpenTTD. While the world will remember Rollercoaster Tycoon, Railroad Tycoon or Theme Park this is the first step for Chris Sawyer in becoming a fully-fledged publisher and designer. It’s empty, dog eared and a perfect metaphor for my adult-life. So why come back to this game particularly? While digging through old PC boxes I found the original box the game came in. While battling with cut throat competitors you need to “invest” in cities for favouritism, connect up a working logistics system, fight over contracts, apply new and exciting technologies to your established rail/road/boat/plane transport empire. This infrastructure can be built in 4 different worlds, each one a little different and more than just a palette swap. Transport Tycoon was/is a beautiful idea, you are a business owner in the 1950s and you have to establish a much needed transport infrastructure which would last throughout the ages… Well at least to 2030s.

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