Train Simulator 2013 Debuts at Gamescom

Train Simulator 2013

Traditionally when gamers think of the traditional game-launch images of E3 come to mind, which is understandable considering that E3 is the largest game-centric event in North America each year. E3 is certainly an important and even an influential event to be sure, but when we expand our view to the rest of the world several other games-centric events instantly spring to mind, from the Tokyo Game Show and what is now being called the world's largest gaming event -- Gamescom -- which is only a week away. Selecting Gamescom as a launch site is a symbolic gesture for game studios, developers, and publishers from Europe, and particularly those in the United Kingdom.

As Gamescom focuses gamer attention from August 15th through the 19th this year, UK-based RailSimulator.com will unveil the newest title in its long-running and incredibly popular railroad simulation series, Train Simulator 2013.

Noted in gaming circles for its incredible realism and easy immersion thanks to the exacting detail of the locations and the rail hardware that features in the game, its popularity is easy to understand. Your GU reporter often travels by train between Boston to New York City and Washington DC to attend game demo events at US games studios in Boston, New York City, Maryland, and North Carolina, so the release of the special Northeast Corridor Expansion Pack was the perfect choice to check out the game, and served to illustrate the amazing realism that features in the game.



Immersion was nearly instant, and while the view from the cab is one that we can only imagine, the view along the tracks and the stations that we pass through and stop at in the real world appeared in the game with remarkable realism, but it was the rolling stock and the engines that garnered the most attention, especially the AEM-7 and the very distinctive silver cars bearing the Amtrack livery -- the cafe and coach cars stand out and are instantly recognizable to every passenger who has traveled the route -- but then as we flip through the mental images of other train trips elsewhere in the world it seems that the folks at Railsimulator.com have also been there, captured the essence of the experience, and integrated it into the game already.

The latest addition to that award-winning series pushes the boundaries even further with enhanced graphics and performance, and support for the Xbox 360 controller, and Steam Workshop integration, expanding the attraction to gamers outside of the traditional sim community, making Train Simulator 2013 the perfect simulation game to introduce the genre to gamers new to the fascinating experience that blurs the real world and the digital one.

Check out the official website at http://www.railsimulator.com/ for more information about the game and its expansions to see what it offers for your area of the world, and if you are lucky enough to be attending Gamescom this year, be sure to check out the Rail Simulator booth and the demo of Train Simulator 2013!