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Review of Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line on PS3

by Chucky Chucky photo Dec 2006
Cover image of Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line on PS3
Gamefings Score: 6.5
Platform: PS3 PS3 logo
Released: 20 Dec 2006
Genre: Train Simulator
Developer: Taito, Ongakukan
Publisher: Ongakukan

Introduction

Welcome aboard the most thrilling ride in gaming - if you're a fan of commuting! Get ready to master the art of sitting and watching as we dive into the fascinating world of *Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line*. Spoiler alert: it's about trains.

Gameplay

In this thrilling twist to the usual gaming fare, you actually play the role of a train - hold on to your hats, guys - specifically, the CTA Brown Line. Forget about dragons and epic battles; get ready to operate some machinery that only moves forward or stops. Let's not kid ourselves; this game is the kind that gives you enough train stats to satisfy that one rail enthusiast in your life while also being a lukewarm bath for anyone else. There are three main lines you can play on: the Tokyo's JR East Chūō Line, the Kyoto-Osaka Keihan Line, and of course, our star of the show, the CTA Brown Line. You'll get familiar with stops, speed limits, and schedules, much like your local bus driver does - except they probably have more excitement and less footage of the seat they're currently assigned to. The gameplay unfolds like the world's most monotonous reality show. You can opt between mission mode (a.k.a. a solid tutorial where you can learn how to not derail) and train tour mode where you can simply take in the sights. Not much sense of urgency here, just lots of stopping at stations like a chubby kid on a scavenger hunt, except the treasure is redundancy. And don't forget about *My Collection*, featuring replay modes and... videos of trains? That's right, unlock train models that you will never really use because, why would you? Still, it's nice to have collectibles that you can brag about at your next train enthusiast convention.

Graphics

*Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line* operates with the visual fidelity of a shopping cart trying to climb a hill. It's not exactly Graphically Enhanced Resurrected Remastered: Train Edition. The graphics are a mix of standard definition and something resembling a strange pixelated version of what you'd find in an educational video for kids. The train models themselves are decent, but let's just say the surrounding environment won't be winning any beauty contests - mild peril in an online photo editor might do it a favor. Produced back in the days when 'Hi-Def' was raising an eyebrow, visuals fall short, but heck, it's a train simulator, not an Oscar-winning flick. Prepare yourself for plenty of silence and plenty of visually static scenes.

Conclusion

In the end, *Railfan: Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line* offers a unique experience that will definitely cater to die-hard train fans while baffling everyone else. If you're curious about what it's like to stare at the CTA Brown Line as it stops and goes - and don't mind doing it virtually - this game is for you. I recommend it as a chill-out game on a rainy Saturday while you binge-watch train documentaries. However, if you're looking for something that involves actual gameplay, you might want to board a different train. In the vast world of gaming, where epic adventures await, sometimes all you want to do is just... stop. And go. And stop again. Now that's the kind of thrill that can only come from a fancy train-simulator.

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