Railroad Tycoon II

For other uses, see Railroad Tycoon (disambiguation).

Railroad Tycoon II
Developer(s)	PopTop Software
Publisher(s)	Gathering of Developers, Take-Two Interactive
Series	Railroad Tycoon
Platform(s)	Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Dreamcast, PlayStation
Release date(s)	1998
Genre(s)	Business simulation game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E

Screenshot from Railroad Tycoon II.

Railroad Tycoon II is a game for the PC, Macintosh, PlayStation and Dreamcast in the Railroad Tycoon series. The Dreamcast version is a Gold Edition with improved graphics and gameplay. Railroad Tycoon II: Gold Edition was ported to Linux by Loki Software.

Gameplay is displayed in dimetric view, contrary to the top-down view of Railroad Tycoon.

Gameplay

Railroad Tycoon II is a railroad simulation that covers the history of railroads from the late 1700s to the 2000s. The player assumes the role of the chairman in a railroad company, trying to make profits for the investors (often but not necessarily including the player themself) and completing various other objectives while being hindered by rival companies, train breakdowns and train robbers.

Most of the gameplay consists of building tracks, stations and trains, which are used for hauling goods from one station to another. Money received from hauling is determined by the distance between the two stations, the demand and value of the delivered goods, station improvements and the difficulty level.

The game features a fairly complex stock exchange simulation. The player character's assets are separate from the companies' wealth, but the control held by the player over the company allows experienced players to exploit their companies by manipulating dividends, share repurchases and stock issues. The player is allowed to buy and sell short, possibly resulting in massive debt.

Campaign

The original game features eighteen missions, divided between North America, Europe and the rest of the world. The missions can be played on three difficulty levels, and each also includes three listed objectives. Completing only the first objective awards the player a bronze medal, the first two a silver medal, and all three a gold medal. The player may play any mission in each set as many times as they wish; they may also continue even though a mission has been failed. The final score for the whole 18 mission campaign is calculated by the difficulty level and the number of each type of medal achieved.

Single scenarios

In addition to the campaign, Railroad Tycoon II features many single scenarios. As with the campaign, each scenario is based on actual geographical location. Most scenarios also have a medal system similar to that of the campaign, although any scenario may be played in sandbox mode as well. Many scenarios constrain the player to some specific point on the timeline and feature scripted events: for example, the Korean map presents an alternative history as the player is informed about the averted Korean civil war.

Additional single scenarios may be created with the map editor included.

Editions

Railroad Tycoon 2: Gold

This is a collection of Railroad Tycoon 2 and Railroad Tycoon 2: The Second Century, in one package.

Railroad Tycoon 2: Platinum

This is equivalent to the Gold Edition packed with over 50 custom made maps.