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First game developer Colossal Order, Cities In Motion fills a serious void in the PC software library of the moment: a good old tycoon .

If the kind of tycoon had its heyday during the mid to late 90s, it is now much more rare and it is with unconcealed curiosity that we welcome the work of Colossal Order. For his first title, the young team based in Helsinki decided to tickle one of the references on the subject, illustrated Transport Tycoon. Colossal Order, however, decided to limit itself to only managing transit in four major European cities … Inevitably be ambitious in Finland?

And transport are very urban

Contrary to what its title might suggest to some Francophone Cities In Motion is therefore not a competitor of SimCity . It is not about managing a city, to grow and prevent it from being faced with various disasters. In the skin of the manager of a transport company, we deal exclusively with the urban network lines. Buses and trams are therefore some of our weapons so that developers do we offer a choice of relatively small cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna and … Helsinki. The latter is there because of the same nationality of our Finnish designers.

So we can more conventional, two game modes available to us. The first – the countryside – we offer a series of missions to these different cities. The adventure began in 1920 and extends through the entire twentieth century and ended in 2020. Such a time course involves many technological innovations and a radical change in the urban environment. This taken into account and also because of the accuracy of the cities represented, it is understandable that the studio – whose resources are limited – will be stationed at four locations: he preferred model little towns, but the job is well done .

Requirements management, line management

On this side, nothing to fear and even though the graphics may not be the first quality of Cities In Motion, the towns are full of animations when the graph is still perfectly readable. A graphics system and filters on the mini-map also allows to have a lot of information on the situation in the city, the satisfaction of travelers, the location of housing and job location. Many details which are essential to best meet the various objectives set by the supervisor or nominated by people in different cities.

These missions are usually quite simple to learn and it is never to seek 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.. However, it often requires proof of good vision to locate the best new bus routes or to ensure the profitability of a tram network … In fact, it’s about the only thing you can do during a portion of Cities In Motion, but if it may seem limited, it soon realizes that ultimately does not lack for things to do . Indeed, he must first reckon with five means of transportation: the bus of course, but also the streetcar, subway, bus, boat and helicopter.

A particularly well thought out interface

If the helicopter seems unrealistic, we understand very quickly the interests of boat-bus when the card is heavily loaded with canals and other bodies of water … as in Amsterdam. If the tutorial may seem a little lightweight, it is fortunately not difficult to get into the bath and laying of railway tracks, the establishment of new subway lines or the selection of vehicles is a breeze. The interface and its location entirely correct can navigate quickly when the camera (more zoom levels, possibility of rotations) is very handy.

Then it’s all about management, adjustments and concentration. We do need to ensure that the least profitable lines do not have saddled the company’s accounts. We must also ensure the smooth replacement of vehicles so that failures do not multiply and that travelers do not escape our booths! We must also make the urban traffic management (traffic lights, traffic jams, road accidents), while the most important is obviously to affect transport most effective according to the needs of different areas of the city, various social groups.

Conclusion

Cities In Motion does not revolutionize the genre of the tycoon as we know it, but since their last representatives date back several years now, it should please all aspiring managers who find in him a quality title. In departing significantly from the reference Transport Tycoon and without getting in front with SimCity, Colossal Order manages to find its rightful place, and this, the more easily that the game is billed less than 20 euros. At this price, you obviously do with some limitations (only four cities, no competition) that the map editor comes happily to compensate in part. A pleasant surprise then.