World of Subways 1 – The Path Reviews

As someone who lives in North Jersey and frequents the PATH, I'd have to say that this is as close as it's gonna get to riding the real thing... emphasis on "close." With that being said, this ain't it chief. The sim hasn't been updated since its release and has missed out on some major changes on the line: new PATH trains, completion/opening of the new WTC station (The Oculus), etc. Going off of that, all the conductor PA announcements (that you have to operate or else you're penalised, btw) aren't the ones used on the PATH. It's some guy from (I'd assume) Germany speaking English through his thick native accent. If this doesn't bother you, then by all means get the sim. While I do reccomend the game, that's only because I have two choices to choose from. Personally, I partially recomend this game due to the lack of full accuracy and lack of updates.

If you've ever played Train Simulator 2015, prepare to take a step down in terms of interface and controls and general functionality of the game. I would say the price is a little high, perhaps $9.95 (US) would have been more appropriate than $19.95. The camera controls are basic, there's no zoom, FOV or adjustment of exterior camera. You can't open the train doors unless the camera view is in the driver's cabin, so you can't see the doors opening and closing, or passengers boarding. It's a very basic sim, there's no career mode or any of the usual things you find in games. It has an indie "pet project" feel about it for sure! It might appeal to someone who is familiar with this actual line in real life. If you've lived in NY, this sim might be interesting, but even then it's still niche. Train Simulator 2015 has an excellent feature where you can move the camera from the front to the back outside the train, and zoom in and out and around, and still maintain control of the train. World of Subways has nothing like that. TS 2015 is a lot more expensive though, so the comparison isn't entirely fair. But now you know what you're in for.

For the age, this game has some outstanding graphics. It looks like this game is no longer actively in development, since there are several bugs that are not resolved, but that is to be expected since they have newer versions out. Overall, excellent game.

Good game for the most part. WOS 1's braking is pretty unrealistic. Every time I feel like I'm going to overrun a station, the train feels like it stops almost immediately. I also have problems trying to take more than one screenshot. When I screenshot one photo, the game screen glitches (whole game screen is gray) and I have to quit the whole game and relaunch it. I also think this game needs a PA-5, which would be nice to have. This game is excellent and runs very smooth for me. Thumbs up overall.

Fairly old game by now, but I think it holds up. I'm not a super serious simulator player but I thought the game was alright. Doesn't take long to figure it out, there are a few routes and time tables to play although so far I have only done the first one. The camera angles are a bit lacklustre though, primarily it is in first person which is great and you can get a cinematic camera and a camera that looks into the carriages but there isn't any free roam camera that looks outside as far as I know. The game does feel a bit lifeless, I know it came out in 2008/9 but even so some movement would have been nice. The passengers don't have any idle animation, they don't get up and leave the train or move from the platform to get on nor do they even teleport to and from. They just stay where they are. Passenger numbers getting on and off are represented by a series of numbers. There is an option for AI to be represented more "realistically" which I thought would animate them on and off but it doesn't seem to so I have to rely on the screen prompts to see the passenger count..which they dock you points for using. Also, the way that you need to activate the mouse is odd...it acts as a camera, but if you want it to act like it does in the menus to use the screen prompts then you have to press a button to enable you to click on them and then deactivate it again. You only need to use one thing and that is the destination board that they put on the front of the train. It's a bit clunky but not so bad that it makes the game uncontrollable. Even so, it is a rather pleasant journey through the tunnels and the lighting really makes it look half way convincing, especially in the cabin. You are not overwhelmed with controls either...which is nice. Guess it depends how deep you want your simulators. i'm not sure how deep this is compared to others, nor do I know if the route is accurately sized and laid out compared to the real life route. I think I'm going to be going through all of the routes offered, I quite like the game.

It's an okay product for $10. It's cool if you want to experience something different other than Train Simulator. Yeah some of the scenery is inaccurate and there's bugs galore, but what do you expect for a $10 game? The only severe issues I've encountered so far is that there is no tutorial mode for new players, none of the important buttons and levers (throttle, brake, etc) are mapped meaning first time users will have to manually map the buttons themselves, and the biggest problem is that the game crashes whenever you attempt to change the graphics settings. I don't mean crashing in game because you jacked the graphics to max settings, I mean you change the settings in the menu, hit "OK" to save it, the game crashes, and none of your changes are saved, meaning the game is perpetually stuck at the default graphics settings. I'll keep this game and play it as is because it was cheap and it's the only real simulation of the PATH line out there. However if the game cost any more than the current price, I'd be pretty unsatisfied. If you have experience with train sims and want a little something different, go ahead and get it. But if you're looking for something serious, pass this game up and get Train Simulator.

A cool, older train simulator, for enthusiasts. Don't compare it to more modern and/or extensible simulators. Pros: -physics -quite good graphics for it's time -easy to learn, hard to master, challenging -realistic schedules and shifts -chance to drive already retired trains -runs on a P4 toaster -fully customizable controls Cons: -freezes sometimes -schrecklichen englischen Sprache -when in schedule mode, if the real train had a 10 minute wait, then you have to wait 10 minutes too. 15-20-30 on NWK, or at night. -not extensible (no custom trains, routes, schedules anything) -the expansion is not sold on Steam

EDIT: I think it's time to update this review a bit since the information I had when I first wrote it is now outdated. I still remember when this first came out in 2008, at the time we had Microsoft Train Simulator (from 2001) as the major train simulation game, and this seemed like a huge step forward in many aspects. Sadly, time hasn't been kind to the first rendition of World of Subways. I would really like to give a positive review, because I believe this game can still be impressive today under the right circumstances. WoS 1 allows you to drive subway trains through the Port Authority Trans-Hudson network as it existed back in 2008 when the current World Trade Center was still in construction. You can control functions of the train like the destination board, air conditioning, open and close the doors from either side, play audio announcements with passenger information like the next station and final destination. And, obviously, you have the basic train driving features like reverser, throttle, brake and headlights. The network features four different lines, five if we count the via Hoboken services between Journal Square and 33rd Street. There are three types of trains you can drive, but they all perform the same and look very similar. There are AI trains, but they look very basic and have no interior. In the overground sections you run beside the Northeast Corridor, but you won't see AI trains there, just static bilevel coaches. Now I want to cover the issues that make this a very dated product. It uses an ancient graphics engine meant for FPS games, and it shows. The drawing distance is very poor, this is especially noticeable on the overground sections where buildings and other props spawn almost right in front of your face. It uses a very obvious skybox that does not look pretty at all in our current times. The peds in the stations are mostly static. There are a few with limited movement, but you will never see them boarding your train, and the ones inside your train will remain static forever. I must admit the tunnel sections look good. The illumination effects are still rather impressive. When you go through switches sometimes you'll see very bright spark effects which are kinda neat, but I admit they can be dangerous to certain people. But the worst part of this game comes when you try to venture yourself into the lines that go to or from 33rd Street. Sometimes you can reach the end of the line just fine, but most of the time you will experience a freeze followed by a crash somewhere between Newport and 33rd. I think this does not happen on the other lines, but still, the map is already rather small and one of the sections being glitchy just diminishes the experience. At first I thought the crashes could be fixed by reinstalling the game, but even if that was the case (which is not) I admit it's kinda going too far trying to circumvent the issues of a poorly tested game. It makes you wonder if this whole game was made in a rush. There is a different version being sold at the Aerosoft store (and even an expansion pack for it) but I don't know if it's more stable or not. With all of that said, I think WoS 1 can be good. If you are willing to deal with the unpolished nature of this game, this can be a pretty enjoyable experience if you like driving trains. But I strongly suggest to get this on sale, it's definitely not worth the full price.

World of Subway's 1 - The Path, is a game which is not for the hardcore train simulation fan's, some may like it, some may not, but in my opinion, it saves a spot in my book. So when you get the game for the very first time, you can see that the menu is very basic and plain, but remember this is a game which came out in 2009, not 2015. When you choose the timetable, the type of train you have selected and the location, the loading time takes about 10-15 seconds, so you dont have to complain about the time it takes to load. Then you come to the one big downside of the the game which really ticked me off, when you get into the subway train for the first time, some of the controls are unbinded on the train itself which is annoying, so your going to have to go to the options menu and bind all the train controls that way. The other thing that people may not like is the graphics, there very Mircosoft Train Simulator like, which doesn't bother me at all and the next downside to the game is the intercom voice when you arrive and depart every station, this can be also very annoying when your trying to drive. The controls on the train are hard to master, but once you know and get used to the brake, reverser and everything else on the train, it can be easier once you do get used to the train controls. So my final verdict is that this is not for hardcore train sim fan's, it's plain, simple, easy and fun, but If you are looking for a challenge, I should recommend World of Subways Vol. 3 - London Underground Circle Line, it has much more of a realistic like physics engine and you can get in and out in the train! Which is a pretty sweet feature. I recommend World of Subway's 1 - The Path for newcomers to train simulation, remember the controls are hard but you can bind them to whatever key you want on your keyboard, so it can be a bit easy for you.

You can't compare a game that came out 4-5 years ago to a game released this year..that's pretty absurd. Anyways, yes, the game is pretty basic in terms of control. It's a simulator based on simulating one thing, controlling the PATH train. There actually is a career mode, but it's not in the sense of career mode most people are used to. It's called 'Shift Duty' in this case. You can play any time-table of which I'd assume was the PATH schedule back in that day with three different types of cars. The camera angles are limited but, hey, it's a simulator, you're suppose to be driving a train, not go ape-shit wanting to view the doors open from the outside, you're suppose to be in the cab; plain and simple. I must admit though, the game is definitely not worth the $19.99 at this day in age. They do have other versions, not sure if released on Steam though, Vol 2 in Berlin and Vol 3 in London I believe. They also have a Vol 4 coming that would feature the (7) line in NYC. By the way, I'm using Windows 8.1 Pro with no issues of crashing like other users are experiencing. Plain and simple, if you want a pure simulator operating a train and just doing that, go for it. If you want to only view the trains from exterior views and have fun watching doors open from the outside, this train simulator may not be for you. Just remember, this game came out in '09. Not '14.