OMSI 2

Pros

• Impressive level of detail
• Can import new maps and vehicles
• Expansive map and bus routes

Cons

• Limited gameplay options
• Controls can be difficult to learn

OMSI 2 is a simulation game that allows players to control an omnibus in Germany during the 1980s and 1990s. The developers have paid attention to the smallest details when creating this game. Everything in the simulation is accurate from the physics of the buses to the maps of the city. Players can experience a wide range of events while playing the game. Nearly everything has been crafted to create the genuine experience of driving a municipal bus through Germany during the period just after the country reunited.

OMSI 2 has a deceptively simple concept. You take control of a bus and must drive a specific route through an active city. You can choose from several different types of buses. You could even pick a train. Great effort went into making the buses actually move and feel like the genuine vehicles. This is especially true for the articulated bus that has unique systems in place for players to discover. Your view is not limited to just the first-person perspective of the driver. You can actually switch to view things from the perspective of a passenger or a third-person camera.

The goal of the game is to successfully run your bus route without missing stops or allowing other problems to stop you. Several different routes are available. All of them take place in the German city of Spandau. The routes have been carefully plotted out to match the ones that existed in real life in the 1908s. You will need to follow the route, pick up passengers and manage the mechanical aspects of the omnibus itself. It can actually take several hours to complete a single bus route even if there are no issues.

OMSI 2 provides players with a challenge by introducing highly intelligent computer-controlled traffic on the streets. The vehicles around your bus are always moving and heading somewhere. You will need to avoid running into those vehicles to protect your bus and passengers. You might also run across pedestrians attempting to cross streets. The vehicles and pedestrians can quickly end your game or damage your bus beyond the point of repair. The constant and deliberate movements of the various vehicles in the game give Spandau the feeling of being a real, living city.

You are not limited to just the maps and vehicles that come packaged with OMSI 2. The game has an extensive editing system. You can use that system to import new maps and satellite imagery. You can script various events on maps. There is even an option to add new vehicles. This makes OMSI 2 a powerful simulation engine for generating realistic bus routes.

OMSI 2 might not appeal to all people. It is a true simulation game. This means some people might not be happy with the lack of direction or combat. The game does do an amazing job of replicating what it was like to drive an omnibus in Spandau during the 1980s. You can even access a timeline feature that will gradually change the map to match what was really happening in the city from the 1980s to the 1990s. OMSI 2 is an exceptional bus simulator.

Pros

• Impressive level of detail
• Can import new maps and vehicles
• Expansive map and bus routes

Cons

• Limited gameplay options
• Controls can be difficult to learn