Bus Simulator 21 like its predecessor straddles the line between authentic public transport management and entertainment. While this vehicular sim spans across two maps, the all-new American-inspired Angel Shores and an updated version of European backdrop Seaside Valley it demands you engage in all of the iron grit of bus driving. Such as selling tickets and extending wheelchair ramps, itBus Simulator 21 like its predecessor straddles the line between authentic public transport management and entertainment. While this vehicular sim spans across two maps, the all-new American-inspired Angel Shores and an updated version of European backdrop Seaside Valley it demands you engage in all of the iron grit of bus driving. Such as selling tickets and extending wheelchair ramps, it also likes to emphasize the inane chatter of the patrons you’ll be hauling. Everyone around has an opinion on what’s going on. While the comments can be a bit much, we appreciate that the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. Unfortunately the developer should have taken Bus Simulator’s user interface a bit more seriously. You’ll spend almost as much time in menus (or more) as you do behind the wheel, plotting out routes that link each map’s key destinations. But while the addition of route balancing and peak times adds depth to the strategy, it’s still overwhelming and hard to keep track of which was an issue experienced with the original release as well. In fact, despite the gentle introductory missions, we’d argue it’s worse here. Once you wrap your head around everything, there’s an appeal to the action. You’re encouraged to drive routes accurately yourself, as this will improve how your AI employees operate them when you’re working somewhere else. There’s always a good balance between strategy and gameplay, with thirty some different licensed buses available at launch and online co-op options for up to four players. The new map, with its districts, is a fun place to explore, although visually this is not a beautiful game to look at, with even cockpit elements blurry and presented in lower resolution then should be. The appeal here is building up a public transport empire, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly the time passes as you begin to expand routes and increase your fleet. It’s an acquired taste, for sure, but impressive how a game designed to replicate a real-life job can be so oddly relaxing when you’re behind the wheel. While some of us enjoyed the game more than others the price point is fair enough and you know what you’re getting into before it all starts. So if you’re a fan of the sim genre driven games you’ll be right at home. There are worse offerings for sure in this genre maybe some of us just had our expectations set a little higher on this new release. It’s not the worst but it could be better. So if you’re looking for a new experience in your sim collection head over to the Xbox digital games store and “all aboard” this Bus Simulator 21 experience!… Expand
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