I won't bother saying much about this game because I already explained everything in the review for the original Railroad Tycoon, also available on Abandonia. This is the deluxe version. There are some differences, so I'll focus on those.
The gameplay remains the same. This game kept all the aspects of the original, yet somehow I don't get that same feeling while playing it. I still feel the original is more fun (maybe it's just because I really got hooked on that one).
The first thing you'll notice are better graphics and sounds. This version really improves on these, especially the sound effects, which makes a difference. When clicking on natural resources such as rubber plants, you hear a bouncing sound. :) Rubber? South America? Yes, there are two more maps added. You can build your railroad net in Africa and in South America too! Of course that makes new cargos available, some more station architecture styles and, naturally, some new engines.
This game is, therefore, an upgrade of the original. It is improved in all aspects without changing the brilliant gameplay.
You’ll also find some changes in the animations. Remember how you watched the workers build a bridge with that last guy not knowing where to go... Well not any more. Now such things are shown with some beautiful still pictures. Nice, but less fun.
I will give this game a 4 as it has kept all aspects of the original, but still doesn't feel as fun to play.
This game will ask you to name a train at the very start. It's a copyright protection measure that was disabled in the original game. Here, however, you must answer correctly. All the trains that were included in the manual (which was too big to add - 65M) are added in the extras under "Train Identification".
The game works with WinXP, but you'll have to run the install file first and set the game to no sound (at least that worked for me). VDMSound works just fine, and no problems with MS-DOS or DOSBox either.