February 2008

Good news for Rail Simulator fans outside the US. Just Trains are about to release an official Expansion Pack covering the Cajon Pass route:

We’re very pleased to announce the imminent release of Rail Simulator - Official Expansion Pack, coming soon on DVD-ROM and as a Download.

For the first time outside the US, Just Trains brings you the complete and highly acclaimed Cajon Pass route that was included in the US release of Rail Simulator - but with unique bonus extras. UK train enthusiasts will love the highly detailed models of the Class 08 Shunter in 12 period liveries! ‘Free Roam’ the existing UK routes in Rail Simulator or take on the challenges of Class 08 shunting in the six included scenarios.

The Cajon Pass route runs over 80 miles of track, from San Bernardino in Southern California to Barstow in the north, and you can negotiate this famous route either in Free Roam mode or in the seven challenging scenarios. Here are just some of the great features included:

• Highly detailed Union Pacific ES44AC and SD40-2 locomotives
• Bonus content -black reskins for the ES44AC and SD40-2 locomotives
• 11 unique rolling stock wagons including 2 all-new hoppers
• 7 scenarios including 3 new bonus ones!
• Detailed and accurately placed landmarks and notable buildings
• Realistic sounds
• Authentic terrain mapping and track placement
• AI Train operations

You’ll find all the details here along with a selection of great screenshots. This package is the first official expansion pack for Rail Simulator and has been developed by Rail Simulator Developments (part of the original Rail Simulator development team) - it has to be one of the most realistic train sim expansions ever and we’re sure you’ll be impressed with the level of detail!

Price for both the DVD-ROM and Download is £19.99/€29.95/$39.99. Release of the Download is scheduled for the end of February, and the DVD-ROM version will be rolled out at the end of March.

You’d need to be seriously addicted to Golf for this one (or have more money than you know what to do with!). $55,000 will buy you what must be the ultimate home golf system from Full Swing Golf.

The system comes complete with 50 courses, which should keep you busy for a while, in addition to a full training mode. It uses 688 sensors to track the ball flight accurately (what happens if a fly whizzes through one of the sensors?).

You’ll need a fair amount of free space in your home, as the unit measures 20 x 13 x 15.5 feet, but I’m guessing that if you can afford one of these, you’ve probably got a reasonably sized house

Lighthouse Interactive has announced their upcoming New Horizons expansion for Ship Simulator 2008:

Challenge your friends online with New Horizons. Try your hand at sailing a luxury cruise liner & a classic yacht or feel the impact of the waves as you guide your fishing vessel home through a storm! New Horizons offers new highly realistic environments and adds eight exciting new vessels for your sailing pleasure. Includes 20 all new missions and free roaming multiplayer mode too! The add-on will require the original game to run and will automatically upgrade any version of Ship Simulator 2008 with all previous updates and patches.

This press release is accompanied by the official boxshot and 6 screenshots from the game. To download this assets visit: ftp://ftp.lighthouse-interactive.com.

KEY FEATURES ‘Ship Simulator 2008 Add-on: New Horizons’

• Eight new vessels for Ship Simulator 2008, including a modern harbour tug with advanced azimuth thrusters and a push boat with 4 different cargo barges.
• Online multiplayer free-roaming action, including towing.
• Brand new sailing area Cornwall (Padstow), England, built with advanced visuals and bump mapping technology.
• 20 new missions, involving the new vessels and the new environment.
• Unlimited gameplay: in-game downloading of new missions.
• Option to connect and disconnect barges to the push boat in-game.
• New walkthrough options: explore the push boat’s highly detailed engine room.

To find out more about Ship Simulator 2008 Add-on: New Horizons, visit: www.shipsim.com.

ShackNews is reporting on an announcement from Electronic Arts relating to a number of new Sims titles on the way, including:

• SimCity Creator
• MySims Kingdom
• MySims Party
• SimAnimals
• Sims Next-Gen

Most of the titles are for consoles (Wii, DS etc), but it looks like a new PC version will be available in about a years time.

You can read the full story over on ShackNews.

Rail Simulator has received its first patch, which includes a vast number of fixes and improvements. It’s a pretty hefty 61Mb download.

Visit the official Rail Simulator site for more information and a list of available download sites.