Simple fun in small package
[u]Driving[/u]
For the most part, SCS Software has hit the spot in getting the most of the feel one would get from driving a bus; the steering is heavy, acceleration/braking is slow and the low top speed.
The biggest letdown is however that they did not implement cockpit view which in my opinion is highly critical since it is difficult to navigate the turning apex or gauge the braking spot.
Next is the torque, heavy vehicles tend to have lots of torques so as to propel them to cruising speeds of 30-40mph but in Bus Driver, if you hit any slight ascension of elevation, your speed will drop to a measly of 20-25mph. And the revs will never hit the red zone no matter how hard you hit the throttle during that stage.
Even though this game (in the words of the developer) is a arcade / simluation hybrid genre, it is still slightly niggling that you can sharp turns at 30mph with a double-decker bus.
Certain areas can be improved such as increasing the top speed from 50+mph to 100+mph which is the common top speed seen in all modern city buses and updating the acceleration / deceleration to of modern standards.
[u]Gameplay[/u]
The game is divided into 5 tiers, each tier having multiple missions; complete every mission in that specific tier and you will unlock the next tier and so on. Every mission features different route under a variety of climate conditions or times. So expect a time length of 12-24 hours of play time on your first play through.
Your objective in every mission is to get the most number of points; points are awarded each time you managed to arrive and leave the bus stop right according to the given schedule, obeying the traffic rule such as stopping at red lights or signaling appropriately when turning or switching lanes. Points are deducted if you fail to comply with the aforementioned rules, brake violently or collide with other vehicles or buildings.
The niggling problem is that you can never seem to fail the mission or so it seems in my play through. I think it is partly due to the increasingly unrealistic schedules given to you to follow as you progress through the game which would be extremely punishing to new players if they were to set a 'passing grade' in order to progress through.
Then there never seems to be a uniform flow of traffic, it seems to be scripted according to the roads; so one moment you can have all the road to yourself, the next you can be sandwiched uncomfortably in heavy traffic.
[u]Sound[/u]
There isn't much to bemoan about in this department; SCS Software has done a decent job in securing the atypical noises you would expect to hear on board a bus; idling engine, pneumatic door, blinker etc. Note that I highly emphasis on the word "decent" because from my observations, there is little characteristics or variance of these noises when you drive a different bus.
[u]Graphics[/u]
To be honest, the graphics exhibit in this game isn't that good enough to write home about; it looks like something you would considered great in 1999-2001. There are no animations of passengers boarding / alighting the bus, the textures of the vehicles are bland and simple and there are little variety of bus stops.
However, in respect to its small file size (