Railfan, produced by Ongakukan is a Train Simulator for Playstation 3. The game is very similar to the Densha De Go! series, and even has Densha De Go! embedded in its gameplay, thanks to Taito. Railfan is a follow up to Ongakukan's Train Simulator series which has been released in Asia on Playstation 2 and PSP.

The difference between Railfan and Train Simulator is that now the game uses many external cameras, including a camera shot from a helicopter, flying over the various cities in the game.

The game also now uses Blu Ray technology for the video. With Railfan, you can view Tokyo's and Chicago's landscape and trains in 1080p high definition. The wow factor of this game is unbelievable!.

Railfan actually doesn't contain game graphics (apart from your icons and menu screens). You are actually playing with video footage, and the faster you drive, the faster the video playback. To fully understand this, view some videos of Railfan on densha-de-go.com.

The video isn't perfect. Images on the screen will shudder when you slow down, and moving people and other vehicles will freeze when you have stopped the train.


The gameplay is basic, yet fun. Some of the duties you will have to carry out include... keeping on time at checkpoints and stations, keeping under, but not too under the speed limit, stopping the train at certain points of the station, beeping your horn at certain times, looking out for gradients and judging your speed.

You can have a free ride mode where you can quickly travel from any stop of any line, or play the Exhibition mode, where beginners get to grips with the game and players can unlock movies and extras. You can also save your routes and replay them, or watch a demonstration of each full route, where you can kick back and enjoy the scenery or watch how the game is meant to be played.


The game contains 3 lines....

Kyoto (Japan)
Tokyo (Japan)
Chicago (USA)

My favorite line and train is Kyoto, followed by Tokyo and then Chicago. Each line is approximately 30-45 minutes long each.

The game has only been released in Asia, and i doubt you will be able to buy it in the west. The game works with USA PS3 consoles, and is available from various online importers.

My review was always going to be biased, due to being addicted to console train simulators (i bought a PS3 just for Railfan!), so i can't speak for casual gamers (although my friends where surprisingly impressed).