| In the 1994
movie Speed, tensions ran high and Gigantor, aka Ortiz (he who had
to be admonished to get behind the yellow line), got a little
flustered when told a bomb was aboard the same bus he was riding on.
Sandra Bullock's character Annie had to maintain decorum and speed
lest the vehicle blew up. Tokyo Bus Guide bears some semblance to
the movie, sans the speed, but decorum need apply. You're a bus
driver with all of the attendant responsibilities - namely picking
up passengers, dropping them off, and announcing destinations with
the press of a button. Following the rules of the road are
contingent on your success as an operator and your duties include
staying off curbs, obeying traffic lights, and heeding the mundane
trivialities of accelerating and braking in a smooth fashion that is
both pleasant and non-threatening to your riders. Abrupt bursts
forward and screeching stops may rouse latent Gigantors from their
berths. A versatile camera affords four views of the bus ride and a
trailing view, which follows your bus from the outside, is the
default. Two windshield views and a distant camera shot are the
other options for scoping out your road moves. Similar in every
respect to the Dreamcast original, the PS2 version of TBG boasts an
extra game mode which adds a yellow school bus and a red
double-decker to the vehicles you commandeer. Of course, the
original green and white commuter bus found in the DC version sits
in anticipation of your manhandling. Publisher Forty Five developed
TBG with the help of the Tokyo Metropolitan Bus Service and included
actual bus routes in the game. Virtual bus drivers perform tours of
duty ranging from noon to night and contend with varying traffic
conditions as well as passenger density spikes and troughs
throughout the shift. Taito took care of train fanatics with the
Densha! series of games and Forty Five does their part to sate the
curiosity of bus fans. Yes, bus fans. They're out there and amongst
the general population... |
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