I held off reviewing OMSI 2 for a while - when it first came out it quickly picked up a reputation of being buggy and unreliable. I had faith that M-R would be able to fix it, and they have. New releases from small developers frequently have problems which take some time to fix.

Since the last few updates, I've had no crashes, hangs or freezes. It works fine.

OMSI is a reputable bus simulator whose main focus is on the core simulation. The main focus of attention is where you want it - in the bus. The outside world looks dated, but the buses themselves are beautifully recreated, and their operation is perfect. The sound system is the best I've heard in a game - sounds are generated dynamically, rather than soundfile x being played when condition a is met.

Hardcore simmers will appreciate how few 'gaming' elements are here - no cheaty UI, no dialogs, nothing. You have to actually learn how to drive and operate a bus rather than just jamming W and hitting checkpoints. Keyboard or mouse control is acceptable, but OMSI allows gamepad, joystick and steering wheel input (the latter is highly recommended). It also supports TrackIR, which is amazingly immersive.

If you are not a hardcore simmer, or take an interest in buses, then maybe TML's series is for you. OMSI has a steep learning curve and is more about the simulation of operating a bus realistically than beautiful rendered cities.

As you can see, I've plenty of hours logged in OMSI. A lot of these come from the Map Editor, which although unwelcoming, is very powerful and lets you create some engaging and entertaining routes to drive.

Overall, I'd rate this 9/10. It lacks a modern graphics engine (and the tiling system is dated and clunky), but this is a simulator, not a game. If M-R could borrow SCS's graphics engine, they'd have the perfect simulator.

[h1]Bugs Squashed, A Great Simulator[/h1] I held off reviewing OMSI 2 for a while - when it first came out it quickly picked up a reputation of being buggy and unreliable. I had faith that M-R would be able to fix it, and they have. New releases from small developers frequently have problems which take some time to fix. Since the last few updates, I've had no crashes, hangs or freezes. It works fine. OMSI is a reputable bus simulator whose main focus is on the core simulation. The main focus of attention is where you want it - in the bus. The outside world looks dated, but the buses themselves are beautifully recreated, and their operation is perfect. The sound system is the best I've heard in a game - sounds are generated dynamically, rather than soundfile x being played when condition a is met. Hardcore simmers will appreciate how few 'gaming' elements are here - no cheaty UI, no dialogs, nothing. You have to actually learn how to drive and operate a bus rather than just jamming W and hitting checkpoints. Keyboard or mouse control is acceptable, but OMSI allows gamepad, joystick and steering wheel input (the latter is highly recommended). It also supports TrackIR, which is amazingly immersive. If you are not a hardcore simmer, or take an interest in buses, then maybe TML's series is for you. OMSI has a steep learning curve and is more about the simulation of operating a bus realistically than beautiful rendered cities. As you can see, I've plenty of hours logged in OMSI. A lot of these come from the Map Editor, which although unwelcoming, is very powerful and lets you create some engaging and entertaining routes to drive. Overall, I'd rate this 9/10. It lacks a modern graphics engine (and the tiling system is dated and clunky), but this is a simulator, not a game. If M-R could borrow SCS's graphics engine, they'd have the perfect simulator.