Bus Driver is simulator in which you are a bus driver and you provided with a given scenario/route. Your objective is to complete each route as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whilst ensuring that your customers are happy.
Whilst on paper it seems like a decent idea for a simulator as it easy to design a realistic simulator around being a bus driver. The ending result of the development of this game is poor. On a technical level whilst it is ok game and is generally bug free. I think that even though it’s all well and good for it to be bug free. It is lacking on many levels.
Technically the game is lacking in various areas such as the vehicle physics (particularly the AI) which is poor. As an example when I was driving down a motorway the traffic light had stopped us at a red light. However the moment it turned green they went off at max speed (including AI buses) also if you drive they are near you the other vehicles will automatically stop; meanwhile I am struggling to brake.
There are issues when it comes down to changing your viewing frustum. There are no options in changing the user view. Since the game will only give you either a 1st/3rd person perspective. The view is also in a fixed position. As it will not allow you to change the screen view when driving. This leaves you with only 1 view which is limiting. Since you will want to look left/right either way to see where you can drive. Whether this is an intentionally bad design or if it is bad programming, I don’t know. I also noticed that in the settings it states that it is compatible with controllers. I did try a controller with this game and it wouldn’t work.
The design for this game is also poor. Not only because the design isn’t thought out properly, but the game also doesn’t work properly. Take the way damage is shown in game as an example. It is also quite bizarre as there is no effect from bad driving no matter how bad it was. I was even able to cause mayhem on many occasions with no damage caused. I tried in 1 mission to drive like it was bumper cars. Whilst I managed to stop traffic and do a lot of damage to other vehicles. At the end of the mission my bus hadn’t got a single scratch and worked perfectly.
Another thing I don’t like is how every passenger acts the same as each other. Starting from when they are at the bus stop as they stand there statically. This continues through to when they are on the bus. The passengers are still static and they just sit at the front when on the bus. I think for a bus simulator it is silly to have this. Since a bus that is full of school kids yearning to go to a swimming competition is going to be a loud environment. Whilst a bus full of middle aged people on the way to work should be a quiet experience. The game doesn’t show any differences between the 2 customers.
I will also say the same about the design of the vehicles. Although the vehicles are aesthetically different (you get 12 different buses to drive). You would think that they would have a different style of driving such as different speeds. However they all handle the same which I think is silly. Since driving an American school bus isn’t going to be the same experience as driving a coach.
However some of the features of this game are quite funny. Anytime I pick people up at a bus stop. The vehicle will do an automatic double kneel and open the doors wide open. However, when passengers get onto the vehicle, the passengers don’t walk onto the bus. The passengers will instead teleport onto the vehicle. Also for an extra challenge if you decide to drive in reverse on the wrong side of the road. There is no punishment for driving in such manner. However, in order to observe any incoming traffic, you must hold down one of the mirror buttons. But it is something you can do in this game.
Overall I wouldn’t recommend this game as it is poorly made. The game fails at providing a realistic bus driver simulator due to how the game was built. Also I feel that it is a very simplistic experience. While is a game for a rainy day. I think that it is a game that a young child might be willing to play on. However in any case, it is not worth purchasing the game. Although it might be worth trying if it’s free or included in a bundle.
