Bus Driver Review - [PC]

Driving a bus. Not exactly a life of luxury is it? SCS Software have taken a seemingly bland occupation and made it, well, slightly less bland. Thankfully Bus Driver, released in 2008, doesn't take itself too seriously.

Naturally, the aim of the game is to get your passengers from Point A to Point B. In doing this, you score points along the way. The number of points the player obtains will generally reflect their safety on the roads. If you play the game how it was meant to be played, thus stopping at red lights, using indicators at the correct time and avoiding overbreaking and scaring your passengers, then you'll score well. If, on the other hand, you decide against safety, you'll score very little.

Unfortunately, the temptation to suddenly turn a law-abiding bus driver into a racing driver was always there for me as I played this game. I found the slow paced, simulation-esque aspect of the driving dull, and as a result my interest lapsed. I would be half way through a mission (which on average last 5 minutes) get lazy, and just race to the end. Unusually, the game doesn't actually give a score target, which means as long as you get to the end you'll unlock the next level. To me, this doesn't make sense. Surely if SCS aimed to make a simulation, they'd implement target scores that have to be attained to continue.

Although the game can at times be dull and repetitive, the feeling of completing a level with no casualties and lots of happy faces is admittedly quite pleasing. SCS have made an effort to keep missions varied. You drive in the same big city (which, actually, is fairly vast) however variables such as the segment of the city you drive in, the time of day, weather conditions and the type of bus all vary from mission to mission. It's also wise to mention that there is no 'story mode' to Bus Driver, but to me this makes perfect sense. Trying to build a story around this game would end up becoming disjointed and just ridiculous.

Players will be faced with fairly lifeless missions such as taking children to school and transporting tourists to ski resorts, yet there is also a mission which involves transporting convicts to a prison, under the watchful eye of a police helicopter. Cleverly, if you crash the convicts bus they cheer. I found subtle additions like this a nice touch.

Bus Driver is by no means a bad game. It aims to simulate driving a bus, and that's exactly what it does. For me, there wasn't enough variety in the gameplay to keep me playing it. I recommend downloading the demo via SCS Software's website before making a purchase.