Transarctica - ice cold train combat

The world has come to an end, the sun is gone, the earth has turned into an ice desert. In an attempt to save the world from the Greenhouse effect, scientists detonated nuclear charges at both poles of the planet. By doing so, they created a vapour layer in the atmosphere that, instead of cooling the planet down, led to eternal winter. The nightmare of scientists and environmentalists has become a fact.

Relax, don’t run to the window. For now, this is just a description of the game.

Transarctica is a French strategy game from 1993, in which we play the role of a rebellious idealist who wants to restore the sunlight to the world. The concept seems utopian because after the nuclear annihilation, humanity has concentrated around a few cities connected by a network of railroads, on which travel armoured trains belonging to a sinister corporation known as Viking Union. Our hero steals one of these trains, and here we begin as the audacious owner of an armoured train.

So we steer the train, we have to provide our machine with the right amount of coal and fuel, we will obtain these resources by travelling from city to city and buying them, or as a result of fights.

Each meeting with a different train starts the combat mode. The player’s train and the Viking Union train are visible on opposite sides of the screen, the combat takes place with armies and weapons, and even mammoths.

The entire gameplay is rather slow and may prove monotonous for some players, although the gameplay elements related to train control can be sped up. What is boring for some may be relaxing for others. The game is worth recommending to fans of economic strategies and tactics combats. Steam-punk and post-apocalyptic enthusiasts in particular will be pleased. The graphic design is very pleasant, together with well-prepared music, they create an atmosphere in which you can sink.

Interesting fact - there is a currently underway project, aimed to create a remake of the game. The first versions of the application are available from SourceForge.