Official Review
Use of the crank is essential when it comes to success; when it's in the middle (facing upwards, towards you), the train's engine is in neutral; turn it downwards, and you'll be able to shift through five different stages of acceleration. Turning it upwards applies five different stages of braking, and turning it around 180 degrees (so it faces away from you) applies the emergency brake – which is only to be used in extreme situations.
As you trundle along the track, you need to keep an eye on the speed limit, which changes quite regularly; you get penalized for going even slightly over, so anticipating when you need to reduce pace is vital. Likewise, you'll have to get up to speed quickly when the limit increases – otherwise, you won't make it to your destination on time.
The Driver's Mode offers a neatly evolving level of difficulty as you challenge 1, 3 and 5-stop routes, each testing your familiarity with the controls. There's a lot of scope for bettering your score, as well as the added incentive of uploading your best performances to the online leaderboards. Free Mode allows you to play the game without the stress of worrying about your conduct as a driver, while the robust Tutorial does an excellent job of easing you into the gameplay (make sure you play that first).
Despite the laid-back presentation – with some wonderful music, excellent voice work, and silky-smooth pre-rendered 3D footage – Zero Zero: Perfect Stop can become a surprisingly tense experience, especially when you consider that losing the trust of your passengers can result in your trip coming to an abrupt end.
If the concept of driving a train doesn't appeal to you, then don't expect Zero Zero: Perfect Stop to change your mind – but if you're a fan of the Densha de Go! series, then this is a dream come true.
