BUS SIMULATOR 21: SCHOOL BUS EXTENSION / THOMAS BUILT BUSES BUS PACK DLC Review

redandbluedave

Sep 29

Info

Developed By: Stillalive Studios

Published By: Astragon

Platforms Available On: Xbox Series X/S and One, PS5/4 and PC.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X, a code for the expansion was very kindly supplied for the purpose of this review.

Overview

The School Bus Extension

This extension for Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop features new school buildings, additional missions and children as NPCs, as well as three iconic US school buses from the renowned manufacturer Blue Bird.

Buses:

All American FE
40-foot front engine school bus consisting of 2 axles, 2 doors, and a total capacity of up to 89 passengers.

All American RE
Rear engine school bus featuring a capacity of 89 passengers, 2 axles, 2 doors, and a total length of 40 feet.

Vision
A total of 83 passengers fit inside this 40-foot gasoline school bus, with 2 axles and 2 doors.

Features:

• New missions: Pick up children at various stops, bring them to school and vice versa (~6 h distributed over both maps)
• New special routes, with their own timetables, dedicated to school buses
• Additional bus stops
• 4 new school buildings for Angel Shores
• 4 school buildings for Seaside Valley
• New NPCs: children as passengers.

The Thomas Built Buses Bus Pack

Back to school, again! The Thomas Built Buses® Bus Pack is here to expand your school bus fleet with a well-crafted and iconic new model. Get your hands on the Saf-T-Liner® C2 as well as four new interior designs for you to customize your buses.
The Thomas Built Buses® Bus Pack includes:

Saf-T-Liner® C2
This 40-foot school bus has a capacity of up to 47 passengers and it comprises of 2 axles and 2 doors.

4x interiors

Get your hands on four new interior designs with the Thomas Built Buses® Bus Pack. They are a perfect fit for the Saf-T-Liner® C2 with their special seating and floor textures. But they also can be used for customizing other buses in your fleet – however you like!
Owners of the Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop – Season Pass automatically have access to this DLC. Get it now and experience Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop to its fullest potential.

Overview taken from the official game description on the Xbox marketplace store page.

Review

In this review I will be looking at the recent DLC releases for Bus Simulator 21 - if you wanted to see the review of the main game you can see that here

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to drive one of those iconic yellow American school buses, well thanks to Bus Simulator 21 now you can! The main manufacturers of school buses are here with the All American FE and RE along with Vision bringing the most detailed life like models to the game. The expansion brings new missions, new routes with timetables specifically for school buses.

The school expansion puts you right behind the wheel of a busy school run, everything needs to be planned out as you only have a selected time limit to get the children to the school on time. You must manage your time to get to each stop within the time limit and safely using all your safety measures on the bus, such as putting on your hazard lights at the right time so the children can get on and off the bus safely.

Although this pack seems to have alot going on it still keeps that chilled out gameplay vibe to it, I enjoyed the in depth nature of the gameplay as you meticulously plan your routes to pick up the children and get them to school on time and getting behind the wheel of these iconic vehicles is a bit of a dream come true. Although this DLC takes you away from the commuter travel SIM part of the game it still carries that strict business SIM with it allowing you to set up a school run business as you take to the streets for these children.

On the whole I would say that this expansion is good value for money as it brings alot to the table and expanding an already huge game world but it does it without losing the overall feel of the game and that is what keeps gamers coming back for more time and again.

The Thomas Built Buses DLC add on brings another iconic name to your fleet of buses.

The Thomas Built Saf-T Liner C2 is a US-American petrol powered school bus equipped with dual axels and a single door along with offering 47 seats for your school passengers and just like the other buses you can use this for either the school runs or your usual commuter services.

In terms of handling there isn't much difference in the Saf-T Liner compared to the other school buses and operates pretty much the same as the others although I found the controls a little difficult to manage as they are all in different places compared to the others so for example I struggled to find the flashing amber lights on the approach to the stops at the beginning resulting in penalties but it's just a case of getting used to the differences.

As this is a smaller pack it doesn't bring as much to the table as the School Bus Extension but it still is a worthy addition to the game as it brings more choice to your fleet.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics of these additions carry on the high standards that are set from the base game. The buses are all highly detailed with you also being able to change the interiors with the additional options added with the pack, the NPC's still look robotic but we aren't here for that we are here to drive buses and that comes with all the realism that you would want and gives a good simulation experience.

The soundtrack of the packs are pretty much the same as the base game as that part doesn't change with the packs as this is more of a visual update.

Summary

Time now then to put my thoughts of the packs into a summary. Overall I think the two packs bring alot to the game and well worth the additional purchase. I liked the laid back gameplay style of the school runs although it gets a bit tense when you push the time limit. If you enjoyed the vast simulation experience from the main game then you will definitely enjoy the School Bus Extension and the addition of the Thomas Built Bus gives you an alternative option, you can get the School Bus Extension without the Thomas Built Bus DLC but that would be like getting a coke without the ice.

Verdict-Out of 5

EXCELLENT

Overall I give the School Bus Extension and The Thomas Built Bus DLC an excellent score of 5 both well worthy additions to an already expansive game. Bus Simulator fans will get joy from driving these iconic and detailed vehicles. I'd definitely recommend picking these additions up.

Grab your copies of the School Bus Extension and the Thomas Built Bus DLC out now on Xbox and other platforms.