Finally I can live out my dreams of running my very own Post Office. I would always see those smug postal carriers stroll up to my home, without a care in the world, delivering mail and packages with a smile. Now I can finally start my own post office and crush them, in the digital world at least.
Post Master is published by Excalibur Publishing who have brought us such titles as Bus Simulator 2, IL2 Sturmovik and the now legendary (on the internet) Chemical Spillage Simulation. In Post Master you take control over a post office and grow your business in an ever expanding city. You can buy new mail distribution centers, add staff, buy amenities, buy vehicles of various size and function, expand into neighboring cities and do your best to crush the competition.
Let’s quickly get down to brass tacks here, you want to know if Post Master is a fun game, right? Well, that is a somewhat difficult question to answer. Simulation games, on the whole, tend to be slow affairs without much on the action front, and Post Master clearly falls into this category. When I began playing I found myself fighting to stay interested in the game, but after running through the tutorial level, I found myself extremely invested in how well all my offices were doing and if my fleet was making their rounds in the most efficient way possible. Having the ability to customize your company within game is also a really nice way to help you stay engaged, and while the options aren’t anything revolutionary they serve their purpose. If you are a fan of a very basic simulation that doesn’t need a great deal of micromanagement, then Post Master will be an enjoyable adventure. On the other hand if you go into the game looking for a feature rich SimCity style experience you will be sadly disappointed.
Gameplay is what you would expect in a Sim of this nature. You start with a single post office and will work to expand your territory. The map will grow in real-time so if you stay stagnant the competition can swoop in and take the new territory that opens up during play. Each office needs to be staffed by clerks and mail sorters that each need salaries and a guard if you want to avoid being robbed. Within the garage (each office has their own) you have a set number of parking spots available. These parking spots can be upgraded should you have the funds to expand the office. The mail will not collect and be delivered on its own, so you must decide on what vehicles your carries will use. You can start with the most basic, a pedal bicycle, and upgrade to larger and faster vehicles, all the way up to the massive UPS style cargo truck. Each vehicle has a limited cargo capacity, speed and range, so you have to strategically, by hand, set the route for each of them so they can be most effective. You also have the ability to adjust the prices on the services you offer if you want to earn the largest profit, or if you want to undercut the competition. This all sounds nice, and it is, but you will quickly find yourself having nothing left to do in-game except watch your people drive their routes. This being a Sim you can only work during normal business hours and additionally will have weekends off from deliveries. This means that, while there is a fast forward button, a lot of time in-game will be spent doing nothing. On the easier levels I found myself, after an hour or two, maxing out all my offices and only making minor changes and vehicle upgrades. Post Master isn’t going to be a game that you sink a ton of hours into, but the time you do spend will be enjoyable to the Sim novice.
Speaking of SimCity, Post Master has a visual style very reminiscent of SimCity 2000, one of my all time favorite games, with its bright and vibrant colors. Nothing here is going to push or tax the average PC, but Post Master is a really pretty game to look at. As I touched on before the map you are playing on expands throughout the course of the game. This expansion, you don’t have any control over it, happens in the same style it does in SimCity 2000. Construction happens over time and lets you plan out your strategy so that the competition doesn’t beat you to a new route. While the game is nice to look at, I would have loved to see a much more active city on display. The only motion in the game is from your postal carriers driving around on their routes leaving the world feeling very empty.
On the sound front Post Master has the expected upbeat dance track going on during the menu screens along with a relaxing track that plays while in game. The music is nice and relaxing but be warned that during the games slow segments you may find yourself falling asleep because of it. You also get a plethora or bird sounds for some reason, even when zoomed in on a major city area. There are no other city sound to be had, no cars or traffic, building or work, or sounds beyond the music and the random sound cues within your office.
The game has a number of missions for you to complete that range from hiring a certain amount of staff, purchasing a certain amount of vehicles, expanding your influence, having a set amount of money in savings and other things along those lines. There really isn’t any mission that will have you wanting to come back over and over again, but the game is always fun for a some light Sim action from time-to-time. Post Master doesn’t offer the player any real incentive to keep coming back for more.
At the end of the day Post Master is an adequate Sim that is unique in what it simulates. Everything works fine and its nice to see a Team release that isn’t filled with bugs. For those hardcore SimCity style gamers, Post Master isn’t going to impress, but if you are a casual gamer looking to get into a simulation game, Post Master isn’t a bad start. Post Master will be available on Steam March 7th and is priced at $9.99. It’s a fair price for what Excalibur is asking, so it you have the urge to run your own post office give it a go.
You can find more information on Post Master on the publishers website (here).
Title: Post Master
Price: $9.99
Release Date: March 7th 2014
-Post Master Review-
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