Industry Giant II: 1980-2020

IF an add -on pack for an economic simulation sounds strange, it ain't. The original highly-addictive Industry Giant II offered 150 raw products and goods with 50-plus types of transport covering the period 1900 to 1980. The add-on virtually doubles the range of products available to buy and sell and adds 40 years to the game, taking it to 2020.

Transport is much expanded with things like huge cargo planes, helicopters, fast-articulated lorries and highspeed and electrified railways, and there are new raw materials and produced goods. So you don't just get mobile phones and computers to make and sell - you also get crops like tomatoes, fish and rape straight from 1900. You can now take petroleum refining all the way to the forecourt rather than using it to create plastics. Or you can refine some crops to produce eco-friendly fuels made from vegetable oils.

Two new industries have been added, jewellery and coffee shops. Jewellery relies mainly on gold and silver to produce very expensive products, the good thing being that you can afford to deliver them by helicopter, aeroplane or super-fast truck. Coffee shops are essentially an entirely new industry based heavily on imported tea, cocoa and coffee but mixed with traditional food products. Importing is another new creation - some maps have special import (and even export) harbours.

There are also several minor gameplay changes, most importantly the ability to dispatch long-distance trains or other transports once a month, and a range of new player logos.

A new map editor is included on the CD, although this will be freely downloadable on full release. Nonetheless, it's one of the most essential add-ons I've come across for a long time.