Auran Games announces Trainz Classics, a reinvention of their railroading franchise that will go on sale in Australia and New Zealand on June 24 (in spite of that being a Sunday). There are some screenshots on Gameplay Monthly, and word is:

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (GAMESBIZWIRE)- June 19, 2007 - Sim lovers will now have the chance to drive iconic train routes from around the world with the arrival of Trainz Classics.

The game is the latest in the popular Trainz franchise developed by Auran Games. Currently played by over 600,000 users worldwide, the latest edition in the Trainz series features New York’s Harlem line along with a fantasy Metropolis route. In future, the company will be releasing new classic routes from around Australia, the UK and US, turning Trainz Classics into a unique collection of the world’s most intriguing rail routes.

Trainz producer, Rob Shaw says the game takes the Trainz franchise into much broader territory.

“We’ve re-invented Trainz. We’ve made it look and run better and made it easier to use so as to bring in new Train lovers, whilst keeping our current loyal users happy.

“At the same time we’ve conducted a complete audio-visual overhaul to make it more authentic than any Trainz release to date.”

As with previous releases of Trainz, users will have access to the community created online database of free content, dubbed “the download station”.

Trainz Community Manager, Lance Jago said the download station has been a crucial point of difference for the sim.

“Over the last 6 years, users have created and shared over 60,000 of their own items. By facilitating this sharing of content, we’ve helped to turn Trainz into a genuinely community focused sim and users have enjoyed seeing their creative efforts enjoyed by others.”

“No other simulator offers that kind of community participation and it makes the sim far more enjoyable and immersive for users.”

Jago says the community has been essential to the success of the Trainz franchise and that their feedback has shaped and directed Trainz Classics at every step.

“What we’ve designed is not just a new edition of Trainz, but a new platform that will allow us to gather iconic routes from around the world and bring them together for people to enjoy and modify and make their own.”

Trainz Classics will be published across Australia and New Zealand by N3VRF41L Publishing on June 24th. For more information, visit www.n3vrf41l.com.