Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I ordered this simulator thinking that the pretty package with "Train Simulator" all over it would actually contain a CD with a Train Simulator program on it, that I could install on my computer and use to learn how to drive trains. What I got instead was a CD (with Train Simulator all over it) that contained nothing but a mandatory account setup for "Steam", which turned out to be a time-consuming and invasive online account that I had to set up before I could do anything else. After all, am I buying a train simulator, or a machine gun permit? Once that laborious process was complete, I had to mess around their complicated menus to find out that I actually had to download the entire program from the internet, which took 30 minutes. In the simulator program itself, there is no "Help" menu, instruction manual, or tutorial about driving a train. You are thrown to the wolves on this one, and if you don't already know what you're doing, good luck with the learning curve. When I buy software on a CD, I expect that software to be ON that CD, so I can install it. Sure, we're all used to getting online to download updates to our newly installed software, but this package added a bunch of hoops to jump through that made this process way too complicated. Why should I wait several days for a CD to arrive, when I have to download the actual simulator anyway? Furthermore, this game CANNOT be played unless you are connected to the internet. So, if your signal is down, you are SOL. None of these facts were stated on Amazon, but are vaguely stated in the fine print on the back of the CD box. After writing down 53 keyboard commands for the train I chose to drive (yes, there is no on-screen help menu, unless you want to pause your scenario EVERY time you need to figure out what button does what), I finally got the train moving. I even figured out how to stop it, no thanks to this non-intuitive software. And if you do pause, be prepared to wait a long time for it to reload and resume. For my first exposure to a train simulator, I was very disappointed with this nonsense, and consider it a dismal failure. I want to play with a train, not get an online "account", be part of a "community", or jump through a bunch of password and registration hoops just to download what should have already been on my disk.. I also expect an instruction manual, like the ones that come with all the other software I've ever bought. Buyer beware....if you get this package, you're going to waste a lot of time just getting to the point where you can actually see a train....then good luck learning to drive it. Furthermore, the customer support is nonexistant. LakePlaceGames dragged me through a drawn-out correspondence that went from "We don't know what you're talking about" to "Are you SURE the game is like that?" to "It's not our job to explain every detail in the products we sell" to "Sorry for your luck". Once in awhile, you deal with a business that would rather quibble about a $35 refund, than to accommodate a customer and stand by their product. This is one of those businesses. Their attitude is, it's not their job to advertise their product accurately, and if you're dissatisfied, it sucks to be you.