• Bus driver simulations take place in various virtual city environments.Bus Stop image by Jacob Randell from Fotolia.com
  
  Among three-dimensional (3D) video games, popular genres include action, strategy, racing and role-playing varieties. Though perhaps not the most popular of the 3D vehicle game subgenre, a variety of bus driving games do exist. These games strive to realistically recreate the experience of driving a public service bus through city street routes, simulating the behavior of traffic and passengers while tasking players with making their stops as efficiently as possible.
  
  

Bus Driver Gold

• Game developer SCS Software presents Bus Driver Gold, a 3D bus driving simulation game with realistic graphics. According to the game's official website, Bus Driver Gold tasks players with safely transporting passengers, meeting timetables, obeying traffic laws and following planned routes. Special missions such as transporting prisoners and conducting sightseeing tours add variety to the game. Players complete their bus driving goals using 12 different bus models--including double-deckers and school buses--to traverse 30 routes. The routes, set in a large unified city environment, feature varying weather conditions and virtual night and day cycles. Artificial intelligence controls the traffic and inhabitants of the city as players progress through five levels of difficulty. Bus Driver Gold runs on the Windows operating system, XP and Vista versions. SCS Software offers the game for free trial download or electronic purchase of the full version at Bus Driver Gold's official website.
  
  

City Bus Simulator

• From software developer TML Studios comes the 3Dl City Bus Simulator. True to its name, this game virtually replicates the experience of driving a city bus. City Bus Simulator is set in a re-creation of Manhattan, New York, complete with landmarks such as Times Square, the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station. It puts players in the shoes of bus driver Carlos as he drives the city's M42 bus line along 42nd Street and its many side streets. According to the official website, the game features explorable routes, detailed graphics, realistic physics, customizable camera angles, dynamic traffic controlled by artificial intelligence, varying weather conditions, a virtual radio station with over 40 real music tracks, daytime and nighttime cycles, and a vehicle editor. A route editor option allows players to create their own routes using over 600 3D models. City Bus Simulator runs on Windows XP and Vista platforms. Simulation game publisher Aerosoft has City Bus Simulator for purchasable download at their website.
  
  

Bus Simulator Deluxe

• German developer Contendo Games offers a 3D bus simulation game named Bus Simulator Deluxe. The game rates players on efficiency and punctuality as they travel 18 different bus routes using 14 vehicle models, including double-deckers and articulated buses. Players earn virtual cash as they tote passengers across the city and countryside, investing their earnings in their own bus company. According to the game's official website, Bus Simulator Deluxe features an infinite number of driving simulation missions, various city districts to drive through, multi-angle camera views, a high-score system and additional buses via Internet download. This 3D bus game runs on Windows XP and Vista operating systems and can be purchased or tried for free at Contendo Games' official website.