Railway Empire 2: Journey To The East Review (Dagonet)
First of all, if you enjoyed the base game, you'll probably also enjoy 'Journey to the East' because it's largely more of the same. For your money you get:
A new map: The Balkan map is huge, but in my opinion probably the weakest of the dlc maps. It isn't as varied as you'd expect given the region represented, and it's also strikingly less detailed if you put it side by side with screenshots from later dlc. There are also a few towns and rural businesses that are situated in spots that are impossible to reach without building some extremely impractical routes. The music and the new goods are... good.
Six new engines: These are absolutely beautiful, and definitely the main selling point here. The Bavarian S 3/6 is my personal favourite! If your main concern is value for money then you should know that this is the lowest number of new trains included in all of the dlc so far.
1 new scenario: That doesn't sound like a lot, but the scenario is long. Very very long. Especially compared to the shorter scenarios in the base game, this will keep you going for days or even weeks of play. It's got a good variety of tasks, but nothing particularly revolutionary, other than the length. It is a step up in difficulty compared to the base game, so if you've played some of those scenarios and fancy a challenge, I think you'll enjoy it. My only real criticism is that if you complete it in a timely fashion, you may only get the chance to use 2 of the new engines, though of course you can use the rest in a free game. If you're like me though, and you only play the scenarios, it's something to consider.
New mechanic - Luxury train lines: This is a nice idea, and the models for the luxury carriages are great, but the reality of this new mechanic is that it really doesn't change anything compared to creating normal express lines. You set up the line, choose how much you jack up the price, and then it runs like a normal express line.
All in all, probably the weakest of the RE2 dlc so far, but despite my complaints it is still very fun and addictive to play, and a worthy addition. I'd recommend it to any fan of the base game, but I'd probably go for one of the others if you're on a budget and want the most value for your money.