Trouble on the Tracks (Thomas)

Member Name: aoife74

Product:	Thomas
Date:	22/09/06 (256 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, educational, great animation

Disadvantages: None

I’m not keen on my son playing computer games unless they’re educational or constructive. When my sister gave my son “Thomas & Friends – Trouble on the Tracks” it turned out to be a great success both for me and for my son.

On the cover it has ‘Ages 4-6’ but my son is 8 and he really does get a lot out of it – this is from the point of view of a child who doesn’t use his playstation (a present from his uncle which I discreetly sort of hid/shoved in a corner) and who doesn’t play many computer games – he’s not into all those shoot-them-up games that some of his friends are into. He doesn’t use the computer during the week when he has school, just at the weekend and when he wants to play a game he often chooses ‘Thomas & Friends’.
If your child is always on the playstation, Xbox, etc. and is into the usual shoot-them-up platform games then this probably isn’t appropriate.

==INSTALLATION==
Installation is simple – put the CD into the right slot and you get a pop-up window. Click ‘install’…. And that’s that done. Couldn’t get any simpler could it? I presume it’s for those poor parents who are clueless when it comes to computers – have no fear, with this you’ll have difficulties only if you keep your eyes closed!

==STARTING THE GAME==
Do as you’re told and click on a number and type your name.
Then sit back and enjoy watching ‘James’ (one of the trains) being sent to get some coal. After this you’re presented with the ‘Island of Sodor’. On the island there are various train-related objects. Clicking on one of these leads you to one of the activities. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see ‘The Fat Controller’ who guides you through everything, tells you what you have to do and tries to help if you seem stuck. He’ll tell you to click anywhere on the island if you want to do a particular activity or to click on ‘Thomas’ – the blue train beside ‘The Fat Controller’ if you want to start the story (I would recommend doing this). Clicking on Thomas brings you to the first activity.

==WHAT THE GAME CONSISTS OF==
There are 8 activities, each with 3 different levels of difficulty. You start off with the first level and once completed you can go onto the next level.

The activities all follow the story of ‘James’ who derails and the problems that arise as a consequence and that have to be resolved. James was going to get coal and now the engines are without – “This is an emergency!!”

**Activity 1: You control ‘Harold the Helicopter’ and your mission is to find where James has derailed.

**Activity 2: ‘The Horrid Lorry’ is sent to get the coal in James’ stead and he’s not too happy about it either! Here you control the Lorry in front of 3 conveyor belts which are pumping out coal. Going back and forth you have to fill up the lorry with clean coal – dodge pick axes, shovels and lamps which appear every so often!

**Activity 3: Once James has been found, somebody has to pull him back onto the tracks but on the way the ride was a bit bumpy and the crane’s ‘gears’ (cogs of various sizes) fell out – they have to be slotted back into place in the right order so that all the different sizes fit together.

**Activity 4: During the accident James lost his whistle so he needs a new one – you have to match the whistles to the right trains and whichever one is left belongs to James.

**Activity 5: Thomas is sent to the port to collect crates which have just arrived. Young children may find this a little challenging – my son missed the explanation and so had problems finishing it but once he realised what he had to do it was fine. Here you are at the shipping dock with Thomas and the ‘Troublesome Trucks’. The trucks have to filled with the correct crates. There is a level gauge next to the port master which indicates with an arrow the weight you have to reach by placing the crates in the trucks – I thought that this was great as once my son figured out what to do he got a lot out of it learning-wise – I think there’s a lot of trial and error here so the child has to look careful and use their judgement.

**Activity 6: In the accident James’ lamp was broken so he needs a new one – this is your traditional match the object to the silhouette game.

** Activity 7: Poor James needs to be repaired. This is a great activity where James needs looking to! He needs a new wheel, has cogs to be fitted, needs his wheels oiled and various pieces that were broken have to be replaced. He also needs a new coat of paint. This is my son’s favourite.

** Activity 8: James is looking just like new and he’s almost ready to go! There are 2 parts to this activity. In the first James needs his water tank filled and he also needs to be restocked with coal. In the second part you need to put the right amount of coal in the engine, take the brake off and send him on his way.

==OTHER NOTES==
At the end of each activity click on Thomas at the bottom of the screen to bring you to the next one. If for some reason you don’t want to do the activity at hand, clicking on Thomas will continue the story. On the last activity, clicking on Thomas will restart the story.

Throughout the activities, at the bottom of the screen you have…
…the Fat Controller who talks you through everything,
…an indicator which shows which level you’re playing,
…‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ who brings you to the next part of the story,
…a red book which is the Fat Controller’s Log Book – this brings you to his office,
…and the Island which brings you back to the main screen.

Going to the Fat Controller’s office you’ll find your certificates on one half of the wall. After completing each activity you are awarded a certificate with a title that corresponds to the achievement for example ‘Master Pilot’ or ‘Engineer’s Assistant’. These can be printed.
On the other half of the wall are ‘snapshots’ featuring various parts of the story which can be printed in colour or in black and white to be coloured by hand later on. Or they can be made into jigsaw puzzles and printed – something we won’t be doing as it’ll be yours truly who has to cut the pieces.

My son discovered that by clicking on various objects around each activity screen, sometimes something happens – for example, clicking on a window makes it open and somebody waves at you or clicking on a hole makes a mouse peep out at you. A nice touch I thought.

==GRAPHICS==
I really liked the graphics. For kids it’s really effective – bright and colourful and full of detail. As I said the activities follow a story and it’s like watching a Thomas the Tank Engine cartoon where the child is involved in everything. Your child will love the animation and interaction!


If you’re looking for something that’s educational but fun for your child, I would definitely recommend this.

“Thomas & Friends – Trouble on the Tracks” published by Hasbro Interactive.
Requirements: Windows 95/98/Me/XP, Windows 95/98 compatible SVGA video card, Windows 95/98 compatible 16-bit sound card. DirectX version 7.0a is included.

Summary: Looking for something computer-based, educational but fun for your child? This is perfect!