Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends

"It's full steam ahead once again for Thomas, he's had a busy week at the Station and now looks likely this week is going to be just as busy. The Fat Controller's head is spinning with all the special trips he has to organise. He's got to take the Children to the Seaside, Medicine to the Hospital, Logs to the Saw Mill, Coal to the Power Station, deliver the Mail and take some Oil to the Refinery. It is a good job the he has Thomas and his friends to rely upon. You control Thomas as he tries to complete all his tasks before the week is over. But be careful not to go too fast, you never know what's around the corner!"

A nice game for the younger player. A nice colourful game but the fine detail suffers for it. The music is nice rendition of the cartoon theme but soon gets annoying as it loops over and over. The game has two difficulties. Easy being well...easy allowing you to most likely complete the game first go. And then there is Normal which is damned near infuriating.

At the start of the Easy game you get to choose a level and then its a case of hitting the track, dodging oncoming trains, find your trailer and get to the station. There is a time limit but it's not a huge issue on easy. There will be trains that randomly appear on the track either in front or behind you to watch for. Should you run into one then you will be put back a screen or two. Once you have reach the station in all levels, you win.

Now with the Normal game shown in the video, everything is out to get you. The Fat Controller has lost control of the train network and the other trains will be racing around looking to crash into you. You also have a speed limit. Remain at full speed to long and you will derail. There can also be trees on the tracks requiring you to move slowly to push them out of the way. The time limit is now pretty tight especially on the later levels.

Overall, this was a pretty good buy for a budget game at 2.99 and I enjoyed my time with it back in the day, on easy of course! Recording it now I did find this version only slightly easier than the Spectrum version. There is no need to leave and re-enter a screen until a rock vanishes, instead you can just push the obstacle out of the way. On the Spectrum the main issue was mainly the other trains just darting in and out of screens looking for the fastest way to end your game.