My Model Train Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

It??????s actually a puzzle game and not a train simulation

It's our old friends Handy Games with another new game to amuse. There used to be a time when mobile game titles did exactly what they said on the tin. Tiger Woods Golf was a golf game where you played as Tiger Woods. PornManager was a management game based around the most lucrative industry in the world. Granted, My Model Train is about Model Train's but don't imagine that this is a game where you build your own model railway. This is in fact a puzzle game and can be very loosely compared to Donald Duck's Quest and Bobby Carrot.

This is not a simulation game and your model railways, for each of the 25 levels, are already set up. Before each level you are given a challenge, usually involving transferring passengers from one station to another. The tricky bit comes in selecting which switches to turn in order for your train to complete the level. The same switch is often used more than once so you do have to be quick. Did I mention that there is a time limit and you cannot momentarily pause the train. Transport for London could learn a thing or two from this. One way to slow the action right down is to give your train two viable options at a junction. Rather than derail off the tracks the train will stop until you decide which way to turn the switch.

The levels rise quite sharply in difficulty but it is a good way to get accustomed to what is initially quite an alien experience. The game is played in a 3D isometric view and the graphics are nicely displayed. This view does mean that it can be awkward following what is going on. The trouble is that the size of the train and the surrounding shrubbery do obstruct your vision and it is difficult to quickly plot your course before the train goes the wrong way. Your cursor is fairly easy to move around the screen. Being isometric, the controls are a little weird. The main keys you need are 1, 3, 7 and 9. You can use the D-pad but it's not the most efficient way of moving round the screen. The cursor does automatically zooms in on the selected tile so can peer through the bushes to see where the track goes.

The game does requires a little time investment. The dreaded Labyrinth level arrives very early on in the game and it would be easy to succumb after many failed attempts and throw your mobile against the wall in frustration of this level. If you do manage to get past this level, the game opens up and introduces water, coal, extra wagons and a whole new aspect to the game. The challenge of delivering cargo while collecting coal and water actually becomes quite enjoyable.

Unfortunately we don't have time to complete the whole game before writing this review but in Handy Games tradition we would bet that the final level will have an infinite time limit and you can play as The Fat Controller to your heart's content.

As with Townsmen, this is very challenging in places (usually early on) but it's all worth it if you can get past the Labyrinth.