Sometime ago I came upon a Thomas the Tank Engine game special: Thomas Saves the Day, and Building the New Line. Since my son is fanatical about Thomas, it was an easy purchase at $14.99. Thomas Saves the Day was the first game we played together, and it caused such frustration, I’m surprised we continued playing computer games. That was 2-years ago, and fortunately our persistence has paid off.


The Story:
The storm of the century hit the Island of Sodor, and everyone must pitch-in and help. Thomas the Tank Engine saves the day, and he invites us to assist him on his adventure. You’ll meet many friends such as Gordon, Percy, Edward, Harvey, Harold the Helicopter, and Salty.


Game Play:
After installing the game, you’ll enter the sign-in page. Type your name on what looks like an old fashioned typewriter. To erase a saved game, click on the trash can. When you wish to end the session, click on the red circle that says, “Stop.” To begin the adventure, click on the green “Go” button.

Two Ways to Play ~ You can select Story Mode, or Activities Mode. A picture of a newspaper announces the big storm. Click on it to select the Story Mode. Click on the game pictures to choose the Activities Mode.

Story Mode ~ The games are woven into the story. Thus, you can follow the story and play the games as you move along, or you can select the Activities Mode to only play the games. The Story Mode page is like a page of contents. It has a chapter title, and a picture representing each chapter. Click on the introduction to begin the game. Your task in each chapter is to find, and deliver an object(s) that will assist Thomas, or one of his friends. During the mission, you will travel to different destinations on the Island of Sodor, such as Knapford Station, Mr. Jolly’s Chocolate Factory, and so on. As you complete each task, a red checkmark will appear next to the chapter pictures on the contents page. You cannot jump around the story. You must follow the story as it unfolds, but if you wish, you may replay the chapters anytime. There’s a picture of a newspaper on each page, which will return you to the previous screen.

Activities Mode ~ There are 5-different types of games: logic and reasoning, matching, spatial relationships, sequencing, and creative design. In Sir Topham’s Important Mission, you will build a chain long enough for Harvey’s crane. Match the links to the chain, and connect it. In Percy and the Haunted Cave, a picture of three objects will appear on the screen. You must listen, and match the mysterious sounds. Harold needs your help fishing cargo out of the river in The Missing Shipments. Try to collect all the crates before they drift away. Match the musical sequencing in the Race for the Docks game. Design a box of chocolates in Mr. Jolly’s Chocolate Factory. You can select the chocolate mold, the chocolate color, decorative sprinkles, and even the wrapping. Once you’ve completed your chocolate creation, you can print the page. Each game page has an arrow, which will take you to the previous screen. There is also a difficulty setting (1, 2, 3) on all the games except for Mr. Jolly’s Chocolate Factory.


Graphics and Sounds:
As in all things Thomas, the main characters are the engines. Most of the action in this game comes in with searching for the necessary items. Thus, there's a lot of huffing and puffing on the rails. Edward gets derailed, and needs someone to fetch Harvey who has a portable crane. Percy needs assistance unloading his freight, and so on. The television series is shot in real-time live-action (real model trains with lush countryside backgrounds), and the video sections of Thomas Save the Day echos that animation. It's phenomenal! It's almost like watching a DVD. All the views are shot in elevation, so sometimes we see the backend of Thomas traveling through a stone arched viaduct surrounded by acres of lush green grass, while other times we see him coming around the bend traveling toward the viewer.

The other sections of the game appear to be in 3D animation. It looks a little flat compared to the video clips, but it's colorful nonetheless. With the exception of the introduction when Sir Topham Hatt discusses the big storm, the sky is always a bright blue with large fluffy clouds. The nature shots have depth, and lots of shade variations, and shadowing for texture. There's always some movement and some small sound effect: a windmill softly clicking in the background, a cow walking in the pasture, a squire hopping on the ground making an eating noise, or smoke floating from Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Factory.

The sound quality is good too. In the Activities Mode, an acoustic version of the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song plays quietly in the background. It’s soothing, and not annoying like the vocal version featured on the Thomas & Friends television series. Sir Topham Hatt has a slightly affected English accent, although he's easily understod. The narrator speaks clearly too, but sounds as if he has a Canadian accent. All the characters in this game are male except for Elizabeth the Lorry Truck. Most of the accents are American, although Salty has a Scottish accent, and some of the workers have English Cockney accents.


Our Experience:
When in Story Mode Thomas Saves the Day is seriously lacking directions, and prompts. For instance, after watching the video describe the big storm in the introduction, the screen jumps to Gordon’s Hill. There’s a sign that says Knapford, and another sign with a picture of a shed. There’s no verbal prompts, or instruction, only a butterfly flitting in the air. After a minute, the narrator says, “Let’s check Wellsworth Station for something to heat up my steam.” There’s no sign for Wellsworth Station, so you click on the sign that says Knapford. Thomas says, “I’m still feeling a bit cold,” but the train doesn’t move. Then, you click on the other sign. It says, Jeb Coal’s Workshed, and when you get to the Workshed, Thomas indicates that it’s empty, and that perhaps we should come back later. Then, you notice a sign that says Wellsworth. You can either go back to Gordon’s Hill and watch the butterfly, or click on the sign that says Wellsworth. Obviously, you click on the sign, and once you arrive at the station, there’s a bucket of coal waiting. Click on the coal, and Thomas thanks you. Then, you’re transferred back to the contents page. Sir Topham Hatt offers an “attaboy,” and instructs you to click on the next chapter to continue the adventure.

You could literally go back and forth from Gordon’s Hill, to the Workshed, and back to Wellsworth Station without really knowing what you’re supposed to do. There is no map to direct you, or verbal prompts. The video mentions that Thomas is cold, and needs to warm his steambox, but it doesn’t specifically tell you to find a bucket of coal. The entire game plays in this manner, in Story Mode anyway. It’s like a wild goose chase with a lot of guessing about where you’re supposed to go, and what you’re supposed to do. The cursor highlights the signs, and announces what the signs say, but the Story Mode frustrates little one’s, because the objectives aren’t clear.

Thankfully, the instructions are thorough in Activities Mode. The narration is encouraging, and offers assistance when in trouble. When changing the difficulty setting, or when leaving the game, the narrator always prompt with, “Are you sure you want to leave the game?” This question comes with a thumbs up for yes, and a thumbs down for no. Kids understand this, so I like this aspect of play. When I first played Thomas Saves the Day, I was confused. Now, I’m not into computer games, so that’s not saying a lot; however, in my view a preschool game should be crystal clear. This computer game is rated EC (Early Childhood), and is intended for the very young, 3 to 5-years. Most 3-year old children are not reading yet, so they need simple verbal prompts to assist them. Despite the aggravation with the Story Mode, William enjoyed the Activities Mode. Some of the games are more challenging than others, but for a 2 1/2-year old it was enough to keep him busy for 30-minutes or more. As he became more confident, he attempted the chapters. Now that he’s 4 1/2, he flies through the program.

I’m torn as to how to rate this game. The graphics and sounds are exceptional = 5. The narrative instruction is great in Activities Mode = 5, but ridiculously weak in Story Mode = 1. The game entertains my son = 3, but lacks educational value = 3. I’d like to give Thomas Saves the Day an above average rating, because once my son got the hang of the game, he was quite amused by it, but the lack of direction in an early childhood game bothers me. Had Atari designed the game with two levels of play in Story Mode, one with instruction, and one without, I probably would have rated this game excellent. Bottom line, an experience preschooler will probably like the challenge of the Story Mode, a beginner will be seriously frustrated.

Operating System: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
Memory: 32 MB RAM (64 MB RAM for XP)
Hard Disk Space: 85 MB Free
CD-ROM Drive: 8X Speed or faster

Atari, Inc.
417 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016
www.atarikids.com


Additional Children’s Computer Game Reviews
Dora the Explorer Animal Adventures




Recommended: Yes