Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure
Nothing is more fun than reviewing adventure software that combines the concepts of a game with a part of our history. Nevertheless, we can't resist the "owner's" game where we confuse you with who actually wrote the adventure. The box for this software says it comes from Knowledge Adventure, but Knowledge Adventure is really a division of Cendant, as is Blizzard, Sierra Attractions and several more companies. Well, now these boxes should contain the name of the newest parent company, Havas Interactive. More importantly, you should know that the prequel to the Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure is entitled the 3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown, but this 3-D software has a box labeled Sierra Attraction, aka Sierra Online, the venerable father of adventures games-also a Havas Company. Stay tuned, because we're not done yet.
The Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure looks much like The Oregon Trail that was written by MECC, but MECC (and Broderbund, etc.) became a branch of Softkey International, which in turn became The Learning Company, which is now owned by Mattel. We hope that we have this straight. In any case, it may not be relevant except to point out that the Edutainment software market is quickly being monopolized by fewer and fewer publishers. Two holdouts are Humongous and Cave Dog, but we expect that these ripe plums have had offers.
Let's get back to Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure. It resembles The Oregon Trail because (1) it has a familiar overhead map view; (2) it contains a log book with information on dangers, plants and animals, etc.; (3) you need to talk to the people you meet to get advice; (4) you must make decide how to cross bodies of water, swamps, etc.; (5) you lose when mishaps or lack of funds end the journey.
The new and different challenges are (1) your budget, (2) the complexities of laying tracks, (3) the need to deal with your laborers, (4) the ability to get help from some experts inside the train, (5) the need to find ways through the mountains that are suitable for tracks, (6) the need to capture six famous outlaws to protect yourself and gain the reward money, (7) the need to find the stolen Golden Spike that will join the two halves of the Central Pacific Railroad in Promontory Utah, and the challenge of building either half of the railroad (the Eastbound or Westbound).
We were impressed with how hard it was to find the route, even the starting one from Sacramento to Colfax. We never did have the time to make it past Colfax to Yuba Gap, probably because we live within walking distance of Colfax where it is a lot easier to stop and sit down at the local Madonna Restaurant or Dingus McGee's.
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| Figure 1. The Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure is a Gem. |
| Click on thumbnail for full image. (17K) |
We worked hard on this project in front of the computer screen, but this is a very big and educational adventure. The photographs made it seem very real, as did the need to negotiate with Indians and townsfolk along the way. We attribute our initial success to our knowledge of history that guided us to hire Chinese workers at $4 per day to replace the white immigrants, who, in 1863, were more interested in the gold than the tracks. We also got help because we chose an easy play level.
In Figure 1, you can see some of the action in this realistic adventure. Unfortunately, we could not capture the screen shots we liked best because the software takes complete control of the PC.
With real history (mostly), action, puzzle solving, desperados, a mystery, Native Americans and beautiful scenery, this big adventure is irresistible and addictive for anyone. Parents will love it and be glad when youngsters think they are playing a 'game.'
Lionel Train's Trans-Con Adventure
[$29.95 street]
Knowledge Adventure
A Division of Havas Interactive
19840 Pioneer Avenue
Torrance, CA 90503
(310) 793-0600
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