Train Conductor, a new path-management game from The Voxel Agents, is available from the app store. Combining hectic gameplay with terrific presentation and smooth controls, Train Conductor is sure to make a significant run up the app store charts.
Train Conductor Pros:
- Exciting gameplay
- Nicely rendered environments that truly have an Australian outback feel to them
- Great train animation
- Catchy soundtrack
- Flawless controls
- Plus+ for global leaderboards and a nice achievement system
Train Conductor Cons:
- Short experience left us wanting
Train Conductor features exciting gameplay in the Australian Outback. The goal is to direct numbered trains to their similarly-numbered tracks. You’ll start easy in Alice Springs, with only three tracks to oversee. Trains can enter from either side of the screen, offering up a quick flashing red light as a warning of their impending arrival. Simply swipe from any train to the track to which it belongs. A connecting track appears to facilitate a swift transfer. Upon a successful switch, the connecting track disappears into a cloud of dust. You can also tap a train to stop it, and tap again to restart. It’s just that simple, and it is in that simplicity that its addictiveness is found. There are four areas in which to play, each with its quirks. After earning enough points to pass Alice Springs, you’ll move on to Cairns, which adds an extra track. Entering Sydney adds yet another track, as well as extra long Gold Rush trains which take up a lot of valuable track space. The final stage, Melbourne, is also 5 tracks wide, but one of the tracks is broken in the middle, requiring you to work around this defect. Trains also appear more frequently and move more swiftly as you progress through the stages. There is a fast-forward button that increases the speed of the trains even more, though time is unaffected. This can lead to higher point totals, as well.
Crashing two trains results in an immediate end to the level, and any points earned at that time are added to the overall level total. Successfully moving the trains results in an increasing multiplier. This can earn big bonus points which speeds up your completion of all available game levels, of which there are decidedly few. To increase the amount of gameplay, each level has a day and night option. During the night, you must move ghost trains and skull trains to their designated tracks. The major difference between day and night (other than the darker appearance of night) is that trains in the night levels cannot crash, nor can they be stopped. They simply pass through each other unharmed. Trains appear more frequently and move faster in the night than the day, creating a greater level of chaos, yet less stress as you need not worry about avoiding the other trains. If a skull train does not make it to its proper destination, the level ends, so it’s imperative to watch these closely and prioritize which trains you move.
Graphically, the game has a very appealing look, with polished graphics and nicely rendered environments that truly have an Australian outback feel to them. The ghost effects in night mode are also very cool. The trains show nice animation, too. The soundtrack is catchy without being annoying, and sound effects add nice atmosphere. You also have the option to play your own music. Controls, as mentioned, are simple and work flawlessly, even when there are several trains on screen and you swipe one train that is crossing another. We never experienced one issue with the controls, which was quite impressive. Multi-touch is also possible, so you can direct more than one train at the same time.
Replay value is good, as the game utilizes Plus+ for global leaderboards and a nice achievement system. The enjoyable gameplay will also keep you coming back for more. Multiple profiles are available so that multiple people can play concurrently. The biggest drawback with that it was just such a short experience. It left us wanting much more. We completed all levels within a couple of hours. Despite this, we felt that $1.99 was a very fair price for this engaging 5-Dimple stud.
