THE TRAIN

 THE TRAIN is one of Accolade's most original and enjoyable programs. It takes a
decidedly offbeat mission from the pages of WWII history and presents it in a
fast-moving, interesting assortment of arcade challenges. At the same time, it
actually communicates a sense of excitement and danger as you take control of a
heavily-armed locomotive and maneuver it through wartime France. Three game
elements -- wargame plot, arcade action, and some simulator skills -- are
interwoven to create an enjoyable and unusual piece of entertainment. The IBM-PC
version is the basis of this review.

 In our story, the Germans have appropriated the priceless artworks of France
and loaded them aboard a train bound for Berlin. Once there, the three cargo
cars will be held for ransom by the Reich. You (as daredevil Pierre LeFeu) and
your alert assistant, LeDuc, are to hijack the train and guide it to Riviere,
where the Allied forces can smuggle the artwork to safety. This will require you
to not only learn how to engineer the train, but to assist in its defense, to
capture train depots and bridges through combat, and to carefully plan your
route and allotments of time and manpower.

 Capturing the train at the very beginning of the game is slightly awkward,
since it requires both the joystick and space bar to be used simultaneously (as
do all the station takeover situations). With a little practice, it can be done
-- albeit incurring greater risk -- without the keyboard. Running the train,
however, is a little more complex, especially because the train's specs are
never spelled out. For example, the pressure, temperature, and speed gauges are
all uncalibrated. They carry no numerical information, only vague markings that
serve as unknown constants. And the manual does not explain their usage. Through
experience, you learn to keep the needles within certain boundaries, but that's
the extent of the train simulation element. There aren't a lot of controls, but
part of the fun of the game is juggling all of them at once, while the fighters
are strafing you, and the occupied bridge is just 4 kilometers away, closing
fast.

 Despite the online prompts, it's still painfully easy to overwork the boiler or
damage the brakes. And because you can't save your game in progress, it's
necessary to restart every game from the beginning. The fact that you can
control the length and difficulty of the game at the outset (as you're robbing
the train from the Metz station) removes a little of the curse from the lack of
a save feature.

 There are several screens visible at a single keystroke: the engine cab, the
front and gunners, and the map. The engine cab consists of all the train's
controls: the throttle, the brakes, the furnace (to which you periodically need
to add coal), the forward/reverse lever, the steam blow-off, and the whistle,
which tells your Resistance friends how to switch the tracks. The front and rear
gunner screens show a bit of neat animation as the scenery shifts perspective
and the Messerschmidts swoop by. If the attacking fighters pass overhead of the
front gun station, you switch to the rear and take aim as it continues its run.

 The arcade portions of the game are very simple, conceptually, but require much
practice to excel. They consist of shooting down the fighters that strafe the
train in motion, capturing bridges by destroying the ships that cruise the area,
and capturing stations by shooting out the lit windows. All three tasks are
simply aim-and-shoot, but there's enough variety in the screens to keep the
arcade element interesting.

 The map (duplicated in the manual) allows you to plan your route.
Straightforward color-coding shows you which bridges and stations are
German-held, and which are safe. When you enter a friendly station (or take it
by force), you can use the telegraph. This will allow you to intercept a German
broadcast and get current information about the routes ahead.

 The Resistance can make repairs to the train; however, they can only do thi
once per game. They can also "take" bridges or stations at your request, up to
three times per game. Use of their help, along with a good amount of foresight,
is essential to completing your mission. A request for repairs (or other help)
must be transmitted at a captured train station after reading whatever
information is found there. Resistance fighters will also switch lines for you
in most cases. At times, you'll want to override their selections, accomplished
with the whistle.

 Your score is based on many factors: the damage done to components of the
Train, including the cargo; the damage done to the enemy (number of fighters
shot down, enemy soldiers killed, etc.). Top scores and names are saved to disk.
Successfully completing the mission with the cargo even partially intact is
difficult, even at the easiest level. Finishing with an entirely intact cargo
and train is currently beyond this reviewer's skills.

 The graphics are somewhat coarse, yet in EGA their muted colors (lots of grays,
blacks, and reds) are highly evocative of the nighttime bleakness of the
landscape. There are four graphics modes in the IBM Version: Hercules, CGA, EGA,
and Tandy 16-color. I recommend either of the latter two, although the game
suffers less than the usual amount of degradation if you have to go with
four-color CGA. If you're using a Tandy, you'll need at least 512K to get
16-color graphics; otherwise, you'll be forced to use CGA. The minimum memory
required for all configurations is 384K.

 Either joystick or keyboard can be used to play, although a joystick is
recommended. For IBM users, the game comes on a single, protected 5-1/4" floppy.
A 3-1/2" version is available for an extra $5.00, only through Accolade.
Accolade's policy of disk-based protection and outrageous charges for alternate
disk formats, backups, and graphic extras is horribly outdated.

 Aside from the manual (which I felt was too skimpy on the care and feeding of a
diesel locomotive), and the lack of a save feature, I really enjoyed THE TRAIN.
Every time I left a waypoint, with the train slowly beginning to chug and the
furnace flickering brightly, I felt a real thrill and a sense of impending
danger. THE TRAIN is a unique game that combines the elements of wargames,
simulations, and arcade games quite effectively.

 THE TRAIN is published and distributed by Accolade, Inc.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253