3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown

by Sierra

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00001XDV0
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,923 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From Children's Software Revue® -- "Subscribe Now!"

Nothing beats an actual train set, but this realistic simulation comes close. Created by J eff Tunnell and the same team that made The Incredible Machine, this computer train set features a large, true-to-scale set of engines, cars and maintenance vehicles inspired from the Lionel colle ction. A scenery editor lets you layout your own tracks, and several backdrops like mountain towns , a living room floor, the moon, a classroom and a winter village enhance the view.

While it is fun to build your own scene, it is even more enjoyable to try to solve one of the program's 72 cha llenges. These vary in difficulty from easy to very hard, but all require careful timing and strat egy. In one activity, children must route a speeding train through a maze of switches, drawbridges and moving vehicles in order to deliver presents in time for Christmas. In another, children oper ate eight switches in order to keep traffic flowing. If they can avoid a collision for just 60 sec onds, they win.

Don't tell the kids, but this fun program is a fantastic, playful exercise in lo gical reasoning and spatial thinking. The controls are easy to use, and the six challenge levels m ake it so all members of the family can play. The degree of detail in this simulation is excellent - the smoke coming out of the trains looks real, and the narration and background music are terrif ic. We also liked the nicely replicated true to scale animated trains, all inspired from detailed models.
Teaches: logic, problem solving, creativity, spatial and temporal relations
Age Range: 7-up Copyright © 2000 Children's Software Revue

Amazon.com Review

Forget your dad's old electric train set, Lionel TrainTown is here. You'll have all the fun of workin' on the railroad without taking up the whole living room floor.

Going to work in TrainTown means learning to fuel and drive locomotives, switch tracks, couple freight cars, and even clear a line of wandering reindeer with the click of the mouse. To start, players learn to operate the trains quickly and efficiently via a set of narrated tutorials. Apprentice engineers then can click on specific job assignments, like taking a load of hamburgers to hungry factory workers or sorting cars in the freight yard. As you become more adept at manipulating the trains, the jobs get wilder. You may end up delivering materials to build a replica of the Eiffel Tower in the midst of the Arctic. Each job is timed, so you can repeat the task to improve your record or challenge others to beat it.

TrainTown's striking 3-D graphics and realistic sound effects make this CD-ROM a pleasure to play, although the maps that are needed to complete many jobs are a bit hard to read. Children under 8 may not have the patience to complete even the easiest job assignments but will still enjoy the fun of creating their own track layouts and racing the trains through tunnels and over bridges.

With over 70 jobs at varying levels of difficulty, TrainTown presents challenges for all ages and is one product that will last any train-loving family a long, long time. (Ages 6 and older) --Sharon Griggins

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Playing Lionel Traintown, May 12, 2007

By 

Beverly Green "Bev Green" (Gallatin, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 3-D Ultra Lionel Traintown (CD-ROM)

We have two "special" grandsons. One has Asberger's Syndrone and the other is Autistic. One of the things that both of these boys love is trains. This game will probably have to be replaced at some point because they play is so much when they are here. We are so fortunate that there are special ed programs that are helping these kids so much. They are great guys and we love them to pieces. This is an excellent source of pleasure for them. Also train videos and we take them to model railroad museums and on as many train rides as we can. We are really lucky to have these boys. And they are so fortunate for what is out there for them. Trains being a BIG thing.