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Thomas & Friends: Building The New Line
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Sir Topham Hatt is facing infrastructure problems: the island of Sodor needs more lines if it is to accommodate its increasing number of rail travellers, and Sir Topham has asked for your help in Building the New Line. Load the CD-ROM, sign in and meet Thomas and all his familiar friends. Choose Junior Engineer or Senior Engineer mode, depending on ability (or confidence!) and start laying your track. Once your track is in place, move through the activities to deliver cargo, add landscaping features such as trees, bridges, tunnels and so on. When you're happy with your track, advance to Play Mode and bring your new line to life. Your engine can now travel around the track, interacting with all the other familiar personalities and sights of Sodor. Click on the items you put in place in build mode and complete the resulting activities. For example, click on the hay bales in the Farm Yard and watch as they spill on the track. Get your engine to help clear them away, so the track is safe and debris-free. Switch tracks, control your speed, and visit The Works if you need any maintenance. Once you've left The Works, decorate your engine and the station, ready for The Grand Opening, a celebration party that will reward little drivers for their help in Building the New Line. Once the party is over, Sir Topham will send you a postcard as a memento of the big day, and this can be printed out. Similar to previous CD-ROMs in the Thomas & Friends range, the sound and graphical quality of the package is great, and all the characters are faithful reproductions of their book and screen counterparts. The package is fun, and will amuse as well as challenge first PC users, as they learn mouse control, hand-to-eye coordination as well as other basic PC skills (clicking, moving, cause-and-effect of onscreen activities). There are plenty of rewards to keep little ones interested, and lots of fun to be had along the way. This is recommended for boys and girls of 3-5 years. --Susan Naylor
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2/5 |
disappointing
(June 30, 2007) |
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I bought this for my 3yr old grandson and it is a bit disappointing and lacklustre compared to Trouble on the Tracks and The great festival adventure. The graphics are not such good quality and there is much less content. There is too much talking all the wee lad wants to do is play the game but he cant until the talking stops. A lot of the games are just repeated from Trouble on the Tracks. I think his younger sister will enjoy it more It seems strange to say it but I think it is too easy for him and he is only 3. |
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3/5 |
Not enough good activities
(February 20, 2003) |
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Having enjoyed the previous Thomas title ('Trouble on the Tracks'), I was looking forward to sitting my 2 year old son down in front of 'Building the New Line' and watching his face break into a smile and his hand eagerly reach for the mouse. However, after installing the software (which seemed to take an overly long time), and playing with it over a weekend, I feel a bit disappointed about the number and quality of activities it includes. While the sound, graphics and overall quality of the title, like its predecessor, is excellent, there are only a handful of activities which engage or educate my 2 year old. For example, 'building' the track is great; it encourages shape recognition and problem-solving: However, once that is complete, all the user is presented with is a few simple exercises, all of which amount to dragging and dropping crates/haystacks/oildrums/etc off the track or in to the engines' truck. Despite sporting a number of different options within the activities, these are at best cosmetic, and do not affect the nature of the activity at all. This over-reliance on simple drag-and-drop activites with no problem-solving makes Building the New Line a bit of a let-down. The 2 year old is no longer reaching for the mouse but for a different CD-ROM. |
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4/5 |
2 Year old quiet for 10 minutes
(January 17, 2003) |
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As the first item of childrens software I have bought I was sceptical that Jack would be able to do anything. The big selling pont for him is (obviously) Thomas but over the past few weeks he has started to begin to use a mouse. Clicking mainly but now starting to use it properly.
The game itself is fairly simple. You choose an engine, choose a level and build a track. On the lower level you just hit the track with a hammer and it builds itself. On the higher level you have to choose the right piece. Once you've built your track you can add rocks and ponds and plants and decide what cargo you want to move. Once you've done that then your track is built and you can ride round on it, moving cargo and shifting obstacles. This bit of the game can can keep Jack interested for ages as it is low maintenance. He can watch the train going round,to his hearts content. Once you've played for a while then decorate your engine and go on to the grand opening.
After finishing you can print off your handiwork. You get a nice picture of the line which the Kids love although it does seem to take absolutely ages to print.All in all a success (apart from the printing) and I would recommend it for any toddlers for its simplicity and playability. |
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