Train Crisis HD

I'm slowing down on my Android game reviews in part because of how disgruntled I am becoming with the freemium model. I can't tell you how often I download a 'free' game only to be asked to pony up cash if I want this feature or that feature. I don't necessarily have a problem with the core idea of pay for play... it's really not too dissimilar from the coin operated arcade games I grew up with. It's more that it's not advertised clearly up front which is all part of the marketing technique of sucking me in and then asking for cash.

However, I did get Train Crisis HD this past weekend and was expecting another 'me too' Flight Control style game with trains. What I got was something quite different. Yes, in Train Crisis you're trying to land your trains in the correct stations and you have to make quick decisions to avoid the other trains, but it introduces much more of a puzzle element to the game.

For a start the game the game offers the usual tutorial mode. Each level requires you to click a start button to launch the trains in motion and then you can tap on the various screen elements to guide the trains appropriately. Every level has the standard switch to choose between this track or that track, but additional elements are added such as crossings that allow you to temporarily stop your trains or track debris which must be dynamited away with a limited supply of dynamite. The thing that really makes this game a standout is how well the puzzles progress, but moreso how much thinking one has to do before even putting a train in motion on the later levels. Each level requires analysis as to how to get each train from point A to point B, and then a bit of memorization, and then perfect timing of the required set of events you'll need to execute to complete the level.

Train Crisis doesn't stop there, though. It offers some beautifully rendered graphics of not only the trains, but rivers and grazing sheep. For a puzzle game it's also quite pretty. The game is a little short on levels with just 42 (2 sets of 21) and I'd say perhaps 5 of those are really just simple tutorial levels which I can really count as levels. However the game is just a buck and it's easily (and I mean EASILY) providing a dollar's worth of entertainment without trying to sell me additional levels once I made it through the tutorial. 5/5 stars. Oh, and if you just want that sneak preview to avoid that costly dollar plunge there is a demo available, too.