Trainyard Express
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Release Date: December 21^st 2010
Developers: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Publishers: Apple Inc.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Genre: Puzzle
Players: 1
Rating: 9/10

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Synopsis

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Trainyard Express is a puzzle solving game unlike any that you've ever played. It's easy to learn but very tough to master. Your job is simple: get each train to a goal station. Red trains go to red stations, blue trains go to blue stations, etc. You control the trains by drawing track for them to follow. There isn't a time limit or even a score; the only thing you need to do is figure out a solution for each puzzle.

The first few puzzles are almost too easy, but as the difficulty increases you'll be thankful that you were able to practice the fundamentals of drawing track. As the game progresses, you'll have to use basic color theory to combine trains of different colors, use timing to merge and split trains, and use every inch of your brain in your quest to beat the game.

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Aim/Objective

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This game doesn't have definitive objectives or achievements like some games, but like some completing all of the levels would be the main goal. There could be other ones such as completing the levels with a solution that you have never seen before, or using as little number of train tracks as possible. The aims in this game aren't set, but there are different things you could do to make your own goals and aims.

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Gameplay

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In this game you have to get the train(s) from the outlet stations to the goal stations by drawing train tracks in between the two. The game is based on a 7x7 grid in which all of the elements (train tracks, painters). You may think that drawing lines to connect points is nothing difficult, but it very quickly escalates to having different numbers of outlets and goals, having to combine, pass over and collide trains to mix the colors all while paying attention to the position in which the trains are and making sure the time scale is right. One notable tools you will use in the game is the painter, this is a block on the grid that can have multiple inputs and outputs, and when you pass a train through it, depending on the painters color, when the train comes out it will be the color of the painter. The levels are grouped into places, all of which are named after provinces in Canada including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and many more. There are also other features that make the levels much harder, such as rocks that can obstruct the path of the tracks and completely ruin your initial plan therefore forcing you to completely redesign your layout, which can be a very emotionally distressing time. Another thing is when the goal stations have different color requirements, so it may need 2 purple trains and 2 green trains, then this occurs you have to control the number of trains you put into it, and considering you sometimes have to mix 4 trains in a small 7x7 space without any of them colliding, crossing over or merging when you don't want them to. Oh, and I forgot to mention the obstructions as well.

Here are some screenshots of the game:

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Graphics

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I love the graphics in this game, yes it is a 2D puzzle game, but the level of detail the developers went into with this game is crazy. Every little detail is there, when trains merge, collide or pass over each other, there is a small particle effect with a short jingle to signify that you have done something. One thing that I would like is when you merge, collide or pass two trains over and it in turn makes a garbage train, that it makes a negative sort of sound to show that it is wrong.

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Audio

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Another thing I like about the graphics of this game is the audio, when you do pretty much anything, mixing trains, getting them into the goals, crashing trains, completing the level, you hear different sound effects to indicate and show that you did something. The graphics for this game really surprised me, it is not what I expected due to the large amount of detail in this game, everything works together just as you would want which is why I really like this game.

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Controls

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The controls in this game don't let the game down, but they are a bit awkward to use at some times. The way the controls work are perfect and any changes to that would make it harder to play, but it can be slightly difficult some times such as when you are dragging the track on a small screen, it can be placed in places where you don't want it to, and correcting that is also quite difficult as you will more than likely delete sections of track that you don't mean to. I am making the controls sounds bad, they are not, if you don't rush and try and put down everything at once then the controls are fine and you will have no issues with them.

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Facts

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• Trainyard Express is the free, prequel to Trainyard
  
• There is a colorblind mode which labels the outlets and goals with letters for the visually impaired
  
• This game is independently developed and is classed as an indie game
  

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Rating

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Gameplay - 10/10
Graphics - 9/10
Audio - 8.5/10
Controls - 8/10
Overall - 9/10