Developed by Artech Digital Entertainments, Inc.
Designed by Paul Butler and Rick Banks.
Commodore 64 version:
Programming by J. Stuart Easterbrook and Lise Mendoza
Graphics by Grant Campbell
Music and sound effects by Paul Butler
IBM-PC version by Dynamix, Inc.:
Programming by Greg Rose and Lincoln Hutton
Graphics by Tom Collie and Connie Braat
Sounds by Bryce Morcello
Amstrad CPC & Sinclair ZX Spectrum versions:
Programming by Nick Wilson
Graphics by Imagitec Design Ltd.
Unknown credits: Mick Hanrahan, Barry Leitch, Gavin Wade and Adrian Ludley
Originally released for the Commodore 64 in North America by Accolade in 1987, and for the IBM-PC compatibles in 1988. European distribution, including Amstrad CPC and Sinclair ZX Spectrum versions by Electronic Arts in 1988.
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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS
Along with the other thematic changes to the blog's calendar, I'm also trying to unravel the mess that is the combined list of old requests and games that are still logical and relatively easy to do before taking my next break and moving on to focus more on the 16-bit games. Today's entry had actually been sitting in the wishlist for some years, so whoever wished for this one back whenever, here's to you.
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DESCRIPTION & REVIEW
The Train is not the easiest game to describe, since it offers many different kinds of gameplay elements. It is loosely based on the war movie The Train from 1964, which itself is loosely based on a non-fiction book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland. Not only is your most instantly recognizable mission to hijack a train and escape Nazi Germany using it, but according to the game's manual, the train contains paintings stolen by the Nazis from Paris, which you, French Resistance member Pierre LeFeu, and your companion Le Duc, must also take back to France.
In the game's cover box, you would likely find a sticker saying "WWII military simulation", which is not particularly accurate. Yes, it takes place during the second World War, and the game is basically a military operation, but the majority of the game happens inside the train, where you actually need to control the train itself, so it could be considered a train operating simulator. Except for the little matter, that you actually need to shoot enemies at certain points in the game from a locked location, so it's basically 50% shooting gallery and 50% train driving and navigating simulation.
I have to admit, learning to play The Train back some 20+ years ago was not the easiest thing to accomplish, but once I did, the game had firmly planted itself into my mind as one of the most impressive and memorable games on any 8-bit platform. Of course, my first exposure to it was on the C64, but now I'm eager to find out, how do the other versions compare against the original.
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LOADING
Being a big American game, The Train was designed to be run first and foremost from a floppy disk, since this was their default storage media, and obviously, the C64 version is a multi-loader by design, making the cassette version a pain in the neck. This makes the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions rather curious, because for both of these versions, the conversion team chose to squeeze all the data into one single load, making the full tape loading times unusually favorable towards the two.
COMMODORE 64: 8 minutes 41 seconds (two sides)
AMSTRAD CPC: 4 minutes 40 seconds
ZX SPECTRUM: 5 minutes 2 seconds
Squeezing a game that requires both tape sides to be loaded sequentially on the C64 into a single load, particularly on the 48k SPECTRUM, is nothing short of unbelievable, so it will be interesting to see, what did they have to cut in order to make it happen, if anything. Obviously, the PC version is loaded from floppy disk or hard drive, so it's in a different league in that sense.
Again, the game was originally constructed in such a way as to have a title sequence instead of a loading screen, so we shall get all the graphics in the designated section.
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PLAYABILITY
First, the controls. The original C64 version is played with joystick in port 2, and then you have a bunch of keys on the keyboard that you will be needing at different parts of the game: numbers 1 to 4 will give you different views while on the train - front gunner, rear gunner, engine cab (default) and the map, in that order. Space bar pauses the game at any given time, except when taking a station, during which the Space bar will dodge enemy fire; F7 will also pause the game, but view the status screen while at it; F1 prompts a restart, and F3 toggles sound. The PC version has the same controls, except you can play it fully on keyboard, too, with cursor keys and Enter as the joystick replacements - the game has a boot menu, in which you can choose to have a joystick or not.
The SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions starts with a title screen with control options. In the SPECTRUM version, you get keyboard controls, Kempston joystick and Sinclair joystick as the options, while the AMSTRAD version loses the last one from the options. The keyboard controls are the classic Q-A-O-P and Enter for fire button, along with the same numbers and basic Pause key as in the C64 version, but the function keys have been reassigned to R for Restart, S for Sound toggle and 5 for pause/status.
Now that we have our controls figured out, it should be easy to begin to play any version, since they're relatively compatible in that sense. If you're playing the C64 tape version, though, you're going to be waiting for another minute at least, before the first playable section has loaded after the loading screen. Inconvenient, but unavoidable. These days, you can find an EasyFlash cartridge image online that will drop all loading times, which is exactly what I suggest you should do.
Once the first section has been loaded, you see the Metz train yard in a halted state, prompting you to start the game by pressing the designated fire button. Regardless of which version you're playing, and whether or not that version has any loading prior to the start of the actual game, you are always prompted to press the fire button.
The Metz train yard is but one of many during your journey, in which you are required to shoot cover fire for your companion, Le Duc, whose job it is to sneak to wherever he is supposed to reach in each station. In this case, he is to reach the lever on the other side of the track and pull it, whereupon you will get to choose the difficulty level for your journey.
Personally, at the beginning, I had trouble figuring out how to make Le Duc move at all towards his goal. I remember realizing my mistake after a few tries: this is not about sharp-shooting appearing targets, but really about giving Le Duc constant cover fire, because he only moves while you are shooting, but also only while you are being aimed at by the enemy. In the C64 and PC versions, these two conditions must be met, before Le Duc makes his move. But once you know what you're doing, it's pretty easy to keep on going. In the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, Le Duc seems to walk towards his destination, regardless of whether or not there are any enemy gunmen in sight, as long as you keep on firing. If, for some reason, you decide to try to sharp-shoot every enemy appearing in the windows, it might be worth knowing, that the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions have the target areas less accurate than in the C64 and PC versions, but since you're supposed to actually give cover fire, it doesn't really matter.
Once you have begun your journey proper, the C64 tape version requires you to switch to side B, where the data is structured a bit weirdly, but I suspect out of necessity. The first part of side B is dedicated to the train choogling bits, so whenever you need to climb back onto the train from a station or a bridge, you need to rewind the tape back to the beginning of side B. Also, the Game Over screens are lodged at the end of side B, so since you don't actually know, where the Game Over loader begins, you need to load the entire tape through when it happens, unless you've been smart and actually taken all the counter numbers for each event on a piece of paper. At this point, I think it's safe to say the C64 tape version is the least playable of the lot.
Anyway, controlling the train is a bit fidgety, and requires some practice to make everything run smoothly enough when you're in a hurry. You move a cursor around the engine cab through six different hot spots (no free-roaming cursor, thankfully!), and operate each lever, knob and handle by holding the fire button and pulling the joystick up or down. The throttle, brake, whistle and steam blowoff levers work in the same way, but you need to be at a standstill when switching gears between forward and reverse, so you don't accidentally break the gears. In the case of the furnace, you open the door in the same way you operate every other level, but to shovel some coal in, you need to pull the joystick to the right, and be careful not to overdo it. All versions of the game operate the same way here, but the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions respond to your controls a bit slower than in the other two. Particularly the AMSTRAD version.
While aboard the train, you can switch around between front and rear gun views to shoot down enemy planes by pressing keys 1 and 2, and the guns are operated with your chosen controller. Pressing 4 will view the map, where you see your progress towards your goal. I noticed, that it's much harder to down any enemy planes in the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, but I'm not sure if it's because they take more hits there, or if the collision detection is just that much worse on those two.
It is supremely important to note, that when you get to stations, you will find some intel on enemy movements and track conditions. Since the in-game map doesn't show the names of any town but those of the biggest ones, you will also be need the map included with the game package to keep track of where any track problems might be happening, and plan your route accordingly. You can also request help from the Resistance to take care of some station or a bridge, but you can only request that help three times during play, and the requests can only be sent via telegraphs from stations you have taken. Also, you can request assistance for repairing the train, if you consider it damaged badly enough. Therefore, it is important to keep an eye on the status screen every now and then.
When you come to a bridge held by the enemy, you will need to gun down four gunboats in order to proceed. This is very reminiscent of certain parts in Access Software's classic Beach-Head games, but you get no numeric indicator for showing, how close your shots hit the boats, so you need to aim by some sort of gut feeling. The boats fire at you with a focus being shots from one boat at a time, so if a boat fires at you seven consecutive times before you manage to destroy it, it's Game Over.
This bit here is the first one, and from what I can tell, the only one with any properly notable differences. In the SPECTRUM version, the boats don't really move anywhere, rather just float on their designated spots and shoot at you in the scripted order. Also, your aiming happens reverse to the C64 aiming style, and the SPECTRUM version uses a much wider approximation for the shots than the C64 does. As could only be expected, the same goes for the AMSTRAD version.
To me, the most tricky part of the game was to learn how to navigate the line switches. When you are approaching a switch, you can see one of the green lights turn red. When the lights are lit, you need to use the whistle to give the Resistance instructions as to which line you want to travel on. If you whistle once, the top light will light; twice for the middle, and thrice for the bottom light. However these lights translate to whichever point on the map you're on, is what makes it a bit difficult to decipher, and you always need to be quick about it, because running at high speeds gives you little time for reacting to the game's notifications on what is coming up at any given time. The manual even points out, that when there are only two lines to choose from, the middle one is for the one that goes left, and the bottom one is only used when there are three lines, making that one the left option. The highest light always takes you to right from the fork.
I know many people will not be very happy to know, that there is actually a time limit in the game - you must get to Riviere by dawn, which means 8 am. If your boiler takes damage, you will be forced to proceed at a slower pace, because the boiler cannot hold pressure as well as when it is undamaged. On such an event, you can try to call the Resistance to come help fix the train, but it might take two or three towns before you can get the repairs done, so it's easier to restart if serious damage is taken, because it's unlikely that you will make it to the end.
From all I can tell, it doesn't seem as if anything was actually cut off from the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, at least in terms of actual gameplay, but some of the gameplay mechanics are less fine-tuned than in the C64 and PC versions. Even though the single-load system is impressive, and the game is playable enough, the two less accurate versions are just enough less well handled to make them share the lowest spot. Perhaps I should give the AMSTRAD version an even lower spot for being generally slower than the SPECTRUM version, and because it also features a bug, where the game freezes when making repairs (at Verdun). Similarly, the C64 and PC versions are equally well handled, and when playing the original from some sort of a modern device such as EasyFlash, the loading times are minimized to almost equal the PC version's convenience. In its original form, though, I have to say the PC version just about beats the C64 version.
1. IBM-PC COMPATIBLES
2. COMMODORE 64
3. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM
4. AMSTRAD CPC
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GRAPHICS
Since we skipped the loading screens earlier, due to how the game is built on each system, we start from the beginning now - the opening sequence, or loading screens, whichever they happen to be included as on any platform.
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| Loading/opening screens and credits (with high scores), left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum |
Although the IBM-PC compatibles weren't particularly known for their graphical abilities, the title screen here shows a remarkable upgrade to the 8-bits, even though the screen mode is EGA here. The higher screen resolution allows the use of more pixels to be used in a more effective way, giving the locomotive a much rounder nose, instead of the flat circle on the 8-bits. Sure, the PC version's locomotive is missing the cyan/turqoise tint, but the colouring details are better used elsewhere, such as the flag of Netherlands used instead of a ripped solid green flag. The smoke from the locomotive is massive in all versions, except in the SPECTRUM version, where it has been used sparingly to make more room for the two enemy fighter planes.
Before starting the game, you also get to see a credits screen, which includes either a full table of high scores or a single high score and control options, depending on whether you're playing the C64 and PC versions (former) or the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions (latter). Either way, there's nothing of actual graphical value to see.
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| Starting point: the Metz railway station (with difficulty level selection), left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum |
Already in this screen, it's starting to become clear, that the PC version is the most colourful one of the lot, even though the EGA mode's 16-colour palette doesn't always give that impression. The only fault I can find with the first train yard of the DOS version is, that there is a green light already on in the lighting crane, before Le Duc even gets to the lever. On the plus side, the wood blocks under the train tracks are brown, which gives the screen some colour.
The C64 screen looks very grey indeed, apart from your sleeve's and your machine gun's green colour, your hand's light brown, some blue in the train wheels, yellow in the windows and some turqoise to offer some semblance of metallic shading. There is some of this metallic bluish shading in the PC version as well, but in much smaller quantities. Your hand is darker brown in the PC version, and the gun is more blue, although your coat sleeve is still green. The AMSTRAD version is almost entirely dark cyan and black with a couple of splashes of bright cyan, blue, white, yellow and red - and of course, green, when available. It does its job well enough, but feels a bit weird. The SPECTRUM version has no shading here, just some cyan, white, black, red and green, but then it uses some creative texturing for differentiating. The biggest graphical difference in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, however, is the screen size, which is almost half in width compared to the PC and C64 versions, making everything look horizontally squeezed, and the buildings are smaller, so there are less windows for enemies to peek out from.
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| The locomotive engine room, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
What is quite remarkable, though, is what you can see through the windows, which can be either a station, a bridge or some forest, all passing by at your chosen speed, depending on your location. Again, the PC version features more detail and careful shading than the other three, but this time, there's less colour to mark the important levers and knobs, than on the 8-bits. The lighting effects in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions are rather forced and unnatural, and on the move, you get no rocking effects like you do in the C64 version - and neither do you get that in the PC version.
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| Guns mounted on the train's front and rear, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
Oddly, though, you don't see the actual machine gun in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, just the crosshair that you control to aim your shots with. The enemy planes have also been given much less focus on detail and animation in these two versions - most notably, they're lacking any explosion animations. Your taking damage does make the screen flash a little in all versions, but it's too difficult to get screenshots of that. You might see some of that in the accompanying video further down, though.
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| Map screens, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
All four versions of the map work as well as they are expected to, but I do think the green coloured versions are harder to read, particularly due to the city names Verdun and Riviere being written vertically.
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| Bridges while under enemy command, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
Probably the most notable dividing factor between the C64 and PC versions to the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions is the part where you have to sink four boats floating on a river beside some bridge or another. Not just how these parts play, but also how they look. For starters, your lonesome cannon moves in an appropriately heavy manner in the C64 and PC versions, while the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM cannon moves more enthusiastically. However, this enthusiasm comes with barely any indicators as to in what direction and at what angle are you shooting. Of course, the cannon moves left and right to point a general approximate of a direction you are shooting towards, but the angle at which the cannon ball can leave the cannon can be surprisingly steep and somewhat off the intended direction. In the C64 and PC versions, the cannon gives you a much better sense of what you are doing, and the other details and animations are much more pronounced, not to mention present. But that is probably a given, at this point.
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| Example of another railway station (St. Denis), left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
The looks of each version's stations and their surroundings are mostly consistent in style with the first station screen, which shows at least some sense of logic even in the SPECTRUM version. Oddly, though, the C64 version shows questionable logic here by having a bright white building in the middle of the night, compared to the darker buildings in the other three versions. But I suppose there must have been some purpose for this decision.
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| Rainway station interiors, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
In the C64 and PC versions, there are two station interior variants, while the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions only feature one. All four versions of the less decorated station interior have slightly different sets of elements, or in slightly different order. The PC versions of both interiors are much more decorated and colourful than elsewhere; the desk in the C64 version is exactly the same in both stations; the AMSTRAD version's station is missing the window next to the door; and the SPECTRUM version has organized everything in such a way as to minimize any colour clash.
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| Game Over screens, left to right: Commodore 64, IBM-PC, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum. |
No matter how realistic a simulation a game from the 1980's is attempting to be, the fact is, the given graphical and processing capabilities of any machine just had not the power to generate properly realistic graphics. For retro enthusiasts like myself, though, this only adds to the charm and atmosphere of a game. The Train is one such example of a game, where the limitations necessitate creative thinking, thus making the end result better.
On a technical level, though, it is fairly clear that the PC version is nicer to look at, for the most part, than the C64 original, but then it doesn't have the screen juttering effect for the moving train segments. The SPECTRUM version's odd colour choices are unfortunate, when the game is designed to be grey and drab for a very good reason, but then it's still only barely worse than the AMSTRAD version.
1. IBM-PC COMPATIBLES / COMMODORE 64
2. AMSTRAD CPC
3. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM
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SOUNDS
Like most Accolade games you have probably ever played from the classic period, The Train doesn't have much of a soundtrack. All that I have ever heard in the game in terms of music is the first bit of sung melody in the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise", accompanied by the steam locomotive huffing and puffing with two variants played back to back, one with a lower harmony and one without. The rest of it is sound effects, which are very well executed and fulfill every need of sound you might really have. Having more music would just draw the focus away from what is important in the game, but that's just my educated opinion.
The sound effects range from various types of gunfire through steam locomotive puffing and furnace fire burning to whistles, bells and telegram tapping noises. Every action has its own sound effect, and this all gives a fantastic atmosphere. If I'm brutally honest, the small bit of "La Marseillaise" seems like a necessary evil compared to the set of sound effects, but since it only plays at the intro and whatever Game Over screen you might get, it's not a problem.
Of course, the C64 version has the rather unfair advantage of having the SID chip to produce three rather nice sounds simultaneously, if need be, which gives the PC and SPECTRUM versions a disadvantage with only a single channel beeper in use. The PC version at least puts its beeper to the best use the programmers were able to, with a well enough rendition of "La Marseillaise" in its proper spots, and nice enough sound effects for their designated uses. It's not exactly pretty, but at least it works. The SPECTRUM version doesn't have music in the title screen, although the Game Over screens are at least graced with a single line of "La Marseillaise", which is quite enough. The sound effects in the SPECTRUM version are rather paltry and, apart from the whistle, are too similar between themselves. Of the two beeper versions, I have to say the PC version is the more competent choice.
So, one would assume the AMSTRAD with its AY-chip would have at least some sort of an advantage over the two beeper versions. Well, in that, the assumption is correct, but not by much, because again, the French anthem only plays in the Game Over screen - once, with a slightly awkward harmony and no steam engine. The sound effects are definitely better than what you get in the two beeper versions, but still a far cry from the C64 original.
1. COMMODORE 64
2. AMSTRAD CPC
3. IBM-PC COMPATIBLES
4. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM
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OVERALL + VIDEO
When a game is similarly enough playable on all platforms it was released on, the graphics and sounds become more important in the mix. This doesn't happen all that often, but The Train: Escape to Normandy represents a rare example, where presentation is more important than gameplay.
1. COMMODORE 64: Playability 3, Graphics 3, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 10
2. IBM-PC: Playability 4, Graphics 3, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 9
3. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 1, Graphics 2, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 6
4. ZX SPECTRUM: Playability 2, Graphics 1, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 4
Once again, this unnecessarily straight-forward scoring system makes things look more divided than they actually are, but there is no denying, that sometimes, total worth can be more than the sum of the game's most obvious qualities. While the PC version is definitely the most instantly playable one of the lot, and has the prettiest graphics, it lacks something in its atmosphere, which is not just due to the sounds. Regarding the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, we did find out, that there was something cut from the game to make it fit into a single load, but it also became clear, that some rather drastic gameplay optimization was required to make them fit, but still they ended up surprisingly playable. Some of these things can only be witnessed by trying to play the game by yourselves, but I hope most of them can be viewed through this video.
Next month will be likely rather quiet on the comparison front, due to my busy real life and work schedule piling up for May, but if something of FRGCB nature gets posted, it will likely be something on YouTube. Anyway, keep your eyes open and keep on retrogaming! Thanks for reading/watching; see you next time with something completely different!
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