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The thought of running a train network seems quite appealing to me. Perhaps I could re-enact Britain's own shambolic 'service' with hour-long delays [Only an hour? They must've improved since I last caught one - Dep Ed], speeding through stations without stopping, grinding to a halt as soon as it snows and charging gold bars for a plastic cup of tea.

Alas, selling refreshments isn't on the agenda in Locomotion. The aim of the game is to direct a number of locomotives (looking suspiciously like dodgem cars - is this a new BP economy drive?) to their desired stations. Send home your quota and you've completed the level - sounds easy, but it ain't!

The screen is an overhead view of a large track, intertwined at various junctions and with stations located around them. Trains come and go on a whim, your task being to change the signal points (which alter the track) and guide the carriages safely to their station, indicated by a number next to the loco. Several chug round at the same time, so one wrong flick of a points switch and you've caused a collision worthy of the tackiest disaster movie.

As always time is of the essence, and if the carriages don't reach the required destination in the allotted time it's game over. Each level increases in difficulty with the track becoming more complex and the trains speed... sorry, trundle... from the stations more frequently.

If you get fed up with the tracks on offer, there's an editor option enabling you to construct your own - adding twists, turns and scenery where you please. This option's well thought out, but I got tired of faffing around with it - you need to think too much about the track construction, placing corner bends by the dozen results in endless crashes when you start playing.

A game about trains sounds as plain as rain, but for all its faults it works! Guiding the trains without crashing is tricky - as you can't keep a eye on each individual car. This moulds into a challenge, and an incentive to win is soon established. It's a simple concept and though quite dated (I saw a basic PC version years ago) it plays very well. The levels are sloshed in colour, all being different in scenery and track layout.

With the amount of blasting, punching and platform products on the market, Locomotion makes a pleasant change, but for me the change wasn't for the better (I like blasting, punching, etc). At the end of the day, though, it's still just trains going around tracks. If you want to indulge in a satisfying game, this stops short of fulfilling the soul. As a budget buy it would be a worthy purchase, but I can't see it working as a full pricer. There's just not enough content to justify the asking price. A pleasant hour-passer perhaps, but you'll appreciate it more as a budget release.

Locomotion's an exciting and interesting game that should've been a First Class release (Ouch - Ed), but three major faults knock it soundly off the rails.

1. The price is too high. For all its strengths, Locomotion (like most puzzlers) lacks depth), and would look more at home on a budget label.
2. An irritating playability bug allows a train to leave a station just as another's going in, sometimes emerging literally on top of it. Although the station flashes before a train departs, this is difficult to spot and often doesn't give enough warning anyway.
3. On later levels, the background graphics sometimes obscure the station indicator, making it nigh-on impossible to tell where the train is going (just like British Rail). This is especially true on the wrong-sort-of-snow level, where the backdrop's predominantly white.

For all its faults, Locomotion's a fun game, but not as much fun as it could've been. Ho hum!

Presentation 61%
Several options, polished password system

Graphics 58%
Different scenery, all brightly coloured

Sound 56%
Faint chugging FX and intro tune

Hookability 60%
"Want To Win" syndrome soon takes a hold

Lastability 55%
It's original, but a little shallow

Overall 62%