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It's August 1944 and occupied France is on the verge of liberation by the advancing Allies. The Germans have decided to call it a day and are planning to leg it with the contents of Le Louvre and one or two other trinkets, just for old time's sake. Whilst the 1944 Mercedes staff car was acknowledged to be one of the roomier models, squeezing in most of the art treasures of France was thought to be pushing it a bit. So the Germans decided to load up a train with as many Renoirs, Pissaros, Monets, Gaugins, and all the rest (God, I'm so cultured) that they could pile onto a train.

This is where you come in. You are Pierre LeFeu, a member of the Resistance. With your comrade, Le Duc you must steal the train and its priceless cargo and head West to meet up with the Allies at dawn in Riviere. On the way you can expect help from your Resistance comrades, but for the most part the success of the mission depends on you.

The adventure begins at the train station in Metz - as good a place as any to steal a train. Le Duc must make his way to the train under enemy fire while you cover him. German soldiers appear at the yellow lit windows and you must return their fire. The whole thing takes place at night incidentally. Awaydays were just too risky. Under cover of your fire, the shadowy figure of Le Duc boards the train and it's time to leave.

At this point the disc drive grinds into action as it does several times during the game. Whilst the short wait doesn't interrupt the action and spoil the fun, I can't see it working for cassette users unless they're very patient. After the short break you find yourself on the footplate. In front of you are the engine's instruments - pressure, speed, temperature, the furnace, throttle, brake, steam blowoff, whistle forward/reverse level and, lastly, the cab signal indicators. It sounds, and looks, like a lot to cope with, but in less than ten minutes I was steaming along.

Starting is a doddle. Just open the furnace door, shovel in some coal, take off the brake, open the throttle and you're away. Everything is operated by the joystick. Moving left and right selects a lever; pressing the fire button and pulling/pushing operates it. Check out how to stop at this stage, before you get overconfident!

Not all the action happens on the locomotive footplate. While you're in motion, the chances are you will be attacked by fighter planes. Switching view to the front of the train allows you to shoot down the incoming figures; it you miss you can get them from the rear. Alternative screens provide a map showing your position and enemy/resistance control of stations and bridges. The pause button gives details of your score, damage to the boiler, brakes, and Old Masters and the number of requests you can make from the Resistance.

How do you make requests from the Resistance? You have to stop at a station. You can of course run through stations, but sooner or later you will have to stop to take on coal and water. The form is much the same as at the beginning of the game - Le Duc heads for the station while you cover him with the machine gun. Once the station is taken, you can use the telegraph to send messages to the Resistance. The options are: take next station, take next bridge or make repairs. You will get a return message telling you what time the station or bridge will be taken at or the location at which the repairs can be made.

It's actually not too difficult to take the bridges yourself. You stop the train, wait for the disk drive, then blow about half a dozen boats out of the water with the old up/down/left/right cannon. As with everything else of course, the boats can fire back and any damage to the cargo is irreparable.

And that's the way it goes, drive the train, shoot down the planes, bomb the boats, capture the stations, get to Riviere. Oh, I almost forgot. You also have to signal the Resistance with the whistle so they can change the points and you don't end up in a siding at Crewe. Apart from that, it's all down to tactics. You must try not to sustain too much damage, make sure you can get it repaired if necessary, keep the pictures safe and get there on time. The game is over if you get too badly damaged, if you get shot, or if you accidentally shoot Le Duc.

The Train bears many similarities to Accolade's other wartime classic Ace Of Aces, and whether, when it's transferred to cassette, the game will be gutted like its predecessor, remains to be seen. It is fantastically good fun, even if you're not particularly turned on by trains or wartime adventures.