Customer Reviews
Not terrible, anyway... 
2003-11-14
I thought perhaps some of the other reviews were a little harsh. I bought this for my son who is 2 1/2 and it is a little over his head. Mostly I have to help him navigate his way through, though he has improved his mouse skills with the Harold the Helicopter game. I agree it is probably more for 4 year olds. Certainly this is not as educational as reader rabbit, but the graphics are terrific and it makes my son smile. Any avid Thomas fan will enjoy, though it may not be a necessity for others.
Thomas fun for 4-5 year olds. 
2003-11-05
If you're looking for "walk-away" entertainment for a 3 year old, this won't work. But my four year old had no trouble exploring and figuring out the games and puzzles, with little help. If anything, the game is a little too easy - but my son is pretty computer literate for his age. The storyline is pretty good, but it could use a little more narrative.
I don't miss the "print your certificate" stuff from previous games - many-a-ink cartridge lost on those :)
Bottom line, if you have a child who likes thomas-anything and is fairly comfortable using a computer, this disk will provide several hours of fun for $18. Not the hours and hours and hours of time he/she might have with a video, though. Anything that keeps my son off "Rise of Nations" and "The Sims" is OK by me :)
Pretty good for 3-5 year old. 2003-11-04
I'm a little confused why the previous reviewer thought it wouldn't be appropriate for anyone under 5, my 4 year old finished the game in a morning. The game is more of a storytelling/listening skills game rather than a puzzle/arcade style.
The gameplay is different than other thomas games, this is more of an "adventure" style game. Granted the "go and find" aspect is a little lame, but the occasional puzzles are stimulating enough for this young age group. My only wish is there were more "chapters", I don't think this game will have the longevity of, say "the Festival game".
Thomas Saves the Day, probably won't be as entertaining to the adults - especially the somewhate repetitive music interludes when traveling. But my son loved it, so what can I say?
Do not waste your time with this. It is BAD 
2003-10-26
This game is not worth the price. It is certainly not playable by any child under 5, and it has none of the charm of previous Thomas Games. You navigate to various stations looking for a piece of rope, for example. But it does not say look for a piece of rope. It just says look for something to help Harold scoop us cargo. How many three year olds can make the connection. The previous Building the New Line Thomas Game was great. You build a track, clean the engines, fix the track and decorate the engine. This game has none of those kid friendly, railroad related tasks. Do not waste your money. I can not say this strongly enough.
Thomas Saves the Day ~ You Decide... 2005-10-10
When in Story Mode the game is seriously lacking directions, and prompts. For instance, after watching the video describe the big storm in the introduction, the screen jumps to Gordon's Hill. There's a sign that says Knapford, and another sign with a picture of a shed. There's no verbal prompts, or instruction, only a butterfly flitting in the air. After a minute, the narrator says, "Let's check Wellsworth Station for something to heat up my steam." There's no sign for Wellsworth Station, so you click on the sign that says Knapford. Thomas says, "I'm still feeling a bit cold," but the train doesn't move. Then, you click on the other sign. It says, Jeb Coal's Workshed, and when you get to the Workshed, Thomas indicates that it's empty, and that perhaps we should come back later. Then, you notice a sign that says Wellsworth. You can either go back to Gordon's Hill and watch the butterfly, or click on the sign that says Wellsworth. Obviously, you click on the sign, and once you arrive at the station, there's a bucket of coal waiting. Click on the coal, and Thomas thanks you. Then, you're transferred back to the contents page. Sir Topham Hatt offers an "attaboy," and instructs you to click on the next chapter to continue the adventure.
You could literally go back and forth from Gordon's Hill, to the Workshed, and back to Wellsworth Station without really knowing what you're supposed to do. There is no map to direct you, or verbal prompts. The video mentions that Thomas is cold, and needs to warm his steambox, but it doesn't specifically tell you to find a bucket of coal. The entire game plays in this manner, in Story Mode anyway. It's like a wild goose chase with a lot of guessing about where you're supposed to go, and what you're supposed to do. The cursor highlights the signs, and announces what the signs say, but the Story Mode frustrates little one's, because the objectives aren't clear.
Thankfully, the instructions are thorough in Activities Mode. The narration is encouraging, and offers assistance when in trouble. When changing the difficulty setting, or when leaving the game, the narrator always prompt with, "Are you sure you want to leave the game?" This question comes with a thumbs up for yes, and a thumbs down for no. Kids understand this, so I like this aspect of play. When I first played Thomas Saves the Day, I was confused. Now, I'm not into computer games, so that's not saying a lot; however, in my view a preschool game should be crystal clear. This computer game is rated EC (Early Childhood), and is intended for the very young, 3 to 5-years. Most 3-year old children are not reading yet, so they need simple verbal prompts to assist them. Despite the aggravation with the Story Mode, William enjoyed the Activities Mode. Some of the games are more challenging than others, but for a 2½-year old it was enough to keep him busy for 30-minutes or more. As he became more confident, he attempted the chapters. Now that he's 4½, he flies through the program.
I'm torn as to how to rate this game. The graphics and sounds are exceptional = 5. The narrative instruction is great in Activities Mode = 5, but ridiculously weak in Story Mode = 1. The game entertains my son = 3, but lacks educational value = 3. I'd like to give Thomas Saves the Day an above average rating, because once my son got the hang of the game, he was quite amused by it, but the lack of direction in an early childhood game bothers me. Had Atari designed the game with two levels of play in Story Mode, one with instruction, and one without, I probably would have rated this game excellent. Bottom line, an experience preschooler will probably like the challenge of the Story Mode, a beginner will be seriously frustrated.
Don't use this if you have a Windows 98 computer! 2004-06-26
This software crashes upon startup on my Windows 98 computer. Though not a computer expert, I think it has something to do with requiring video drivers that aren't compatible with Windows 98; that is, drivers only available for newer versions of Windows.
After spending four hours trying to get the compatible drivers onto my computer, my display was so destroyed that I had to restore back to a previous version of the operating system to make it work again.
The other Atari Thomas games have worked great on our Win98 computer, and today, most people have XP machines. But if you're in the Windows 98 minority, stay away from this game!
Saves the Day? Save your money, instead 2004-03-16
As a recent release from Atari/Infogrammes, it seems like this series is steaming towards a the scrapheap. Other releases -- The Great Festival Adventure, Building the New Line, or the keyboard add-on Railway Adventures are all better than this, and progressively have gotten worse. While some attempt at making this series more "educational" is somewhat laudable, the actual options for game play and interactivity have gotten simpler and less interesting for my 3.5 year old son.
Thomas Wastes The Day 2004-01-05
Hang your head in shame Atari, this game is terrible. Did they do any testing at all with the intended age group? My five year old is not interested in this game at all -- there's nothing compelling about it. My three year old liked the "chocolate factory" section for about 10 minutes, then never looked for this game again. If you're looking for Thomas, go for the "Festival Adventure" CD, that's definitely the best of the lot, with great graphics. Don't waste your time or money with this one.
The worst game we ever bought 2003-12-29
I can't believe how disappointing this is. It is not intuative at all. There aren't enough instructions as you move through the story method. It seems like you're just sent on a wild goose chase. The games are too simple and not at all educational. The activities are for 2 yr olds. What's with the chocolate factory? They could at least ask the child to pick a certain colored sugar.
You'll kick yourself for buying this.
