When I first laid eyes on Next Stop, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm not much of a train fan, although I do have fond memories of putting my big brother's Lionel train set around the Christmas tree every year and watching as my stuffed animals rode around in the cargo cars.
However, I wasn't sure if that small moment of nostalgia would be enough to hold my attention in a train themed game.
Lucky for me, the challenging gameplay was enough to hold my attention and keep me coming back for more and more punishment as I quickly became obsessed with reaching those expert times that seemed determined to thwart me every step of the way.
The Story of Next Stop
There's not too much to say about the story. It's pretty weak from a creative stand point. The railroad is in disarray and is on the brink of falling into the hands of the evil banking corporation.
You play Margaret, the niece who will do anything to ensure your family business is revived and stays out of the hands of evil bankers. Yay you! You'll put this railroad back to its glory days with your spunk and tenacity!
Yes, it's pretty yawn inspiring if you ask me. And unfortunately you get continue to get fed this semblance of a pitiful story throughout the game with awkward exchanges between Margaret and the evil banker.
The Graphics of Next Stop
The graphics were a bit better than the story, featuring several different landscapes and conditions for you to play through. However, I wasn't overly impressed by them.
They weren't very detailed or extraordinary, and they felt a bit grainy to me in places. The landscape looked like your average stock components. Trees, rocks, mountains... meh... nothing that catches your eye and makes you take a moment to appreciate the artistry that's for sure.
The trains were nice though.
The Gameplay of Next Stop
Finally an area where Next Stop can shine, the gameplay was pretty fantastic. They lulled me into a false sense of confidence in the early levels as I clicked my way through some fairly easy scenarios, only to hit a brick wall on level 6.
I was shocked to realized I wasn't going to make expert time and after replaying again... I still wasn't making it. So much for my superior clicking skills.
Next Stop also allows you to choose if you'd like to chain tasks, so you don't have to wait for your workers to finish before you can assign your next order. I love this ability, as I can't stand waiting for my guys to stop a task, especially when you have a three or more workers, it's hard to keep track of who's doing what.
I also enjoyed the ability to change the resolution of the game to whatever I wanted. I don't like when games run full screen mode, as I'm usually doing something else while I play, and Next Stop allowed me to not only run it in windowed mode, but choose the exact resolution that works for me... hey it's the little things in life that make me happy.
The Music & Sound of Next Stop
Another surprise in Next Stop was that the music was actually quite pleasant. It was an upbeat jaunty little tune that featured some fiddle playing and a brassy harmonica.
I even found myself tapping my feet to the beat at times, and I normally get annoyed at the tired old music library developers tend to rely on.
The sound was also a nice addition to the game and necessary at times to draw your attention to what was going on. The blast of a train signaled it was time to rush forward and collect the fees or fill up the train with water.
Overall Conclusion for Next Stop
While Next Stop certainly isn't going to make my list of best time management games for 2014, it certainly was an entertaining little venture.
Overall, the excellent gameplay and entertaining tones made up for the lack of depth in the story and the ho hum graphics.