Calling All Engines! is a Leapster game based on the Special of the Same Name. Michael Angelis does/did the narration for the game in the UK while Robin Smith narrated it in the US.
Plot
During the construction process of the New Airport, a hurricane strikes the Island of Sodor. It is up to the player to help the characters finish building the airport and also learn about reading and mathematical skills.
Gameplay
The game features 4 areas. Story, Games, Train Depot and Meet the Engines. The story is the same as the special's plot and is interactive. You can also play mini games where you have to spot the item described which will earn you blue tickets. You can also touch blue tickets in the background to gain them. There are 2 modes in the story, read and play. The difference is that you can only read the story in read and play has mini games.
Games has 4 games with different learning schemes: Pocket Watch, Cranky's Cargo, Harold's Barrels and Making Tracks with Thomas. In Pocket Watch, you set the Fat Controller's pocket watch to the same time as Knapford Station clock. In Cranky's Cargo, you help Cranky at the docks by completing patterns that are in trucks in 1 minute before the whistle blows. In Harold's Barrels, Harold has to retrieve barrels that are in the sea at the Harbor/Harbour by making words before his fuel tank runs out and he has to go back to land. There are also fuel barrels you can retrieve to increase game length. In Making Tracks with Thomas, you can travel to a place on Sodor by choosing the answer to an addition problem. All of these mini games earn red tickets.
Train Depot is where you can build and drive around Sodor. You start off with only Thomas to play on a small circle track. You buy more engines, items and track by using red tickets and blue tickets. Every building is interactive and you can hold cargo and fill up at coal loaders and water towers. The engines are Thomas, Henry, James, Percy and Mavis. This is also the only use of Red tickets and Blue tickets in the game.
Meet the Trains is where you can meet all the characters (excluding Diesel 10, Gordon, and Emily) from the Special of the Same Name and read their descriptions. Each character blows their whistle (Diesel, Harry, Bert, Mavis, and Rusty honk their horns, the Fat Controller says, "Hello!", Harold spins his rotors, Lady rings her bell, and Cranky swings his hook) when touching them.
Characters
- Thomas
- Edward
- Henry
- James
- Percy
- Lady
- Diesel
- Mavis
- Harry and Bert
- Rusty
- Annie
- Harold
- Cranky
- Sir Topham Hatt
- Clarabel (does not speak)
- Gordon (mentioned)
Trivia
- This game is based off the Special of the Same Name.
- Diesel 10, Gordon, and Emily are not present in the game, even though they were main characters in the actual special.
- An animated commercial of this game can be seen from the original prints of Calling All Engines on DVD and VHS.
Goofs
- Thomas uses James' whistle sound from the 1st Season, while Edward, Henry, James, and Percy have different whistle sounds.
- It is possible that James, Percy and Henry's whistles sound like whistles from American Engines.
- Lady used Toby's bell from Thomas and the Magic Railroad, rather than her own whistle.
- Annie and Clarabel are portrayed as having whistles, even though they are not engines. It sounds like Gordon's Broken Whistle from Whistles and Sneezes, but it's a half step higher in pitch.
- Rusty is portrayed as a standard gauge engine, even though he is a narrow gauge engine.
- On the cover, Diesel and Mavis are shown to be emitting steam, despite the fact that both of them are diesels.