Most of the time you play as the badly drawn Hardy Boys, investigating the mystery of a golden train that's got something to do with the Russian royal family. The story's not bad, actually, and chucks in some historo-stuff about the Russian Revolution. But the game's a pain to play. The interface is massively unhelpful, and minigames are thrown at you with no explanation as to how they work.
And the whole thing feels quite cheap. Yeah, this might be aimed at younger gamers, but surely their pocket money should go on something that's worth it?
GIN writes: "Let me confess up front that while I own a few old Hardy Boys mysteries, I've never read them. Trixie Belden and her friends were my teen sleuths of choice. I can tell you how the gameplay worked for me, but I'm not going to know how well they captured the spirit of the Hardy Boys in general, and for that, I apologize."
GoFanboy writes: "The Hardy Boys: Treasure on the Tracks is a solid entry into the adventure-mystery genre and will surely offer value to anyone looking to pass a few hours with a title that offers some challenges, but never really forces the player to think too hard. With a nice price, safe and fun story, it's worth checking out. Have your tickets ready for Treasure on the Tracks."
The names seen in the Treasure on the Tracks' credits roll suggest a number of Russian or Eastern European folks worked on most of the game, and perhaps working on a legendary story they're familiar with was a labor of love. Extra pieces of effort, such as featuring artworks not integral to the story and ending every conversation with a unique goodbye, are hard to miss. Yet the quality of execution on nearly every other front is lacking, and every involved party, from Hardy Boys authors to developer to publisher to gamer, really deserves better.
