Overview- Critic & User
Reviews - Videos &
Screenshots
News- Codes
& FAQs - Gameplay
Controls - Similar
Games
Answers
Bundles
Critic & User Reviews
Sort by
« Previous1Next »
For nostalgia purposes only
posted by steve470 (OIL CITY, PA) Jan 15, 2012
Member since Aug 2011
9 out of 9 gamers (100%) found this review helpful
I came into this one with high expectations, having fond memories of hours in the elementary school computer lab, playing Oregon Trail on MS-DOS. Unfortunately, the game hasn't aged well.
For those new to the game, you play as the leader of a group traveling from Independence, MO, to Oregon City, OR, in a covered wagon in the mid-19th century. You have some money to buy supplies along the way, but you'll also need to do some hunting, as well as stopping and resting when your party members inevitably come down with broken bones, cholera, and dysentery, or when your wagon falls apart. Through all this, you need to make it to Oregon City by the end of October.
For people who remember the ancient version, well, obviously the graphics are better by leaps and bounds. Otherwise, the most glaring change is that you now need to steer your wagon around obstacles in the trail (the whole way, not just when you're floating down the Columbia), and there are some scattered goodies you can pick up along the way. In addition to hunting (where you can now expect far more rabbits and birds, and far fewer buffalo), you can now fish for food, which consists of throwing a bobber in the vicinity of a fish, waiting for it to go under the water, then reeling the fish in. Yes, it's every bit as thrilling as it sounds.
Even as someone who had fond memories of this game, I was ready for it to be over well before I got to Oregon (which I failed to do by "winter", i.e., the end of October, which results in a Game Over). Two major annoyances: 1) Ridiculously long load times. 2) The progress meter on the screen has green, yellow, and red sections, telling you how you're doing relative to the necessary pace. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until game over that you have to get out of the yellow area, into the green, to avoid said game over. Intuitively, I'd have thought yellow = caution; red = problem. Apparently not.
Verdict: If you're feeling nostalgic, rent it. If not, skip it.
For those new to the game, you play as the leader of a group traveling from Independence, MO, to Oregon City, OR, in a covered wagon in the mid-19th century. You have some money to buy supplies along the way, but you'll also need to do some hunting, as well as stopping and resting when your party members inevitably come down with broken bones, cholera, and dysentery, or when your wagon falls apart. Through all this, you need to make it to Oregon City by the end of October.
For people who remember the ancient version, well, obviously the graphics are better by leaps and bounds. Otherwise, the most glaring change is that you now need to steer your wagon around obstacles in the trail (the whole way, not just when you're floating down the Columbia), and there are some scattered goodies you can pick up along the way. In addition to hunting (where you can now expect far more rabbits and birds, and far fewer buffalo), you can now fish for food, which consists of throwing a bobber in the vicinity of a fish, waiting for it to go under the water, then reeling the fish in. Yes, it's every bit as thrilling as it sounds.
Even as someone who had fond memories of this game, I was ready for it to be over well before I got to Oregon (which I failed to do by "winter", i.e., the end of October, which results in a Game Over). Two major annoyances: 1) Ridiculously long load times. 2) The progress meter on the screen has green, yellow, and red sections, telling you how you're doing relative to the necessary pace. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until game over that you have to get out of the yellow area, into the green, to avoid said game over. Intuitively, I'd have thought yellow = caution; red = problem. Apparently not.
Verdict: If you're feeling nostalgic, rent it. If not, skip it.
Sort by
« Previous1Next »