Game Information (review date: 3/13/2009)
Title:
Oregon Trail
Developer:
Gameloft
Price: 6.99
Site:
Oregon Trail - Oregon Trail Game - The Ultimate Adventure Game for Mobile
Graphics:
Controls:
Design:
Replay:
Overall:
If your a fan of the old Oregon trail on apple, no not a mac, an apple computer. You will be a fan of this game. This game definitely brings back memories of old school gaming at its finest. Set in the 1800's this game is about surviving a journey through what was known as the Oregon Trail. This trail stretched across America, and lead the people of that era through uncharted terrian west to find bigger and better things.
But enough with the history lesson. Again, if you were a fan of the original game, you will probably be excited to play this game. It has great graphics and a very quick and snappy interface. There are a lot of great features which makes this game sure to be an instant hit.
The game has two modes a 'quick play' and 'normal play' mode. The quick or instant play mode allows you to travel the Oregon Trail without the ability to customize characters/equipment. You race against the clock to make it to the west coast as fast as you can, there are objectives that you play for, but this is definitely for a casual gamer.
The normal mode is where the real juice is at, it allows you character name selection for everyone in your group (husband, wife, and 3 kids) all of which you can name. You can also pick a 'class', from banker, farmer and carpenter, each have their upsides and downsides. I choose banker for my first attempt at the game. You also get to choose your 'ride', at this phase you can choose between 3 different types of carriages.
Gameplay, unfortunately is VERY repetitive and offers little in 'strategy' besides picking the best route and the occasional decision between resting or running/walking. This I found to be very lacking. Also the built in and static times where you play mini games along the way, which seem to be predetermined. On the otherhand MOST of the mini games are very entertaining, but can be very easy at times.
Along the way you collect money, food and passengers. Meet friendly (but repetitive) people along the way that talk about the history of the Oregon Trail. Overall this may be more a game of nostalga then an actual game for me. It brings back fond memories and too me is a true classic in pc gaming. I really hope that they bring out a trial version so that you can try it before you buy it because I KNOW that some people will not like this game at all, and some will love it. Its one of those games. The price is very steep at 6.99 and if you can wait , I would wait till it drops to 2.99 or less. Otherwise, graphically one of the best games I've seen on the iPhone and one that runs surprisingly well for the types of graphics it has, very similar in style to a Nintendo DS game. Another BIG downside and a pet peeve of mine is the TONS, and I mean TONS of loading screens and the length it takes for a loading screen to load. Its just really ridiculous and I hope it gets tuned down a little in an future update.
Would I pay 6.99 for it again, no, probably not. Would I wait for a demo or a price drop definately and try it or buy it then.
Screenshots:
IGN: The Oregon Trail Pictures (iPhone) 2744829
ps:this is my first review and would like to continue to do reviews for ModMyI.com, tell me what you liked or disliked. or if there is any other information you would like to know about the game before buying , ill be happy to answer questions. im sure everyone would like to see some screenshots, but i havent worked out that system yet so for the time being check out ign.com for screenshots, link at the bottom.
03-14-2009, 02:32 AM
Linear Mode
