My trials and tribulations on the Oregon Trail

I grabbed The Oregon Trail by Gameloft last week when it dropped to $0.99 during one of their sales. I’ve wanted this game for months, out of nostalgia more than anything else, but the $4.99 price tag seemed a little high to me for a game I more than likely would play once then let sit idle. At $0.99 I couldn’t resist.

Overall I’m very pleased with the game. The graphics are good and the gameplay is easy and fun. The minigames, give you something amusing to do to earn extra money and food along the journey, just don’t expect them to be very complicated. There are also the aspects of getting lost, disease, getting robbed, being attacked, breaking down and staying ahead of schedule, but there isn’t much decision making to be done. You pick a path from time to time, you can look for help when the kids get sick (better have money on hand though), you can pick the speed at which you move and you can stop to pan for gold, pick berries and hunt for food. It’s not a sim so don’t expect a lot of resource management.

All in all it’s quite enjoyable. And it’s something you can pick up and play for a few minutes or sit down and rack up some miles. It’s a great game at the $0.99 price point, but I don’t think I would have been happy had I paid $4.99. I paid that much for Dungeon Hunter which has much more gameplay and replay value. Even at the current $2.99 I can see some disappointment. It will bring back some memories of the old version, but don’t expect this to be a nail biting adventure. It’s fun for what it is, you just need to get it at a good price.