"Haters of this game have cholera."

Ah, Oregon Trail. The game that most people who grew up in the 80s or 90s remember 3rd grade for. You played as a pioneer traveling to Oregon to find a new frontier in life. This is the 2nd entry in the series, and quite an outstanding one! It does have a couple minor issues however, but they can easily be ignored.

Story 10/10
Just as in the first game, however this time you have a few more places you can go to- such as California, Utah and Oregon City itself. Along the way you encounter quite a few hazards and things to decide over-more about those in the gameplay section.

Graphics 9/10
This game has quite nice graphics for a game produced in 1996. The people you talk to are very nicely animated, except for the mouth motions, which are downright bizarre at times. Then again, even modern-day games can't seem to get lip-synching right, so it's excusable. There are quite a few photos used in the game also, as well as live action footage of wildlife. One thing I dislike is that this game doesn't show any river crossings like the original did- it just moves on as usual unless you tip the wagon or someone drowns. The backgrounds of the stills are quite nice-they change depending on weather. Whenever an event- be it good or bad- occurs, a still appears to accompany it. For instance, if one of your characters falls ill, a somewhat unsettling image is shown that depicts a somber-looking female pioneer wiping another distressed, wrapped up in blankets pioneer's head with a washcloth. If fruit is found, a cute little picture of berries hanging from leaves is shown. Overall I'd say the graphics are really good for the time.

Gameplay 8.5/10

This is where the game slightly falls. You can choose different jobs, most of which affect money and skills. You can also just tag along with a wagon train as a Greenhorn, or else choose where to go as a wagon captain or trail guide. You basically choose from several choices what to do when playing the main game. Before setting out on the trail, you buy supplies. You can choose from 3 firearms and 3 types of pack animals. I usually go with 2 rifles and 15 oxen. I HIGHLY recommend you buy food and not rely on hunting-gathering. When you get into the main game itself, there are lots of things that can occur. When near a river, you can cross by fording( going like normal through the river), caulking the wagon(taking off the wheels and floating across) or paying to ferry across. At all opportunities, use the ferries unless you are SURE one of the other options shall work. If you tip over, you usually lose several items. Often when traveling the trail, you will end up with someone sick. Always ask for advice when disease crops up- don't click whatever comes to mind first. Oh, and ALWAYS buy as much medicine as the wagon can carry. You never know what circumstances may occur. One flaw here while I'm on the subject is that even if you use the right method to tend to the sickness or wound, there is no guarantee it will work-sometimes the person will die no matter what. Another big aspect to the game is hunting. You pick a firearm, aim at an animal through a crosshair, and shoot the innocent varmint to tarnation. Then you usually get 200 pounds of meat if all goes well. However you sometimes leave lots behind, which could be excused if you had a wagon that could potentially fit it all, but you don't. Also, hunter beware- the game hates it when you hunt often and you may shoot yourself if you hunt too much. This usually results in death no matter how you treat it. This does not amuse most people. Another major flaw is that the difficulty raises and lowers dramatically much too often. In winter, the game is impossibly difficult even for a game trying to simulate the hardships pioneers went through. Food and water get scarce very easily, injury and death is much more possible and you are often forced to stop by conditions. Moving on...

Music/Sound/Voice Acting: 9.5/10

Here is where the game truly shines. The orchestral score is absolutely riveting, especially the main theme, which fits both the peril often gone through by pioneers and the feeling of happiness that came with finally reaching their destination. The music often changes moods depending on the status of your party, weather conditions, or climate. An eerie, lonely theme plays in deserts, while a relaxingly happy tune plays in towns. Plus, short pieces of music often accompany events; a rising tune whenever something exciting happens such as the birth of a baby or a holiday; a scary chord sequence(that scared the living conflabbed outta me when I was in third grade) that plays when events such as deaths and wagon turnovers occur; and music that I can only describe as what you hear when you get a stomach bug whenever a disease such as cholera or dysentery occurs. The sound is very well done, the chirping of birds and loud bang of gunshots are all here. The voice acting however, leaves a teeny bit to be desired. The exaggerated accents and lisps of some NPCs can actually ruin serious situations; I once asked for advice when a character had an infection from a gunshot wound but all it did was make me burst out laughing because of the hilariously faked accents instead of helping me. The sound is the games greatest aspect.

Replay Value: 10/10
Plenty of things you can do if you play this game over. Be mean and try to kill everyone before the 1st fort, try to make it with only hunting and gathering skills, attempt to make it through the game by yourself...you name it, you can do it!

Overall 8/10

Adventure Ho!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/16/09

Game Release: Oregon Trail II (US, 1996)