Video Game Review: The Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail
For: Nintendo Wii
By: Red Wagon
Released, December 2011

Description from toysrus.com:
Westward Ho! Welcome to the Oregon Trail! Your job is to lead your family across over 2,000 miles of rough terrain from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City in the middle of the 19th century. They made the journey for adventure, fortune, or freedom. Now you have the chance to relive history and start your own grand adventure. Will you survive? Will you prosper? It's time to hit the trail! Play The Oregon Trail like never before! Complete achievements to unlock special items. Hunt, fish, and drive your wagon for the first time ever! Play through 4 unique stories, each with 3 different time periods. Customize your wagon with different tarps and colors. Every play through is different and has endless possibilities!


* When I saw that The Oregon Trail was being released as a game for the Nintendo Wii, I put it on hold at the library (yes, at least through my local library system you can borrow video games, great?! Right?!).  I have to admit that I am not a big gamer and borrowing the games from the library works out really great.   I also like the ability to "try before we buy" which more often than not we end up NOT buying.

I remember playing The Oregon Trail in elementary school during computer class, many years ago!  This game was really about the nostalgia for me.  And it got pretty old after a bit.  Recommend for ages 10 and up, my husband and I sat down and played with the kids watching.  It didn't hold their interest for very long and it was difficult enough to manuever that they really couldn't play it.  The movements were very sensitive to the slightest tap of the controller which got a bit annoying.  We played for about an hour, hour and a half getting not even half-way through the game.  However, by then I'd had enough! 

While it was fun for a bit, I definitely enjoyed the game much more in 4th or 5th grade!  Unfortunately, with all of the newer, more action-packed games out there, this probably won't interest the 10+ age group it was originally targeted for.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: So-so.