The Oregon Trail Deluxe

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The Oregon Trail Deluxe takes you to a great adventure where you travel across the rugged landscapes of North America with your covered wagon, powered by a number of ox, from Independence, Missouri, to the fertile Willamette Valley of the Oregon Territory; and we are talking about a journey of approximately 2,000 miles! During your journey, you'll pass across Kansas River, Big Blue River, Green River and many other known American rivers, reaching landmarks and places like Fort Kearney, Fort Laramie and more. Before you set off you must register your name, the names of your partners and your occupation. Upon registering, you'll need to buy supplies and make some other important decisions. This is where you stock up with items you need to start your journey but you will surely be able to find other stores (but with much higher prices) the farther you go. The gameplay area offers an interface of various icons/actions to interact as well as a main window with animated scenes. The "Map" icon shows your current progress across the country, as well as some major landmarks. The "Guide" is a helpful directory of key Oregon Trail terms. It contains information on how to combat certain illnesses, as well as details for significant places and people. The "Status" tells you the medical condition of your partners, as well as your current inventory and Occupation. The "Rations" is where you can set how much your friends eat. The "Buy" helps you see what's in stock. The "Trade" is a very useful feature with which you can often get items you need cheaper. With "Talk" you can talk to fellow travelers to further the story or for advice. The “Rest” icon often improves / restores the health of a sick partner. Resting is helpful, but you must not overdo it or you'll find yourself traveling through rough winter conditions in the end of the game. The "Hunt" is the one that offers a shooting gallery-style gameplay in which you shoot animals for food (which is not that easy since the bullets are limited and some animals are stronger and more agile to shoot! The Oregon Trail Deluxe is one of my favorite Macintosh games. It requires good strategy skills to continue the tough (at times) journey and you have to always be alerted for supplies, for the people and ox stamina and health, for the time and so on. Overall, this quite primitive game is an actual masterpiece!

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The graphics are pretty good and, of course, they look better on the MAC compared to the original (the Apple II home version). All static screens are detailed while the animated scenes (such as the hunting scenes or trail moving) are adequate in detail. The game's sound is basic, with some minimal sound effects and no music at all, but the game's strength is its story and not its graphics and sound combination.