1 - The Oregon Trail (1971)

Played: Jan. 2011
Played before: No.
Heard of before: Yes. I had been wanting to play this game for some time.
Time spent: A couple of hours.
Completed: Yes
Mastered (0-100%): 80%

Used platform: Apple II on-line emulator, with sound and everything. http://www.virtualapple.org/oregontraildisk.html


Brief description: Embark on a perilous journey across the untamed North America of yore. Buy supplies, trade, cross rivers and hunt. All while keeping your family safe, and getting to the promised land before the winter hits. Watch as the days blend under the scorching sun, and pray that your last two oxen wont die on you. Plays out kinda like an RPG / turnbased strategy. This is apparently the generic educational game for an entire generation in The States.

Story: 6/10 The story is actually okay, and quite engaging. After all, who wants to let his family starve or die on the prairie? 
Gameplay: 8/10 Lots of different parameters and choices in the game, and the hunting part must have been quite ass-kicking back in the day. More than what I expected in this package.
Sound: 5/10 Basic bleeps and bops, and the occasional short musical outburst.
Graphics: 6/10 Decent looking, but nothing was spectacular back then I guess.

Epic win: Shooting my first bear.
Epic fail: Realizing I could only carry 200 pounds of meat back to the wagon anyway.
Moment of strongest impact: Deciding to press on after hearing my girlfriend had typhoid, resulting in her untimely death on the prairie two days later. It actually made me stop and think for a moment. Also, realizing that my first try was a dead end. I had killed my family by making stupid choices along the way. Man "reality" hurts.

Overall: 78%
This is a very basic game, but I really think that some people have learnt important lessons from it. It made you reflect and realize, that your actions and choices has consequences for those around you. Not bad for a game before the time of video games.