Oregon Trail II

Howdy partners it’s time to once again head down the Oregon Trail in Oregon Trail 2. Released in 1995, Oregon Trail 2 was not actually the second game in the series as there had been many versions of the original Oregon Trail released before this. Oregon Train 2 made use of “powerful CD Rom technology” which was the big thing at the time.

Go Where You Want To Go

While this is called the Oregon Train 2, you are not just confined to having to go on the Oregon Trail. You can also head out West for the California Gold Rush trail or you can go on the Mormon Trail. I think this was a pretty smart addition to the game and it, of course, does give it, even more, replay value as you may want to go back and check out the other two trials.

Edu-RPG-Tainment

While the idea of The Oregon Train 2 is the same as the last game where you have to get to your destination with as many people alive as possible. This time around the game is way more fleshed out. You can pick how many people are in your group and you can even name them which is fun. You need to pick an occupation and then you can set about giving yourself different skills. You only have so many skill points to use so make sure that you use them wisely. Skills will make certain events more likely to happen. Your occupation will have an effect on how much money you have at the start of your journey so even before you start there is a lot to think about.

Hey, I Did That!

Oregon Trail 2 is more interactive than what came before it. In the previous game the main things you would do as far as gameplay goes were the rafting and the hunting. You still have that here, but it is greatly expanded upon and feels more like an actual game. Also when something in the game happens such as one of your party members getting sick, an accident or something with the wagon. You have to actually make a decision and it better be the right one as you do not want to lose people. Or even worse, yourself as if you die it is game over. The trading system in Oregon Trail 2 is actually pretty sophisticated for the time. There are plenty of towns and people that you can deal with. You can talk to these folks and you can buy, trade, sell and order different items that will help you on your travels.

This Games Got That 90s Style

The presentation of this game is very weird. They have live action actors, but the mouths are animated. It is so very 90s and at the time this would have looked like a million bucks and it certainly has that 90s PC CD Rom game vibe to it as far as the presentation goes. Also as it is a CD Rom game it has voice acting and as you would expect it is terrible, but I mean that in the best way possible as it is hilarious.

The Oregon Trail 2 may not be looked at as fondly as the first game, but it is not a horrible game. It does have a lot more going on so in that regard I do feel that it offers more of a challenge and more things to do. Despite this though, it is just lacking a little bit of that charm the original has. Still, if you have a lot of love for Oregon Trail, I would recommend checking this one out.

7/10

Pros:

• It is pretty interactive
• Lots of places to trade
• Creating your party is way more fun than it should be
• Has more “gameplay” than before
• The sound is very clear

Cons:

• Not as charming as the original
• The mouth animations are super weird