Oregon Trail II
| Oregon Trail II | |
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CD Cover art
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| Developer(s) | MECC |
| Publisher(s) | SoftKey Multimedia |
| Platform(s) | Apple Macintosh, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | February 13, 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Educational |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Review score | |
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| Publication | Score |
| AllGame |
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Oregon Trail II is an educational video game released by MECC in 1995. It was published by SoftKey Multimedia. It is a revised version of the original Oregon Trail computer game. It was redesigned with the help of American Studies PhD Wayne Studer. In contrast to the original version of the game, Oregon Trail II made an effort to include greater roles for women and racial minorities.
In addition to the regular edition, MECC released a 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Oregon Trail II Computer Game. The CD-ROM came with an official strategy guide and certificate of authenticity, all packaged in a commemorative wooden storage box.
Oregon Trail II's graphics are considerably more detailed than those in the original. In addition, events such as dysentery involve being directed to choose a course of action from a set of multiple choices.
When players start a new game, they can choose their name, occupation, level, date of travel, their starting point and destination, and type of wagon. Also, they may select how many others are with them in their wagon, along with their names and ages. After selecting an occupation, the player can select various skills. The player chooses skills with a 120-point limit. Automatic skills are free. The more important the skill is, the more it costs. Each skill can make something good more likely to happen and something bad to less likely to happen. While some occupations have more money than others, the low income occupations get a greater final bonus, which proves crucial in getting a decent score in the end of the game. However, if the player settles at a destination other than the one they had selected at the start of the game, they will not receive a bonus, regardless of their chosen occupation.
Oregon Trail II includes far more detail than the original. For instance, rafting down the Columbia River is a much greater challenge than it was in the original game. Whenever an event (e.g. an accident or illness) happens, the game halts and the player must make a choice of action, so it is much more interactive than the previous version. Players are also able to talk with other settlers along the way and ask their advice. At any point in the game, if the player dies, the game is over. This version also allows the player to choose between 20 years of travel (rather than 1 in the original) from 1840 to 1860. Travel is much easier in later years, as there are more towns and trading posts along the way for resupply. The online guidebook resource alters its displayed help based upon the year of travel, but not with the target and trailhead ends chosen—hence to read the book, one needs wade past pages of useless information applicable to sub-scenarios (such as alternate routes over a local regional stretch) one hasn't chosen.
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