The Oregon Trail: 5th Edition

The Oregon Trail 5th Edition is the most advanced game in a long running series. The game puts you in the role of a person heading out west to the American frontier, following the Oregon trail. The goal is to get from one side of the country to the other without dying.

Unfortunately, this is harder than it sounds. People die on the trail for all kinds of reasons, from poisonous plants and diseases like cholera to being unable to ford a river. The odds of getting you and your family if you have any all the way to Oregon without a loss along the way is not very good. Despite all this, the game is a fun and relaxing way to pass the time.

Only plays on older systems

Perhaps the biggest flaw of the game is that it flat out does not work on modern computers. The latest version of Microsoft that will run the game is XP, and if you have a later OS than this, you’ll need to use an emulator to run the game.

Mild improvements from previous games

The Oregon Trail series started in 1974. Since then there have been several releases. The Oregon Trail 5th Edition is based off of Oregon Trail II, with a few features from Oregon Trail 4th edition being carried over, such as the plant gathering option.

Conversation photos are no longer animated in this version, and a new story is offered that follows fellow trail blazers in a story of their own.

Historical accuracy

The game was always meant to be an educational game, and it does do a great job to opening your eyes to this historic event. It helps give players a clear idea of the hardships involved in settling the west, and the risks of travel during this time.

UX Flaws

Although the game has come a long way over the years, user experience was probably not a strong consideration when developing this game. As an example during the gathering wild plants event, you need to identify plants from a guide book. Unfortunately, you can’t flip back to look at a plant again.

A back button is clearly important in this situation, since when you are searching for edible plants you want to be sure you’re correct. Humans are not computers after all, and not being able to double check that plant can be dangerous—for your digital characters at least.

This isn’t the only design flaw in the game, but it’s the best example of why the game can be hard to play sometimes.

Pros:

• Educational game
• Nostalgia Factor
• Lots of replay value

Cons:

• UX Issues
• Will not play on new systems without emulator