So today we are going to do something different, we are going to talk about a game from a little computer software company based out of Minnesota that gave us memorable games like the Muncher Franchise and of course Oregon Trail, but a review for that will come later this week. They were on their own before The Learning Company bought their Library before going defunct in 1999.

We're going to talk about a game that doesn't get the love in the edutainment game lexicon that Oregon Trail does, and that would be the Amazon Trail, and I'm not kidding, if you don't catch Dysentery, you catch Parasties, if you don't catch that you'll catch Malaria, if you don't catch that then you'll catch Yellow Fever


Gameplay and story: *takes a deep breath* the game starts off while you are asleep in your bed and suddenly your bedroom turns into the Amazon where you are greeted by a black jaguar who tells you he is the pet of the Inca king and he wants you to deliver medicine to the people of the ancient city of Vilcabamba (which hasn't gotten the publicity that Macchu Picchu has gotten) because they are sick with a fever (which turns into Malaria once you've hit the River) you are to pick between two guides and they are the Santos Rios siblings, Antonio and Isabel, along the way we trade with people because the Inca King wants Cinchona for his sick people, along the way we also pick up a Scarlet Macaw, an Iguana, a Blue Morpho Butterfly, as well as strange oils, and plants (that you can easily get in the forest when you hit the explore button, if you're lucky you can find those animals in the rainforest as well). You meet up with people that actually existed including Teddy Roosevelt and Isabel Godin (yeah I didn't know who she was either until I played this game, her story is really interesting, how has her adventure not been made into a movie?), you also run into conquistadors and people native to the area, as well as scientists You navigate through the river with your mouse and oh by the way you can also take pictures on the river. You can also fish for food, but avoid the stingrays and Electric Eels, they will shock you (besides the eels aren't edible), also you have to be careful navigating the river because you aren't the only ones there, you have to go up against obstacles like whirlpools, Logs, cruise ships (why?) capsize, and you risk being bitten by piranhas, stung by eels and stingrays, losing your supplies, even drowning, if the river obstacles or disease doesn't kill you, the tribes will, that's right you risk getting captured and likely eventually killed by angry tribesmen if you take a wrong turn on the river. One of the things I learned was that Henry Ford treated his workers better than Arana did. Now as for the guides, Antonio has more Food and Shelter (3 tents, you'll need that extra tent when you have to trade for a Mask), and Harpoons, but Isabel has the most first aid kits and clothing (I think)


Graphics: They aren't perfect but this game was released in 1993, I'll do screenshots one of these days, and I have filmed a gameplay

Soundtrack: This is from a big MIDI library as well as stock rainforest sounds you can hear in other games like in Nancy Drew the Secret of the Scarlet Hand, but it's quite memorable, I do have a video that has the complete soundtrack but I think there's some missing
Each location has it's own background music and so does the

Addictive: Hey the demo version was enough to get me excited and addicted to the game, however I didn't get to own a copy until 2011 and then I could really play the game (because in the Demo version, you have at least 5 minutes of game play time, or until you reach the Xingu river).

Depth: it would take about two hours to finish the game in one sitting. At the end of the game you get a shield from the Inca King the better you do the more jewels you will see on the shield (people you talk to, plant and animal species you identify, the items you get for the inca king) I've actually excelled best in regards to the items for the inca king, as well as catching the fish and identifying plants, you'd be lucky if you found everything else in the rainforest.

Difficulty: I think it was a youtube commenter on one of my videos that put it best, THIS GAME WANTS TO KILL YOU SO BAD!!!! and that is so true (but that's a majority of the case for Oregon Trail as well), this would be so much more fun if we didn't get sick so easily, and we can run out of first aid kits real easily, this game is aimed at age 10-adult, but at least if you realize you took a wrong turn, you can go to the map and hit "Let's turn around" and it takes you back before you took the wrong turn. I would also have to say that trading is probably the hardest thing to do in the game, there is plenty of things to trade for (especially if you can't find certain animals in the rainforest which is inevitable) when I play I usually wait to get the passionflower, or the Cacao or Brazil Nuts because you can get those so easily in the rainforest.

Post review follow-up: This was the first game in this franchise, yeah apparently you know an educational game is successful if the game is a trilogy. And it's probably a good thing TLC didn't make a 4th game because well Oregon Trail 4 is kind of a mess, but I'll talk about it when I talk about it.

This concludes my review, join me tomorrow when I review.....Cluefinders Reading Adventures or Mystery of the Missing Amulet (they're both the same game it just has a different title)