Amazon Trail II-

If you or your children enjoyed the original version of "Amazon Trail," you will be pleased with the job MECC has done with it's recent upgrade. Traveling through the rainforest on your own boat is exciting and with this program educational as well.

The basic scenario is that you are to find your way up the Amazon River exploring the environment, meeting important people and learning about the flora and the fauna. You will meet traveling conquistadors, animals you have never heard of and people like Teddy Roosevelt. In the original version you could explore the forest floor and the canopy. This new version allows you to do the same exploration in a flooded forest and a marsh. The 3-D graphics have been improved so that the program has a more intimate feel. The fishing was always one of our favorite activities and in the new version it is much more realistic. Because of this 3-D feel I don't recommend this program if you have a weak computer system. On slower systems maneuvering the boat becomes tedious and difficult. There is so much more sound and graphics that a faster system is very helpful. A 486 system is still OK, but make sure it is a fairly fast one with plenty of RAM.

"Amazon Trail II" contains new scenarios which change with each play. This makes the program longer lasting. MECC has included twice as many animals and made your tour guide an interactive video character which makes the program more interesting. Three play levels means your kids can continue to use this program as they grow older.

If your children are interested in the rainforest, animals or ecology, they will enjoy this new "Trail" program. My kids enjoyed it much more than "Africa Trail," but still prefer "MayaQuest" for the game play.

Grading:

Educational value- 4
Entertainment value- 4
Use of medium- 5
Dollar value- 4
Age- 10 and older

Buy Amazon Trail II at Amazon!

Or you can purchase the new Amazon Trail 3rd Edition: Rainforest Adventure!