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'The Oregon Trail' Arrives: Make Dysentery Fun Again

posted March 11th, 2009 5:27 AM EST by arn in $5.99, iPhone games, iPod touch games, Retro

Gameloft's take on The Oregon Trail [App Store] has finally arrived in the App Store this morning. We previewed this classic game back in February and found that despite the modern touches, it remains loyal to its original gameplay:

Some readers fond of the original expressed concern that Gameloft’s iPhone offering might be simply an Oregon Trail-themed string of mini games. This is not the case. The Oregon Trail for the iPhone is, at its core, the original game given a makeover as well as a series of tweaks and enhancements that help bring the title forward 30 years for today’s mobile gamer.

Gameloft streamlined the initial setup for the expedition and added more events along the trail to keep the game interesting.

The official release description offers the following features:

  • All of the decision-making and problem-solving fun of the original game, plus additional parameters to take the Oregon Trail experience even further than you've played before.
  • 8 skill-based mini-games, including 2 accelerometer-based challenges: hunting, fishing, river crossing, rafting, wagon repairing, telegraph, berry picking, and gold panning.
  • Random events (disease, bandits, hitchhikers, etc.) faced by real pioneers increases the challenge.
  • Side-missions add more excitement to your journey, affecting your westward trek.
  • Prepare for your departure: Select the members of your party, choose your departure date and purchase supplies.

Gameloft provides an official trailer which shows the variety of events in the game:

Our own HD video of the game shows the early gameplay:


[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Based on our brief time with the game, we do feel that fans of the original will enjoy this modern take.

App Store Link: Oregon Trail, $5.99

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  • http://www.edumacnation.com/2009/03/oregontrail/ [iPhone Game] Oregon Trail: 1992 seems so long ago… | edu.Mac.nation

    [...] ‘The Oregon Trail’ Arrives: Make Dysentery Fun Again | Touch Arcade. Gameloft streamlined the initial setup for the expedition and added more events along the trail to keep the game interesting. [...]

  • http://www.fftrealm.com Noah

    Just purchased. Downloading now, 50 megs :)

  • JTHM87

    Exciting news to wake up to!!!! Yay!

  • Retro_Gamer

    My mom's is a school teacher and she remembers taking her students to the lab to play this way back when. I just showed her the new version and she loves it!

  • Adams Immersive

    When did dysintery STOP being fun? No chores, no school, just you and a pleasantly cool tin bucket.

    Boy, I think I just dated myself big time.

  • orb

    Not available in Norway :(

    So technically it has only arrived in the US AppStore.

  • http://www.myglasseye.net owen-b

    Just checked the UK store as my other half is American and remembers the original. Sadly it's not out over here either, yet.

  • sonryhater

    Wow, not a single review yet. No one is buying this?

  • http://historyontv.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/the-oregon-trail-brings-us-historing-to-iphone-gaming/ The Oregon Trail Brings US Historing to iPhone Gaming « HistoryonTV.co.uk

    [...] clipped from toucharcade.com [...]

  • http://www.stuffthatwascool.com/2009/03/you-have-died-of-dysentery-the-oregon-trail/ Stuff that was Cool

    You Have Died of Dysentery: The Oregon Trail...

    Severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood. Sweet.
    Although Lewis and Clark were pretty bad ass, one could maintain that they are STILL cool. However,  STWC likes to keep the nostalgia within the last century (more inline with our reader base). So ....

  • shawmaan

    Okay, I'll buy it...

  • GreyDawn

    I used to play this in grade school indeed.

    I wish they had an option to start up with the classic more complex set of options instead of only the new quick start option (that used to be half the fun).

  • Sascha

    No sign of the Game in Germany.....sucks!

    I will play this game because i loved the original.

  • The Gromin

    Not in Japan either. I just don't get it. Apple has no regulations for their games requiring them to be in a certain foreign language so why not just release it in all countries around the world in English and get more profit that way?

  • Mike

    I guess I'll be the one to say that $5.99 is a bit steep. Especially considering it isn't an original title and simply a port of a 20+ year old game.

  • Adams Immersive

    A 20+ year old game that (for whatever reason) still sells for $20-$30!

  • Phatbhuda

    The game is more of a re-imaging than a port. The gameplay is heavily simplified. A status bar for food and one for supplies. No more budgeting for what parts to buy, just keep your supplies. Mediocre minigames for gathering food, crossing rivers and repairing.

    The game is pretty to look at and is light and funny in tone. There are a bunch of interface problems and the game regularly crashes for me.

  • Tony C

    Gizmodo published a mini-review on Oregon... I'm kinda surprised at the lack-of myself!

    http://i.gizmodo.com/5168258/oregon-trail-iphone-game-hands-on?skyline=true&s=i

  • Rob Merritt

    Played it 4 hours yesterday. Love it. its my favorite iPhone game. As a big fan of the original, this is a very simple version of that game. However i think its more fun.

  • http://gen.erikveland.com Erik K Veland

    I went to buy this today only to find it's (still?) not available in the Australian store. What gives??

  • Dan Dare

    After over a week still not out in the Australian store. What's going on?

  • http://puzzleinn.com/blog/2009/03/%e2%80%98the-oregon-trail%e2%80%99-arrives-make-dysentery-fun-again-touch-arcade/ ‘The Oregon Trail’ Arrives: Make Dysentery Fun Again | Touch Arcade | PuzzleInn.Com

    [...] Original post: ‘The Oregon Trail’ Arrives: Make Dysentery Fun Again | Touch Arcade [...]

  • Oxy

    And it´s still not out in Germany either...

  • http://www.casila.de Carsten

    anybody an Idea? Will it ever be availeable in Germany?

  • http://www.iloveiphone.info/2009/05/digital-chocolates-upcoming-california-gold-rush/ Digital Chocolate’s Upcoming ‘California Gold Rush’ | I Love iPhone

    [...] details, at present, are scant, it looks something loosely like a cross between Boulder Dash and Oregon Trail. Have a [...]

  • http://www.thegamesdomain.com/so-you-just-got-an-iphone-a-list-of-games-to-get/ The Games Domain » So You Just Got an iPhone? A List of Games to Get.

    [...] Oregon Trail (.99) – Yes, dysentery can be fun again (review) [...]

  • http://iphoneteacher.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/the-oregon-trail-brings-us-historing-to-iphone-gaming/ The Oregon Trail Brings US Historing to iPhone Gaming « iPhone Teacher

    [...] clipped from toucharcade.com [...]

  • http://iphonegameblogs.com/oregon-trail-and-blimp-lites-released/ ‘Oregon Trail’ and ‘Blimp’ Lites Released- iPhone Game Blogs

    [...] where we can have your young kids stolen by bald eagles? For some-more information, check out a original post upon a game. Another good diversion which additionally right away has a lite chronicle is Blimp [...]

  • Max

    No, it definitely is just a string of OT themed mini games. It's really not that fun.

  • http://howtogetappsonandroid.com/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad/ 'The Oregon Trail' is Now Available for the iPad

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://www.gameappsnews.com/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad/ ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://mudojuegos.com/?p=18841 ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad – Mudojuegos

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://touchfresh.com/2011/10/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad/ ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad | Touchfresh apps

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://iphonegame.freeshareworld.com/2011/10/12/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad/ ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad | iPhoneGameNews

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://spil-eksperten.dk/?p=1263 'The Oregon Trail' is Now Available for the iPad | Spil og games Nyheder

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://removewat.com/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad.html ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad | RemoveWAT SP1

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://iphonecrack.freeshareworld.com/2011/10/13/the-oregon-trail-is-now-available-for-the-ipad/ ‘The Oregon Trail’ is Now Available for the iPad | iPhone FreeGame Discovery

    [...] 2009, Gameloft brought an updated take on the classic game to the App Store with their modernized The Oregon Trail for iOS. The core gameplay of the original was kept mostly intact, but with brand new visuals and [...]

  • http://howtogetappsonandroid.com/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier/ 'The Oregon Trail: American Settler' Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://touchfresh.com/2011/12/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier/ ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier | Touchfresh apps

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://celebritieswithcellulite.com/2011/12/01/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier/ ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier |

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://iphonecracks.freeshareworld.com/2011/12/02/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier/ ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier | iPhone 無料ゲーム情報

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://iphonegame.freeshareworld.com/2011/12/01/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier/ ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier | iPhoneGameNews

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://removewat.com/the-oregon-trail-american-settler-review-%e2%80%93-taming-the-freemium-frontier.html ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier | RemoveWAT SP1

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]

  • http://spil-eksperten.dk/?p=1710 ‘The Oregon Trail: American Settler’ Review – Taming The Freemium Frontier | Spil og games Nyheder

    [...] about what happened to your settlers after you finished a classic game of Oregon Trail (or the newer iOS remake)? Yeah, me neither. However, the folks over at Gameloft have taken that premise and used it to [...]


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