Trucking across the US in style
It's time to get your engines revving, the donuts bought and your giant cowboy hat set firmly on your head in this trucking adventure across the bid old country that is the U S of A. Much like its later sequel, Cross Country Canada, this is an edutainment title that sees players trucking across the US, seeing the magnificent country while learning all kinds of useful things like maths, logic, geography and history. It's fairly simple stuff, which is understandable given the audience, with players required to take part in a cross country race and which involves navigating the roads of America in order to hit various checkpoints as fast as possible. You get to choose a teammate, each with their own peculiar personalities which must be considered, then select a car and which each have different costs, gas consumption (this is where the maths comes in) and looks. Once all this is done, it's time to hit the road but this is where the challenge really starts as your exact route is given through clues which must be solved if you are to stand a chance of victory. Out on the road, you have to consider things like stopping for fuel and food, watching out for cops dishing out speeding tickets and making sure you have a place to sleep. While Cross Country USA is certainly not for hardened driving fans (they might be better off with Screamer) for something to keep the kids quiet while they learn, it's a pretty decent effort. It's pretty realistic for an old game while the educational elements are implemented in such as way as to not feel overly intrusive and overall, this makes for an entertaining ride. Check out the Carmen Sandiego games for similarly enjoyable learning experiences.
