Keep on trucking and learning
Looking to keep the kids quiet and have them learn while they're playing? Well, Cross Country Canada should be top of your list of titles as it stands up as a superb edutainment title that has a lot to offer despite its age. It offers eager learners the chance to practice a mix of skills, including geography, maths and logic and throws them into an entertaining race across the vast land of Canada. Players take on the role of a delivery driver in a massive truck and must load up their vehicle then plan the most efficient route, while also budgeting for rest, fuel and food, all the while keeping their deadline in mind. There's no payment for late deliveries! As you drive across the country, you'll pick up some fascinating facts about Canada, while also gaining valuable skills like map-reading and arithmetic. While the game looks fairly simple by today's standards, there's no denying that it has actually aged pretty well in other aspects and remains fun even for modern audiences. The educational aspects are integrated in such a way that they don't feel overly forced or intrusive but which are genuinely useful, while the main gameplay also stands up to scrutiny and should provide an entertaining few hours of driving action for the young ones. The visuals are fairly simple but remain charming enough in an old-school way, with some nicely atmospheric landscapes and chunky sprites to enjoy but really it's the gameplay that's the star here and which elevates Cross Country Canada up to similar levels as other genre classics like Carmen Sandiego, Headline Harry and the Super Solvers games. Definitely recommended!
