Download An American Tail - Fievel Goes West

I guess you're all familiar with this cute little animated character called Fievel: He is a little Russian mouse who travelled across the sea to America. Alas, a storm caught him, and now he is alone. His first task is to find his family. This is the first "tail" you will play.

You don't need to be an expert gamer to finish this cute little adventure. The game was made for children (and us grownups who refuse to age at heart). It's full of cute characters, and the ones who will try to hurt you are so grotesque that you can’t mistake them for anything but villains.

There is danger close by as well: You might get captured, and that’s the end of the game - but if you’re quick enough this needn’t worry you.

Besides the puzzles, which are really simple, An American Tail features some cute little games which will amuse you but won’t really be a challenge, because they aren’t that difficult.

Gameplay

You will need to collect some things and bring them to the right place, so you should know how to access your inventory. You need to move the "cheesy" pointer to Fievel, and when the arrow is red you can access the inventory. The things you have there cannot be used randomly; if you can use it, the little button will say 'use/give' or something similar. Otherwise, it will just say 'drop'.

If you drag the pointer across the screen, you’ll see the places where you can exit, as well as characters you can interact with. If you see something really out of place (like marbles in a mine), then that’s what you probably can pick up.

It’s all straightforward and simple - did I mention how cute I find all of this? The music isn’t really annoying, but it’s not a score I’d like to listen to over and over again. The backgrounds, however, are somewhat strange. You get some really nice, sharp pictures, but in other places you get the impression that the picture is out of focus.

Controls

The controls are simple, and you need only press Esc to get to the game menu. Although this is an easy game, you should save every now and again, just so you won’t need to restart if you happen to make a false move.

Overall, I give this game a 4. The cuteness level is almost overwhelming. The graphics are nice enough, and the sound is OK. For an adventure title made for children, this is a good game: It will draw the little ones' attention and will make them think every now and again. But the game just lacks that certain something to make it a five-pointer.