Champion Dreams: First to Ride Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This game has its good and bad aspects. But, just to put it out there, I would not recommend this game for little kids.
Good Aspects:
Fair Graphics
- The horse needs work because it has very ackward movements, but the people and surrounds are great.
Good Story Line
- The story line keeps you into the game longer then most horse games I have played (and trust me, I've tried maybe 99% of them).
Design your own Training Schedule
- You have certain goals to acheive before the end of the week, but otherwise you can do what you want, when you want to.
Realistic Gameplay
- Grooming, bathing, hoof cleaning, stall cleaning, turn-out, dressage, show jumping, cross country, trail rides, etc.
Bad Aspects:
Too Challenging of game obstacles
- After about an hour of trying on some, I gave up and had to go onto cheat sites in order to figure out some of the obstacles)
The main character talks to herself (or has an imaginary friend?)
- Okay, I had to throw this in, because it's just a bad idea on the part of the designer to tell you what to do in the game. It's just plain strange.
Some of the "Horse Care" tasks take WAY TOO LONG
- Hoof cleaning and stall cleaning take way too long. Sometimes you can't even get the hoof pick to get that certain piece of dirt without touching the frog (V-shaped area of the foot). Or you can't pick up the straw and manure pieces without trying multiple times (I feel like the arm on those stuffed animal toys at the arcade). In addition, the hose in the bathing option does not spray correctly. I have to aim lower then it looks in order to his the rump for example.
What's with the "Talk"?
- The "talk" options (after passing the first competition) is all messed up. First of all, I can't hear whether a horse is whinnying or puffing, etc. Second, it's too much for a hassle to have to write all these things down in order to get them even remotely correct, and I still sometimes get them wrong. Third, way too many of them are too close to each other to figure out the difference. It was an interesting idea, but needed to be designed better.
Important things get screwed up
- The first time I played the scenario, my collected canter would not work no matter what I did, so I would always get points off. Now, on my second time through, my collected canter works, but my horse continues to turn left randomly, even when I'm not pressing the key (although I prefer this one over the first because this one I can expect and correct).
I probably have more aspects, but I've written too much already. Overall, I don't want the bad aspects to get you down about this game. It is good, but only if you don't mind the difficult things and don't fret about having to look up some cheats if you get frustracted on the scenario obstacles.

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Platform:WINDOWS 98/ME/2000/XPPublisher:UBI SOFTPackaging:DVD STYLE BOXRating:EVERYONECongratulations! You ve been admitted to the world-renowned Sycamore Riding School where you will compete in dressage show jumping and cross country events against rising stars from all over the worldFeatures:Ride the horse of your dreams: Choose your favorite horse from 14 different breeds including Andalusian Lipizzan Hunter Palomino and Freesian. Practice makes perfect: Build your horse s stamina speed precision and grace through diligent training and advice from top teachers. Care for your horse: Learn to groom feed and care for your horse. The bond you build will give you the edge to rise to the very top. Show off your style: Look great at every competition by picking cool outfits and riding gear for you and your horse.System Requirements:Supported OS: Windows98/2000/ME/XP (only)RAM: 128 MB RAM (256 for Win XP)Video Card: DirectX9.0 compliant cardSound Card: DirectX 8.1 compliantHardrive: 1.5 free disc spaceCD ROM: required to run the game

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