WolfQuest (www.wolfquest.org)

© 2008 EduWeb
Windows, Mac OSX, Internet Site
Teaches: science, ecosystems, wolf habitats, logic, spatial problem solving
CTR Rating: 90%
Editor's Choice

CTR Review

Update July 2008: WolfQuest: Amethyst Mountain Deluxe "fixes some issues with username validation." You can download the new version here: http://wolfquest.org/downloads.php. The following review comes the April 2009 issue. It isn't easy being a wolf. That's one of the first things you learn when you start playing WolfQuest, a first-person simulation that puts you on the prowl, literally, on a search for food and a mate. Created with funding from the National Science Foundation, the free game was designed by wolf experts. We found it is easy to download (from www.wolfquest.org) and install the 80 MB file on both our Mac and Windows test machines. You start by creating your wolf avatar, choosing a coat, gender, strength and speed. Next, you find yourself in the middle of a forest, with hunger and stamina meters that could've come out of any video game. You move through the 3D landscape in search of food and eventually a mate. The controls are a bit clunky -- on par with many computer games. For example, you use the keyboard arrow keys to move and the mouse to look around. The spacebar lets you bite, H is a very realistic howl, and V puts you into "scent mode" where you can see smells. This is a great way to illustrate how important this invisible sense is to wildlife. One of the first things you learn is that wolves have to travel a lot in order to find a mate or the next meal. You also learn how wolves dominate one another, and work together to make a kill. There's a bit of blood when you eat an animal, but it is not overdone. The game was made with the Unity3D game engine (www.unity3d.com) and can be downloaded for free from www.wolfquest.org. It was originally released last year. A third episode will be released this summer that lets you have babies. A classroom mode lets you play the game as a pack, where players can chat with teach other using filtered chat. If you teach upper-elementary or middle-school-age children, make a note of this title.