The Great Tree Review
A graphically beautiful Mac game The Great Tree is different from the usual arcade play. If you can say a game is elegant, this is the one, even the creepy bugs have an air about them.
This is a story about the Great Tree that is the source of strength and magic for a group of fairies. The tree must be supplied pollen from the Smees, who collect the yellow substance inadvertently on their legs, nesting in the Great Tree. For some dark reason the colony of Smees have been decreasing and the tree has not been supplied with sufficient pollen causing havoc in the fairy world. This scare caused the fairies to split into 2 clans. The Wren who grew sapling from the tree and survived, and the Ixies who went looking for magic and found dark forces that turned them into horrific, tormented creatures full of hate towards the Wren. The only person who can help the Wren survive is one of their 1000 year old child – you. Your job is to collect pollen floating through the air and take it back to the transient star in the middle of the screen, which in turn, will take it to the Great Tree.
The play is simple. You fly around collecting a string of pollen and get it back to the shining orb without encountering any of the flying insects. If you should run into the insects all your pollen will be scattered, and you will have to start all over again collecting the specks. The longer the string of pollen the more points you will garner, and eventually you will be able to purchase powers like health, strength, agility and magic. In addition to all that there are power-ups like the deep freeze where it will freeze all the flying insects giving you time to collect, and the extra that will attract all the pollen to you. In addition to the insects, frogs, Venus flytrap, and other obstacles you need to free the Smees from their bubble prison.
This game is quite fun to play, easy to pick up and entertaining for everyone. It wasn’t frantic but you must work at collecting all the pollen, avoid the flying bugs and free the Smees. The best part of The Great Tree is the extraordinarily gorgeous artwork.
Features of The Great Tree:
-Save the Wrens from the Ixies
-10 Environments
-Insects and Creatures
-Power-Ups
Rating: 
Great Migration Review
Mac line drawing game Great Migration is based on the National Geographic’s show by the same name. It’s amazing how far animals and insects will travel each year in huge numbers risking their lives to get to their destination. This is the premise of this game. Your job is to take your “herd” to the green safe zone avoiding the deadly predators who will make a meal out of your migrants.
Initially choose the mode you would like to play from Migration, Survival and Field Guide. In addition, National Geographic offers several different difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and Crazy. To play this game you lead your migrants by clicking on a Monarch butterfly (this is the first insect you must guide). The butterfly will turn yellow designating it as the leader. In order to get your group to follow this yellow butterfly, you must circle around to attract others to follow. It took me a few tries to determine the best way to get followers. Circle around the entrance where the other butterflies appear, gather 10 
butterflies and then draw a line from the yellow leader to the green safe area on the other side of the screen. The trick is to avoid predators like the praying mantis, ants, and birds. When you think you have found a good path to take, a predator will figure out your strategy and foil your every move. When this happens, click again on the leader and change the course or your butterflies will get eaten. There are 4 waves for each leg of the journey. As you go higher in each level, the predators will increase. When you thought you only have to deal with the ground insects, birds are added to the mix making your crossing even more difficult.
However, there are some helps along the way as well. The wind will help carry your migrants quickly through the deadliest areas. There will be clouds to shield your passageway from the predators. Also helpers will aid you when you need them. The Speed helper will increase the speed of a butterfly that may be near a predator. The Heal helper will repair butterflies and the Slow helper will make your predator slow and sluggish giving your butterfly a chance to fly by. The helpers will be at the bottom of the screen after you earn them. You click on the one you need and drag it to the screen.
This educational game (it gives a lot of interesting facts about the animals) is not easy. You will need to be smart about guiding your migrants so strategize, change your path if you need and use all the 
helps to provide a safe haven for your butterflies. The other animals you will be directing to their destinations are the salmon (bears are their enemies), zebra (lions) and the red crab (cars). There are 64 migration routes to follow and guide your migrants to safe green zones. This is not an action packed play but more of a thinking one. The artwork is simple and the music ominous. Try it out and see if you can successfully herd your animals to safety without killing them. I give it a 3 out of 5.
Features of Great Migration:
-National Geographic Game
-64 Migration Routes
- Facts about Animals
Rating:
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