The experts keep telling us that we’re all too rushed and stressed, and that we need to find ways to alleviate this stress and just relax. Well, here’s a cool way to sit back and chill, by using your mouse to take a photo assignment in Africa.

A computer game whose sole premise is to roam around and take snaps on assignment may not sound all that great, but in actuality, Wild Earth is a pretty cool game. The missions are varied and interesting, and many of them have some photo requirements that will need some skill and thought for a successful completion. For instance, it’s often necessary to use stealth to get up close to animals without annoying them. Many missions require users to apply facts about the animals’ behavior or habitat to find certain items to photograph.

There are 11 missions in all. There are several parts to each mission, of which most will have to be completed before success, although not all will have to be. The point of all these pictures is to include them in an article, which will be put together at the end of the game. The pictures can be edited before publishing, and the finished article will feature much of the information gathered from the two safari leaders. Your name will appear alongside the author’s.

The missions mostly center around finding certain animals, but each is presented somewhat differently. One requires traveling at night to find a pride of lions, one mission involves riding in a helicopter while taking pictures on the fly, so to speak, and another requires users to find hyenas during a thunderstorm. In all these missions, there are many items besides the animals themselves that will need to be found and photographed, such as termite mounds and dung heaps.

The interface is simplicity itself, and offers the keyboard for movement, and the mouse for direction and taking pictures. The camera viewpoint can be zoomed in and out with the mouse.

The graphics are very good, and the animals and other objects are animated very well.  The animals are realistic and move fluidly, and the plants, rivers and other items are animated to move in a realistic manner. The shrubs and trees bend in the breezes, and the water flows down the hills. The sounds are also nicely done and the music is fitting for an African theme.

This is a game that is different from most retail offerings, and one that offers a nice amount of things to do.  However, once played, there’s not a whole lot of incentive to repeat if you’re an adult.  Kids will likely play it again a few times, though. The educational content is quite high, too, which coupled with the animal theme and non-violent nature, make this a natural for kids at home or school. Adults will also appreciate the laid-back atmosphere and high quality of the missions.

Gameplay: 7.5
Wild Earth is fun and interesting with well-designed missions. However, there’s not enough content or variety available to be considered a top-notch game. While the assignments are sometimes challenging and mix it up a little, it’s still just mainly wandering around taking pictures. They’re good pictures, though!

Graphics: 8.0
The look of the game fits very well into the natural theme of the game. The animals look realistic, and the backgrounds appear much as you would expect to see on the plains and rivers of Africa.

Sound: 7.5
The sound effects and music are integrated nicely into the game, and are never intrusive.

Difficulty: Medium
Fairly easy to play.

Concept: 8.0
This is a different type of game from the usual!

Overall: 7.8
While this game may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is an excellent choice for families and for kids, and especially for kids in a school setting. This is the type of game that kids will learn quite a few factoids from, without realizing it.