The Plague is the first installment of the Playing History series by Serious Games Interactive; a developer/publisher dedicated to creating entertaining educational point and click games aimed at the preteen and early teen audience. There are currently three entries into the series, and each of them have now been Greenlit and added to the Steam store.
As you've probably guessed, Playing History - The Plague is set in the 14th century, and it centers around the Bubonic Plague; also known as the Black Death. Although the plague lasted in spurts for hundreds of years, this game focuses on the very early stages of it, and all of the primitive and ineffective medicinal attempts to cure it. You will take on the role of a young boy whose mother is ill, and it is up to you to help find a cure for her and also determine if she actually has the plague by learning its symptoms, and then diagnosing her.
Like in the other two titles, you have access to an item called Chrono Goggles, which will allow you to interact with many objects that do not fit within the current in-game time period; such as a Plague Doctor, a computer, and modern medicine. There are a multitude of facts to learn, and the game is surprisingly accurate, entertaining, and informative; it's quite amazing how medicine has advanced in the last several hundred years, and the game does a great job of conveying this information. As well, this installment also has a run time of about an hour, which is the same as the Slave Trade title. If you missed out on the infamous Slave Tetris minigame, The Plague comes with Plague Tetris!
All in all, Playing History - The Plague is a great little title for both entertainment and educational purposes. I believe that parents and educators would be happy with the amount of information that their children and students can learn from this game, all the while having a decent amount of fun and utilizing problem solving skills. The Plague doesn't hold your hand as much as Slave Trade does, and it isn't quite as linear either. It also has a lot more information packed into it, and the devastation of the disease can be felt. Overall, highly recommended over the other installments in this current trilogy series.
Join my Steam review group:http://steamcommunity.com/groups/bhhreviews