Lucky Luke: Le fil qui chante

Summary
Based on the comic book of the same name, Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper help to build the first transcontinental Telegraph line through the US when it makes their jobs with the Pony Express obsolete. Somebody is trying to sabotage the enterprise and the player takes the role of Luke who has to unmask the culprit.

Game Design
The story is told in animated scenes, very similar to the TV series, with minigames in between, several of which are horse themed.

Gameplay
Minigames with horses/riding:

Lassoing: Luke has to catch the horses that were turned loose. First person view. Move mouse to aim, hold/left click to throw lasso. Each missed throw costs a lasso. Wild horses (without a halter) will also break lassos. Jolly Jumper mockingly comments your performance.

Faulty wire: Sidescroller. Move horse with arrow keys, hold left to go faster when in full gallop, jump with space. Only small obstacles can be jumped. If you run into obstacle horse balks, rider falls off and loses a life. You have to ride pretty fast to reach the cut wire before time runs out. A hungry vulture watches and comments.

River crossing: Swim across the river with Jolly Jumper. Arrow keys to move. Swimming against the current takes energy as does crashing into obstacles. A short rest on one of the little islands gives back energy.

Canyon Ride: Ride through the canyon and avoid obstacles and missiles. Move horse with left/right arrow key, behind view.

Other Minigames: Find dynamite in old mine: Classic platformer, down to duck, space to jump, ctrl to shoot. Duel with daltons: Ctrl to reload, aim/shoot with mouse (or space) You can only do this while holding "up" to stand. Wait till each Dalton leaves cover to shoot to hit them. Indian Attack: Use mouse to aim and shoot at the Indians circling the wagons. Later some will let their horses run and hide behind boulders. Left/right arrow key to move Luke. Find material for telegraph poles in town without destroying too many houses. Shoot on the right spot on the piano roll to play Chopin's funeral march and clear out the saloon. Shoot all whisky bottles and glasses to sober up the workers. Fist fight: Kick with ctrl, punch with space. Fill the barrels with water: Look for clues which is the right pipe and build the line accordingly.

System Requirements & Compatibility
Windows 98/XP

Accessibility
All instructions are spoken but can also be read ("Hinweis" in German). There are no subtitles for the film sequences. Two difficulties.