Hidden Expedition Amazon is, as the name suggests, an adventure set in the heart of the Amazon jungle. Released this month on hard copy by Focus multimedia, I knew I was in for a treat when I noticed “From the makers of Mystery Case Files” emblazoned on the front cover. Effectively Hidden Expedition Amazon is a hidden object game whose puzzles are bordering on the point and click genre and the creators have not held back on production quality.
Storyline.
Your task is to search for the missing Professor Mandible (!) and the legendary Beetle Temple. Progression through the screens and puzzles is charted in a paper trail of scattered journal pages belonging to the professor that are found in each of the hidden object screens. Usually in these sort of games I tend to “skip” the storytelling element but, in Hidden Expedition Amazon the journal, while it wasn’t essential to gameplay and give very little in the way of hints, brought humanity to the story with it’s humorous commentary and sometimes whacky sketches. In your quest you will not only visit the Amazon Rainforest to explore mysterious cities, temples and ruins left behind by ancient civilizations but you will also get to visit New York City, Casablanca, and Esmeraldas.
Gameplay.
As with all hidden object games, the core gameplay is to find numerous objects hidden within a busy scene. The items are listed along the bottom of the screen and, as is common with the MCF games, some of the objects will default into your inventory and are used to locate other items (eg. Using a key to open a lock or a lighter to light a lamp).While in some hidden object games it appears as though lots of objects have just been “thrown at” the screen in Hidden Expedition Amazon you will find not only are there less objects on the screen but care has been taken to blend them in with the screen.
While there isn’t a time limit on the screens be careful not to be clicking randomly as if you do click too many incorrect items your cursor will be disabled temporarily and will cost you points and ranking on your scorecard.
For each “chapter” or “Segment” you will be gifted three hints however you can claim another hint in each scene by collecting five hidden beetles. Location based hints are not the only help available – when you highlight an item in the “to find” list its outline will be displayed so you will know what shape you are looking for ! for example “bat” could be a baseball bat or the mammal.
The variety of puzzles are great. None of the standard jigsaw style ones commonly associated with hidden object games. Hidden Expedition Amazon are inventive, creative and just that little bit different from the others on the market. There’s a musical King Tut game, matching symbols by hanging monkeys on vines, joining pipe segments to divert steam and plenty of searching for multiple items on screen eg find 20 tools, 20 butterflies etc.
Summary
Probably one of the most polished games of its genre – The developers did not hold back on its resources and put as much care and attention to detail as any of the titles in the MCF franchise. The graphics, musical score, ambient sounds and general gameplay are excellent and you really do get a sense of the high production values in Hidden Expedition Amazon no matter what stage of the game you are at.
Marks out of 10
Sound:9 – breathtaking musical score and fabulous ambient noises
Graphics:10 – Outstanding and the objects carefully placed in each screen so there wasn’t crowding
Gameplay: 9 – Lovely flow to the whole game
Lifespan: 9 – Ageless you’ll revisit on a regular basis
Top Star goes to the movement in each screen. Whether it was flowing lava, or a flickering lamp, or insects scampering around the location, each scene was alive
Available for purchase at Focus Multimedia
