Hidden Expedition: Amazon

by ACTIVISION

Product Features

• UNLOCK THE GREATEST SECRET OF THE AMAZON
• MORE SCENES, PUZZLES AND ADVENTURE
• INTRICATELY WOVEN MINIGAMES

Product Details

• ASIN: B001F71HFO
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,563 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

The Hidden Expedition team in search of a missing professor. A tattered map referencing the legendary Beetle Temple is your only clue as you begin your adventure deep into the Amazon Rainforest. Explore cities, temples, and ruins while unlocking the secrets of an ancient yet advanced civilization. This adventure is the largest yet for the Hidden Expedition team, and the discovery of the Beetle Temple is just the beginning.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Game, September 30, 2008

By 

J. S Thomas "Jethro" (Arlington, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hidden Expedition: Amazon (CD-ROM)

I'm a staunch supporter of unique games. Oh sure, they might not enjoy the commercial success of, say, another match-three game or time management sim, but a casual game reviewer can only take so many of these "me, too" clones bloating the industry. But every once in a while a game surfaces that, while not original in concept, succeeds very well in execution. Such is the case with Big Fish Games' Hidden Expedition: Amazon, a new hidden object download that proves you don't always have to reinvent the wheel - it just needs to roll along smoother than its predecessors.

You're tasked with finding a missing professor in the latest Hidden Expedition game, and it will take you to the corners of the globe in order to succeed, including Esmeraldas, Casablanca, New York City, and of course, the Amazon rainforest, to name a few locations. The only clues you'll have to work with are a tattered map that tells of the legendary Beetle Temple and 12 pieces of a journal belonging to the professor.

As with most hidden-object titles, the core gameplay in Hidden Expedition: Amazon involves hunting for objects in a busy scene; items are listed along the bottom of the screen - such as an apple, ornament, scissors, dog, comb and washboard - which you must find and click on to scratch it off the list. It would've been preferred if the items were relevant to the scene or story, as some games have done (not sure how an egg timer and a hotdog can help you catch a plane to Morocco) but at least the developer made the items difficult to find (such as a green feather duster in a tree which blends in very well) plus some items can be placed in your inventory to use at a later time.

As an example of the latter, you might get a key that can open a door, a knife that can be used to cut open a ripped chair to find something inside, a glass eye for a mystic who wants it or gopher food used in a gopher hole to bring the little critter to the surface). Some of these inventory items are to be used on another scene. Curiously, many of the same items are peppered throughout the entire game, such as boomerangs, pickles and sandwiches!

There isn't a lime limit to finish each level but if you click too many times on an incorrect object your cursor disappears for a while, serving as a punishment. If you need help, you can click on the item name and you'll see a silhouette of the object, and if you need more help you can click on the beetle for to expose the general area on the scene in which you'll find the item. You can add another clue to your total in case you'll need it by finding five hidden beetles in each scene.

Every few levels or so players will get to play fun and challenging mini-games. Examples of the first two you'll find include a musical King Tut game, where you first solve a jigsaw-like puzzle before matching symbols to piano-like keys to play a familiar Egyptian ditty. Personally, I loved the third one, where you need to match four or eight symbols by hanging monkeys (with different weights) from vines in the forest. Every so often, gamers will also find levels where they'll hunt for multiple items on the screen, such as 20 monkeys, 20 bananas, 20 feathers, and so on.

The moment the menu screen graces your monitor you'll no doubt get a sense of the high production values in Hidden Expedition: Amazon. Not only are the many scenes attractively drawn - including some surreal outdoor landscapes with exotic ruins and temples - but each level has animated bits, too, such as birds and insects, hot air balloons, drifting smoke or fog, and a flickering lamp. Simply gorgeous. The designers also outdid themselves with the breathtaking musical score, recorded by a live orchestra in Berlin, which is quite rare for a casual game.

Whether you're a loyal hidden-object fan or mildly interested one who wants to experience one of the best the genre has to offer, don't hesitate to download the highly-polished Hidden Expedition: Amazon for an adventure you won't soon forget.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Bit Disappointed, October 10, 2009

By 

Betsey Clark (Georgia) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hidden Expedition: Amazon (CD-ROM)

I am a Hidden Object game junkie!!!! I started with Hidden Expedition Titanic which I play over and over again. I really thought that this Amazon game would be Tops. Yes, the graphics are the best I have ever seen. The different scenes where the objects are hidden are gorgeous.There are actual waterfalls. moving rivers, singing and flying birds, moving firelight and other neat effects. The objects are hard to very hard to locate. Some objects are locked away and cannot be seen or found unless you have other objects from other scenes statched away in your inventory that you must use to "Open the drawer, cave, chest, hole, or light up a lantern. There is a bonus search on each page for 5 beetles, if you find all 5 per page you get an extra hint, which you will need. The game rules and the object of the game for each mini game inbetween levels is not to be found. It is up to the player to figure out what one is supposed to do. It is very frustrating and time wasting. I did find out that you are allowed endless hints on these mini games, but they are not "hints" sometimes the "Hint" solves the puzzle and places you on the next level and you do not have a clue what it was all about.
My biggest gripe is that the game is SHORT. I thought I was only half way through the game when Slam Bang it was over. Most of the hidden object games take you through the same scenes to find different objects, this did not. You go only go once through one different scene, you can reload and be taken back to the start of the level you are on to find another set of objects to find, but you, also, have to start all over to find the beetles which are REALLY hard to find. I was hoping that at the end of the game I would be rewarded with endless seek and find like other games, but that was not the case.
So for my money it was a nice game, good music, beautiful graphics and difficult objects to seek and find. I would not recommend this for kids under 14. If the price is under 5.00 then you have a good deal, any more would be too much.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good hidden object game, June 28, 2009

By 

J. H. "vamomof2" - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hidden Expedition: Amazon (CD-ROM)

I have played Hidden Expedition: Everest and Hidden Expedition: Titanic, so I was interested in this game. I think this is the best of the three. The graphics are beautiful, the game play is sufficiently difficult without being ridiculous, and winning the game does not decrease the desire to play it again. Good purchase.