Customer Reviews

Hidden Expedition: Amazon

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Fun and challenging game. Once you complete the intial course it changes some of objects to be found the next time. Great game highly recommend.

"Amazon" reminds me a lot of "Madame Fate"--lots of hidden object screens with big puzzles between. Like Madame Fate, the big puzzles don't have to be solved in order to continue; the game assesses "penalties" for skipping them, but I didn't pay any attention to the numbers anyway. Very, very little of the game needs captions, but they're there for those with trouble hearing or for those who don't like their games noisy.

One interesting addition is the necessity of going back and forth from screen to screen using and collecting tools and other inventory; some of these can be downright tricky!

This is a top-notch game that should be more available soon, and it's worth it.

I found this game to be very difficult and tedious. Hints are limited and the objects are hidden so well that it takes a long time and a lot of effort in some screens to find everything. After about three screens of hidden objects will be a sort of "boss level" puzzle, but there is no explanation as to what you are supposed to do. So basically I went through the game finding objects in repetitive scenes, then clicking "solve" through the unique "boss levels" because I had no idea what to do.

I do not recommend this game. I could hardly stand it and I didn't find it to be fun at all. The only enjoyable things are the music and the somewhat entertaining notebook pages you get to read (if you can find them).

This is a great fun game, in the series. But be aware, if you really really have phobia about snakes this game is not for you. It probably is common sense to know that a game about the amazon will have snakes in it, but sometimes when thinking of playing a good game this doesn't enter into one's head - well it didn't with mine. And I managed to get through a few scenes with them, then there is this one big scene just filled with them, couldn't manage it.

I am sure this review will only be helpful to those I am aiming it for. But just beware of the amount of snakes in it.

I read everyone of these reviews and feel that they covered just about every aspect of the games pros and cons except the story line which I found intriguing. I haven't seen this depth of story line in any other game. It was so interesting that it kept me playing the game just to find out what happens at the end. Interesting to say the least. Also, I didn't understand the scoring and penalties at all or how it helped me to know.

This hidden object game clearly stands out above the rest in my opinion. The scenery in this game is beautiful and the artist took the time to blend in the hidden objects very well. Sometimes too well! Take it from me - I've spent the last 30 minutes looking for a hat and a recycle symbol. I can literally stare at an area of the scene for 5 minutes and still find new stuff. I'm shaking my head in disbelief at how good this stuff can be hidden!

The music is superb and blends in nice. The game handles excessive clicking in a non-annoying way. The puzzles are challenging and make you think. They are easy to bypass if you aren't into puzzles that much, but I recommend you spend the time to figure them out.

This game is challenging and fun. See if you can make it through without clicking any silhouettes or hints. It's hard, but you can do it.

I really like this game. The Hidden Expedition series are good games. Starting with Titanic, then Everest, and now Amazon. I would say that Amazon is a hidden object/adventure game. The scenery is wonderful, the music is great and the puzzles are solveable. I recommend this game highly for those reasons. I wonder what the next Hidden Expedition game will be. BFG-are you reading this!!!!