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7.0 sorta fun
In 1925, famed British explorer Colonel Percy Fawcett mounted an expedition into the Brazilian region of Mato Grosso. He believed an ancient lost city was located somewhere in the thick overgrown jungle. He nicknamed this city "Z," because it was the last unknown place left on earth. Just before Fawcett left, he told his financiers, the London group The Glove, "If I should fail to return, for the love of God don't send a rescue expedition to find me - I don't want them to suffer the same fate."
He was never heard from again.
Over the years since, more than one hundred would-be rescuers have lost their lives in thirteen expeditions into the same area. A friend of mine (who survived) walked through the mountains for days with leeches on his feet. It was just more trouble to stop every hour and pick them off than to leave them attached. I've never been to Brazil but I've seen that one portion of Alby Mangel's World Safari where Alby and Paco try to cross Brazil from north to south on one of the muddiest, ruttiest roads imaginable, in a broken down jeep. That episode alone makes Brazil one of my top future travel destinations.
Nat Geo Adventure: Lost City of Z, developed by Media Art, Inc. for Nat Geo Games, is the story of yet another failed expedition into Mato Grosso. You play as the sister of Abby, a headstrong young National Geographic Society explorer who was sent into Mato Grosso in search of the lost city. Something went wrong and Abby has gone missing. Can you rescue her before she shares the same fate as Colonel Fawcett? And if you can't find your sister, will someone rescue you?
Lost City of Z is a hidden object game. The core gameplay involves searching a cluttered scene for specific objects. A list of items is printed on a strip of 800 ASA film at the bottom of the screen. (Why print directly on 35mm camera film? It's a mystery.) For example, before leaving your plane and hiking to your sister's basecamp, you decide to take your diary, a canteen, your headphones, two hats, a bird's nest, a pair of binoculars, and a bug. (If you're clever you might notice that two of those items probably won't be of much use in the jungle. In fact, aren't there plenty of bugs in the jungle already?)
Find an item onscreen, click on it, and it will be crossed off your list. Find all the items on the exposed portion of film and the strip will advance, revealing more items to find. Or the end of the roll, which means it's on to the next scene. Luckily you have a nifty satellite GPS system that can display the silhouette of any object on your list if you get stuck and are not sure what a "bat" is. (The age old hidden object game problem: when it says "bat" am I looking for a Louisville slugger or a flying rodent?) The GPS also functions as the game's hint system. It can tell you almost exactly where any item is onscreen. (When The National Geographic Society mounts an expedition, they put GPS units on everything! Including bugs!) You'll have to wait for your batteries to recharge before requesting another hint, but if you're lucky you might come across additional batteries along the way.
Sadly, random clicking is not allowed. You can do it, but too many false clicks and you'll get the message "Grabbing things at random is not going to help me." One thing I've learned in life is that grabbing things at random is sometimes the only way out of certain situations.
Sometimes you'll come across an exciting bit of native wildlife. These animals will be listed in yellow at the bottom of the screen. As a photographer, you not only have to find them in the hidden object scene, you have to photograph them! To take a picture in the game, click on your camera and then line the animal up in the viewfinder. If you take a successful picture you'll be treated to a nice animation of the animal flying or scurrying away, which is a nice touch. Your pictures are added to the diary you'll keep on your adventure and can also be made into desktop backgrounds on your computer. Besides your camera, you'll come across additional tools to help you find your sister, such as a flashlight, machete, etc.
Occasionally a puzzle will pop up between scenes. You might have to decode a message, unlock an ancient and mysterious clockwork mechanism, or otherwise manipulate one or more of the special items you sorted out from all the junk in the previous scene. Never has the Brazilian jungle been as cluttered and littered and defaced with paw print graffitti as during your sister's two week search for the lost city! How many porters must she have needed to haul all that junk along her trek? And were they eaten by cannibals?
Lost City of Z's story is just interesting enough to keep you clicking for hidden objects, even when it comes to the old standby of backtracking through previously explored areas. There's nothing to make your hat spin here, but I enjoyed playing it.
The hidden object scenes are fairly run of the mill for a mid-range hidden object game. Almost without exception, the backgrounds are impressive... (and all are even animated with subtle particle effects) it's just that the objects inside the scenes are not up to the same standards. You'll hunt through a mixed bag of objects that look like they're part of the scene, and objects that don't quite fit, either in size, coloring, perspective, or all three. The sound is well-done. Even though the National Geographic theme loop on the main menu is abrupt in its repetition, it can't help but bring back memories of watching the excellent National Geographic TV specials when I was younger.
Download Nat Geo Adventure: Lost City of Z