Home
Portal
Gallery
Search
Register
Log in
Hidden Expedition: Smithsonian Castle (CE AND SE)
Having lived in Maryland for a long time, and working in D.C., I am very familiar with the Smithsonian so was excited for this game to be released.
I played the beta, the CE AND the SE versions.
The storyline got a little muddled.
At first, it was the daughter being sucked into time travel accidentally as a child
... but then ... later into the demo it seemed there was more going on, but you never got enough of WHAT that more was. It was totally confusing for me.
The graphics were great! Down to every little detail. I turned the music down (puppy) but the sound effects were also great. Voice overs - mediocre IMO.
There were 4 modes of difficulty with awesome names like "Agent", "Field Agent" and "Awesome Field Agent" or some such thing - lol.My notes aren't with me right now - lol. Each mode of difficulty had the same various options that could be changed - that's a new development. But, be careful in "custom" mode. 
Read EACH option carefully as you MIGHT want to UNCHECK multi-click penalty - lol.
Ultimately, you get a map but I found it confusing to use.
Instead of a journal/diary you have a "box" from the "H.E.L.P." organization that contains your tasks and where you can pop in info/fact cards about various things in the Smithsonian that you collect (both in the CE AND SE versions) - pretty cool if you're into that. There's also a very awesome thingy that can tell you who a person is once you enter their picture. yes, it has a name ..... but my notes aren't nearby! 
HOGS (hidden object games) - OMGosh! SO varied.I don't think I did the same thing twice during the entire demo! Silhouettes, picto-words (one picture plus another picture = what word then find that word), FRAGS (find fragments to put together an object), and MORE! So much fun!
Mini Games were new and innovative and fresh. Even some that seemed like "same old" were brought up-to-date and made more fun and entertaining! With all the things you had to do during the game play AND the mini games included, I'd say combined .... mini games outweighed the HOGs. In my humble opinion.
Aside from the usual "bling" the CE has collectibles AND morphing objects which would usually make it a DEFINITE buy for me .... usually .... but maybe not so much this time.
If you are interested in history (the fact cards) or LOTS of "facts" regarding items in and about the Smithsonian (again, the fact cards you collect in both the CE and SE), this would be the perfect game for you. I think beginners will enjoy this game but I don't know how hard it will be for experts. I'm intermediate and thought it was really easy.
There seems to be a LOT to do all the time during this demo and I really liked that. But, after playing the demo 3 times (beta, CE AND SE), there was still no "WOW" factor ..... for me. 
I was so disappointed in that because I desperately wanted to love this game.
IF I purchase it .... it will probably be down the road and more than likely the SE version. Not worth the expense of a CE even with all the extras. Where is that "WOW" factor?
Please try this demo. It has soooo much to offer in terms of history and great factual finds. You may even enjoy the storyline - lol.Hop into the time travel drama and see if YOU can figure out ..... just what's going on.
ENJOY!
Overall Impression: A good game with LOTS to do which I LOVED but there was no "wow" factor. Even with the collectibles and morphing objects I'd recommend the SE over the CE for this one.
Having lived in Maryland for a long time, and working in D.C., I am very familiar with the Smithsonian so was excited for this game to be released.
I played the beta, the CE AND the SE versions.The storyline got a little muddled.
At first, it was the daughter being sucked into time travel accidentally as a child ... but then ... later into the demo it seemed there was more going on, but you never got enough of WHAT that more was. It was totally confusing for me.The graphics were great! Down to every little detail. I turned the music down (puppy) but the sound effects were also great. Voice overs - mediocre IMO.
There were 4 modes of difficulty with awesome names like "Agent", "Field Agent" and "Awesome Field Agent" or some such thing - lol.
My notes aren't with me right now - lol. Each mode of difficulty had the same various options that could be changed - that's a new development. But, be careful in "custom" mode. Read EACH option carefully as you MIGHT want to UNCHECK multi-click penalty - lol.Ultimately, you get a map but I found it confusing to use.
Instead of a journal/diary you have a "box" from the "H.E.L.P." organization that contains your tasks and where you can pop in info/fact cards about various things in the Smithsonian that you collect (both in the CE AND SE versions) - pretty cool if you're into that. There's also a very awesome thingy that can tell you who a person is once you enter their picture. yes, it has a name ..... but my notes aren't nearby! HOGS (hidden object games) - OMGosh! SO varied.
I don't think I did the same thing twice during the entire demo! Silhouettes, picto-words (one picture plus another picture = what word then find that word), FRAGS (find fragments to put together an object), and MORE! So much fun!Mini Games were new and innovative and fresh. Even some that seemed like "same old" were brought up-to-date and made more fun and entertaining! With all the things you had to do during the game play AND the mini games included, I'd say combined .... mini games outweighed the HOGs. In my humble opinion.
Aside from the usual "bling" the CE has collectibles AND morphing objects which would usually make it a DEFINITE buy for me .... usually .... but maybe not so much this time.
If you are interested in history (the fact cards) or LOTS of "facts" regarding items in and about the Smithsonian (again, the fact cards you collect in both the CE and SE), this would be the perfect game for you. I think beginners will enjoy this game but I don't know how hard it will be for experts. I'm intermediate and thought it was really easy.
There seems to be a LOT to do all the time during this demo and I really liked that.
But, after playing the demo 3 times (beta, CE AND SE), there was still no "WOW" factor ..... for me. I was so disappointed in that because I desperately wanted to love this game.IF I purchase it .... it will probably be down the road and more than likely the SE version. Not worth the expense of a CE even with all the extras. Where is that "WOW" factor?
Please try this demo. It has soooo much to offer in terms of history and great factual finds. You may even enjoy the storyline - lol.
Hop into the time travel drama and see if YOU can figure out ..... just what's going on.ENJOY!
Overall Impression: A good game with LOTS to do which I LOVED but there was no "wow" factor. Even with the collectibles and morphing objects I'd recommend the SE over the CE for this one.
