Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure of the Incas - E
Common Sense Note
This is an exciting, wholesome mystery game from Digital Praise, a new Christian entertainment company. Parents need to know that while the game itself does not contain any direct references to God, the "Extra Features" section does. Digital Praise promotes itself as seeking "to glorify God" and "spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ" through its software titles. If you're not comfortable with religious content being present in bonus features, this software is not for you.
Families who play this software might talk about how rumors can be hurtful. They might also talk about how people helped or hurt Eugene.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jinny Gudmundsen
Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure of the Incas is an exciting, wholesome mystery game from Digital Praise, a new Christian entertainment company. This computer game does not contain any direct references to God, but rather focuses on providing unique educational activities and a storyline that reinforces "character values" such as trust and helping others.
However, parents should know that Digital Praise promotes itself as seeking "to glorify God" and "spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ" through its software titles. This is apparent in the game's "Extra Features" section, where kids can listen to an audio episode entitled "The Cross of Cortez!" from the Christian radio series "Adventures in Odyssey" (which features the same characters found in the software). That audio episode does mention the influence of God and Jesus in a manner appropriate for Christian believers. You and your kids should skip this software if you're uncomfortable with its religious undertones and bonus content.
The software adventure involves helping teenagers Eugene and Connie, and their employer, Mr. Whittaker ("Whit"), solve a mystery about a map to the lost treasure of the Incas. While solving the mystery, Eugene must deal with uncomplimentary rumors about his parents, two famous archeologists, who disappeared when Eugene was 7 years old.
Players help solve the mystery by making decisions for the investigatory trio of Eugene, Connie, and Whit. It's up to the player to decide when to switch between different members of the trio and what decisions to make for each.
The mystery story is compelling; but the eight innovative logic puzzles woven into the storyline make this an excellent educational title. Kids decode journals, create inventions, and even solve a puzzle by placing prisms in a manner that will refract a light beam so that it can open four doors. These logic puzzles automatically adjust in difficulty as the player proceeds through the game. Children also can practice the puzzles separately from playing the mystery game.
Unfortunately, this title includes little racial diversity because the three main characters are all white. Some of the secondary characters are Hispanic.
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