Nat Geo Adventure: Lost City of Z
By Christopher Healy,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Superb search-and-find game teaches about the Amazon.
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Nat Geo Adventure: Lost City of Z
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What’s It About?
In LOST CITY OF Z, the protaginist's sister, a National Geographic employee, has vanished in the Amazon while trying to retrace the steps of the historical Colonel Fawcett's expedition to find the legendary Lost City of Z. The hero then heads out after her sister and ends up finding clues that lead to both her missing sibling and the long-lost Fawcett. The main action of the game is played out in search-and-find puzzles (players need to locate a series of items in a crowded, often chaotic setting), but several other types of puzzles challenge players in between those scavenger hunts.
Is It Any Good?
Lost City of Z has a number of great innovations that help it rise to a level far above many other search-and-find games. For one thing most of the hidden objects that players need to find are setting-appropriate; they're items you really might find in a jungle camp site or an Indian village. And when they're not -- like a GPS in an ancient temple -- it's tied into the plot and referred to as a clue to finding the missing sister. (Many other games ignore this idea completely, asking you to search an Egyptian pyramid and find, say, a candy cane and a dinosaur). Lost City of Z also helps out the player a lot with unlimited hints (you simply need to wait for your radar battery to charge in between hints), and a great feature that shows you the silhouette of an object you're trying to find. So, if you're having trouble finding a carabiner, because you have no idea what a carabiner is -- at least you can see what shape you're looking for. The graphics are also beautiful, and the well-paced plot does a remarkable job of building suspense within a genre that often doesn't allow for it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the real Amazon rain forest. What are the potential consequences of over-logging and deforestation? Are the animals in the game in danger of extinction or losing their habitats? What would happen to the real tribes of the Amazon if their forest homes are eliminated?
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