Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Search-and-find game with interesting historical plot.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Search for Amelia Earhart
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
In the 1940's, a psychic named Christine, who cites Amelia Earhart as her inspiration, uses her mental powers to try to figure out what happened to the missing pilot. In THE SEARCH FOR AMELIA EARHART, Christine visits important places in Earhart's life, touching items to get impressions of the past. As the story progresses, Christine grows older and is aided in her quest by her niece. The gameplay revolves mostly around search-and-find puzzles, in which the player must locate a number of objects hidden among a cluttered and chaotic scene. Other types of puzzles are presented to players in between.
Is It Any Good?
The Search for Amelia Earhart is a decent search-and-find game. And Amelia Earhart's story is an inherently interesting one. The plot device used to tell it -- namely, that of a psychic sensing moments in Earhart's past -- is a bit cheesy, though, and doesn't actually amount to anything, as it is not Christine's psychic powers that end up revealing the famed aviator's true fate in the end. And that ending is more than a bit anticlimactic. While the story could definitely have been improved upon, the gameplay is generally fine. One nice feature is the way certain items you find (a key, a screwdriver, a handle, etc.) will give you access to new areas to search.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about women's history and Amelia Earhart in particular. How did Earhart change the way women were viewed in her time? Why are the vast majority of pilots still male, though? Have we come far enough in that regard?
Families can also discuss the inclusion of the nasty, chauvinistic landlord character in the game. Why include an offensive character in a game about women's accomplishments and importance to history? Can this character be misinterpreted?
The main character is portrayed as a psychic. What do you think of a character having special abilities to sense what happened in the past?
Game Details
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