Amy's Adventure Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

One of the funniest games I've played. The craftiness of Indiana Jones meets the feminism of Lara Croft.

Amy's Adventure is a puzzle adventure game with similarities to Broken Sword etc. You play the role of a female archaeologist in Egypt and before you know it you find yourself trapped in a pyramid and you have to find the way out by solving a number of puzzles.

This is a great game for the casual gamer. No finger dexterity is required and the game doesn't require any fast hand-eye coordination. The game eases you in very gently and gives you all sorts of hints and tips from the very beginning. The controls are extremely simple. While the game is set in a pseudo-3D environment, you only need to move left and right. The game automatically moves you up and down to avoid any obstacles. The menu system is important in this game. Here you can check your inventory, examine and use items. The best hint I can give for this game is to just go with the flow. Everything is explained to you in detail and if you get stuck at the start, keep examining everything and the game will give you plenty of clues until you figure it out.

The graphics are very cartoony and have a Broken Sword feel to them. No complaints in this department. As with most games, the sound is a little poor - no tunes and just small beeps now and again.

Amy's Adventure is all about the gameplay. Once you get to grips with the basic controls and how to find and use items, all you have to do is let the story unfold. I wont give too much away, but there's a man, a woman, some mummies and plenty of jokes in between. The game is clearly aimed at the female market but even I found myself laughing at the stupidity of the male character. I was very impressed with the humour and it was a brave move to make such game but the gamble has paid off.

Handy Games have definitely got the right balance between plot and difficulty. The puzzles aren't too difficult to solve and so you are more interested in being a part of this interactive cartoon. When I used to play these games on the PC, the story was the last thing on my mind, I just wanted to get through to the next level. In this instance, it was the story that kept me very interested. The limitations of the mobile (and the control system) actually make these games easier to play as there is no endless searching with the mouse to find that missing piece to the jigsaw. I know I've wasted hours on the PC scouring a whole level for one little thing.

Unfortunately, the limitations of the mobile do mean that the game cannot last forever. It should take about an hour or two to complete and the replay value is very limited.

Taking the individual factors into account and our overall score, the game may appear fairly average. If I could award more than 100 for gameplay I would, it is that good. Amy's Adventure is great fun while it lasts and I hope a sequel (with the same writers) is coming soon.