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 Hidden Expedition: Titanic by Astraware |
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There are certain concepts that just don’t seem like they’d make engaging electronic games. One example of that is Spot! from eSoft Interactive, a game about finding the differences between two pictures. Hidden Expedition: Titanic is another such concept that I never would have imagined playing on a handheld device, yet the developers have managed to make a compelling and addictive software product.
You play the part of a wreckage diver sent to retrieve artifacts from the remnants of the legendary cruise ship Titanic. Along the way you will explore many rooms in the ship, and your goal is the retrieve a list of items from each room before your time, and consequently oxygen, has run out. The game is played out like those drawings you did when you were a kid where the items are hidden in the backdrop of an elaborate image. It sounds easy enough, but there is a LOT of detail to sift through in these images. And to make things more challenging, the items blend in quite nicely, and are often partially hidden by other things in the room. Plus, each room spans roughly 2 to 3 screen widths on a 240x320 device, and about 1 1/2 to 2 screen heights, so there is plenty of real estate to explore.
There’s always the element of time to worry about as well. In the beginning you have 25 minutes to complete your task. A task initially consists of two rooms and a bonus. There are rounds where I’ve cut the time a bit close, but it’s usually pretty doable. After round 5, however, they decide to bump up the challenge on you. They start by adding a third room to the task, and generously giving you an extra 2 minutes. Then they bump the allotted time down by a minute. I’m kind of scared to see what the next jump in difficulty is. It really helps increase the life of the game, however, as there are only so many rooms and objects to be found. Without the added difficulty of more rooms and less time the game would get boring after a while.
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There are a couple of things to help you out along the way. If you’re interested in the points, you can collect some gems that are lying around the rooms. There are five gems to be found in each room that aren’t required, but add to your point total. In addition there are oxygen tanks to be found in certain rooms which will increase the amount of time you have to complete your dive. Finally, you can ask for hints as to where objects are hidden. There are two caveats to this last "help", however. The first is that you can’t pick which object you get help on. The computer will decide that based on the list you have left. The second is that you take a considerable time hit for using a hint, so take advantage of this option sparingly and wisely.
Along with the rooms that you have to search for each dive there is a bonus that must be completed for the dive to be successful. This is a bit misleading because you’d think a “bonus” wouldn’t be required, but just keep the bonus level in the back of your mind, because it uses the same time block that searching the rooms does. In other words, if it takes you 20 minutes to search the rooms on a 25 minute dive, you only have 5 minutes left to complete the bonus. There are two types of bonus levels. The first has you searching for objects just like in the regular areas. For the bonus, however, all of the objects are connected by a brief story, and instead of being given a list of objects, you are provided with the silhouettes of the items. The second type of bonus is a bit more interesting. You are given a washed out, torn up representation of a photograph, and at the top of the screen you have a "clean" copy of the photograph that is broken up into little squares. Your task is to match the pieces to their position within the roughed up version of the photograph. Once all the pieces are in place you will be treated to an image of the photo that allows you to see what exactly is going on. While at times quite difficult, especially when trying to place the first few pieces, I think I almost enjoy this part the most out of the whole game.
Navigating the world of Hidden Expedition: Titanic is rather simple. In room search mode, you can use the D-Pad or the stylus against the edges of the room to navigate around the room. Personally, I preferred using the D-Pad for movement. To select an item, simply click on it. For those who don’t have touch screen devices you can also use the D-Pad for this, but I didn’t really experiment with that option. The only down side to clicking on the items is that sometimes the objects can be quite small and you might accidentally click next to the item instead of on it. In fact, I’m certain there were a couple of instances where I clicked on an item and it didn’t register correctly, but that could be just me. When assembling the photograph you simply drag the pieces from the top row down to the photograph below, and let go when you think you’ve got it in the right place. This can be a bit problematic until you’ve gotten a few pieces in place so you have a better sense of where the rows and columns are. All in all, the control scheme is simple and solid, which makes for a pleasant gaming experience.
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The visuals in this game are stunning. Of course, the game wouldn’t be much fun if they weren’t, since it is all about the images. What I found most appealing, however, was that they took the trouble to make many of the objects part of the scenery. *minor spoiler* For example, in the room with the steering wheel, they hid a bike horn in the wheel, where the squeezable part of the horn sat within the center of the wheel and the stem of the horn lined up with one of the spokes. *end spoiler* This was much more creative then just tossing everything randomly in the room – although it did feel like there was some of that as well. The main problem I had with the graphics was that some of the images seemed a bit dark, even after fiddling with the brightness control. Of course it could have just been my eyes as well.
Sound effects are basically limited to a noise when an item is found and floated to the top, and another sound when you accidentally – or incorrectly – click on a spot where there is no item to be found. That’s perfectly fine, as this type of game doesn’t really scream out for much sound. On the other hand, the music is wonderful. The compositions provide a haunting yet compelling tone to the whole expedition.
From my first dive until the time I unlocked the captain’s treasure I was hooked. Beautiful graphics, and excellent score, and simple yet challenging gameplay make Hidden Expedition: Titanic a must for casual players and hardcore gamers alike. This is one lost treasure you’ll love to help recover.
Overall Score: 9/10
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