Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb - a review of sorts

So while we are experiencing technical difficulties with our computer I thought I'd get caught up on some posts I've been meaning to do for a while but never seem to get around to. Jo got some new computer games for Solstice - her favorite by far has been this. . .Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb. Let me start by saying that this is one of the oddest games ever. The structure is great - kids visit various "ancient Egyptian" sites and play lots of games - seek and find, matching, concentration, etc. All good stuff. They collect scarabs along the way and when they have enough they get to enter the lost tomb and - I guess - play more games. Jo has really enjoyed it and spent hours on it - so it definitely gets a thumbs up for play value.

But here's where the weirdness sets in. Jo's favorites are the seek and find games - lots of things hidden in a scene and you have a list of what to find. The settings are like a cross between I Spy and Can You See What I See. But the things hidden in the scenes are often totally unfamiliar to kids - not because they're Egyptian artifacts (that would be cool) but because they're just old. It's like the game designer bought a set of clip art called Ye Olde Stuffe and set to work hiding these things in ancient Egyptian settings. What kind of stuff? Well, one day Jo was playing the game while Alan and I worked in the new house. Here's a list she made of the things that made her say huh?
She brought the list over, we described what these things might look like (see Alan's drawing of a fleur-de-lis?) and she went back to the game. Other items (among many) which gave her trouble were muffler, cocktail shaker, rifle cartridges, and brass knuckles. I know! WTF?

So thumbs up for play value, and a mystified shake of the head for general weirdness.