May contain game play spoilers... The Curious Expedition sets you as a 19th century explorer racing to uncover a hidden, golden pyramid and other riches over the course of six expeditions. Each expedition rewards you with items and prestige by how you rank amongst your competitors. These items can be used to earn more points toward your overall rank or cash to be used to better equip your party for the next expedition. Your chosen adventurer comes with certain perks and weakness that will effect your gameplay. Maps are procedurally generated and combat is accomplished with a dice roll utilizing combat, strategy, and defensive dice. It is difficult to explain, but usually works. Review - I am enjoying The Curious Expedition, though, my party dies more than I succeed. The developers mention FTL as an influence, which is apparent. I must say that this game is easier to complete, but I think FTL provided a greater amount of strategy. I find that many events in The Curious Expedition are far too random. I often find myself triggering an event that leads to a "no win" scenario, which traps me on the map and forces me to die or deploy the balloon back to London. Other times, the golden pyramid is right next to the start, which makes the journey quite painless. Overall, the game is quite fun and even losing can be entertaining. I recommend the purchase.
Few games hold up to our fond memories of them, but LBA is still as charming and fun as it was when I first played it. The controls are simple and intuitive that they do not distract from the game. The graphics were never mind-blowing, but they were colorful and the simple character design added to the charm. If you have not played LBA, it is worth the purchase. The story will keep you playing for hours at time. Do yourself the favor and add LBA to your collection!
The Bundle is my first experience with this game series, but I love them all the same. The Blackwell Series is similar to old Sierra games, like Police Quest and Leisure Suite Larry. The stories are well written mysteries with just the right amount of humor and charm. They are a little on the easy side, but most adventure games are more about the story experience than the game play. Four games for eight bucks is a great deal. Heck, it is fifteen bucks for the first three elsewhere! If you enjoy adventure games, this is worth the price.
