Amanda Rose: The Game of Time begins with you, Amanda Rose, receiving a letter and package from your father. Your father writes that you will soon be told that he has been in a plane crash and is presumed dead. You are not to believe this. He requests that you take the device in the package and travel to the site of the plane crash in Arizona. There you will find a stone that will activate the device and you will be swept back in time to a town in the old west. This will begin your quest to find him and Doc (who looks suspiciously like Doc Brown from Back to the Future).
Amanda Rose: The Game of Time begins with you, Amanda Rose, receiving a letter and package from your father. Your father writes that you will soon be told that he has been in a plane crash and is presumed dead. You are not to believe this. He requests that you take the device in the package and travel to the site of the plane crash in Arizona. There you will find a stone that will activate the device and you will be swept back in time to a town in the old west. This will begin your quest to find him and Doc (who looks suspiciously like Doc Brown from Back to the Future).
Amanda Rose: The Game of Time is, for the most part, a hidden object game. The hidden object scenes are presented differently though. You will be given a list of object images and you will find them within the actual scene. There is no zooming in on an empty chair to suddenly find it covered in everything under the sun in this game. Once you find all the items you will receive an inventory item and a new list of locked objects. This list is a combination of hidden objects and inventory puzzles and each item on this list is added to your inventory.
Amanda Rose: The Game of Time also features traditional puzzles including jigsaws, matching items, sliders and several others. The puzzles are well integrated and straightforward. If you become stuck on any puzzle there is a skip button that can be used once it is fully charged. If you missed the instructions for the puzzle there is a help button that will restate them.
I found the hint system in the game to be well done, which is good because many of the objects are small and hidden in dark corners. The hint system consists of a hint button that recharges over time. When you click the hint button you will select the item you need help finding and be directed to it, even if it’s located on another screen. You can also use a hint on your inventory objects to find out how to use them.
There are 15 chapters in Amanda Rose but this doesn’t mean that the game is long. A seasoned adventurer will likely finish the game in well under 3 hours. Each chapter will present you with a new location and/or goal. You will be interacting with various characters in town and everyone will want you to complete a task for them before they will help you. These tasks range from mixing drinks to helping the incompetent sheriff find his missing badge. Along the way you receive clues leading to the whereabouts of your father and Doc.
The graphics in Amanda Rose felt uneven. The game is done in 3D and the cut scenes are hand drawn and presented like a comic. The cut scenes are well done and I found myself wishing the whole game had been hand drawn. The 3D graphics felt dated and while some objects were very well done, others looked rushed. Another problem was that a lot of the colors in the game were earth tones and smaller objects blended in to the background so that they were practically invisible.
The music and sound effects in the game are pleasant and fit the environment. There is no speech in the game and it would have been a nice feature since you interact with numerous characters on your adventure.
As you get closer to the end the game starts to feel a bit rushed. A couple chapters can be completed in a matter of minutes and it would have made sense to combine them with a longer chapter. The ending of the game is abrupt and it feels like there should have been a little more story to wrap up the loose ends.
All in all, Amanda Rose: The Game of Time is a fun, albeit easy and short, game. I would recommend giving the demo a try and seeing how far you get before purchasing though.
