Pennmom Reviews: Lost Lands: Sand Captivity CE

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SUSAN & AND WONDER WOMAN IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER? … COULD THEY BE ONE AND THE SAME?

It’s hard not to love a Five-BN story. Every series features a female protagonist as the main character. They are confident, intelligent women who refuse to be intimidated by anyone or anything standing between them and their mission, whatever that may be. They boldly face their adversaries head-on. They may bend, but they can’t be broken. They are steadfast and won’t stop until their goals are achieved…yet they somehow still manage to be compassionate and optimistic.

In the Lost Lands series, Susan is just an ordinary mom…but Susan shows us that an ordinary mom is Wonder Woman in disguise! She shows us that a woman can be strong, yet delicate, compassionate yet indifferent, brave yet cautious, eccentric yet ordinary, and above all, resilient. It’s time to save the Lost Lands once again!

GRAPHICS:

When it comes to graphics, this team seldom gets the recognition they deserve! You can have an amazing cast of characters and an incredible plot that keeps you hanging on the edge of your seat…but without creative artwork to set the scene, the story simply can’t come to life.

The Lost Lands may be a fictional world, but that doesn’t stop this team from creating a realistic atmosphere. We play the game but rarely stop to smell the roses (in this case, the gaseous mushrooms, lol) of the Lost Lands. No one stops to think about the tedious, minute details that have been added to every aspect of the game by the graphics department. When a developer is passionate enough to make a chicken coop this realistic, chicken poop and all…can you imagine how much effort went into the rest of the game?!! As you play this game, take the time to notice the beautiful quality of the graphics, no detail has been overlooked because, Quality and Quantity matter to Five-BN Games!

MORPHING OBJECTS

This is my favorite feature! There are 30 Morphing Objects that can be quite challenging to spot because they morph slowly AND morph into a similar object that always blends with the scenery. They are small, so they will never stick out like a sore thumb as they do in games by other developers, but large enough to see without straining your eyes, if you are patient.

COLLECTIBLES

Every scene also has a Collectible from several different categories. There are 8 Hourglasses, 7 Horseshoes, 7 Turtles, 8 Shoes, 12 Spikelets (in the Bonus Chapter) and 10 Lost Lands Manuscripts. You will unlock a Bonus Puzzle for each Collection & Morph category completed and a Bonus Mini-game when you complete the Lost Lands Manuscript collection.

*Note: You can enable/disable the cursor from changing to a hand change when you encounter a morphing object or collectible, as well as show the scenes with missed collectibles & and morphs on the map.

HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES:

The Hidden Object Scenes by this developer aren’t typical Hidden Object Scenes; they are Interactive-Progressive Puzzles requiring you to find an object that matches the Silhouetted Shape shown. You then use that object somewhere in the scene, interactively, to uncover the next object, and repeat the process until all items have been uncovered. Trust me when I say you will open and close Zoom Zones over and over, trying to find something to help you progress. At times, you will be at a loss as to what to do next…something that never happens in a typical Hidden Object Scene! Keep in mind that these aren’t just HO Scenes, they are interactive puzzles that need to be solved by finding objects and using them somewhere in the scene to progress. Keep in mind that the solutions are always logical. They may be frustrating at times, but once you solve the Hidden Object Scene, you’ll walk away with a great sense of pride and accomplishment…and you deserve to feel this way in a game!

STRATEGY GUIDE:

Yes, the Strategy Guide takes a few extra steps to access. First, you must click the Menu button, which pops up a window to access all the features of the game, and then select the Strategy Guide tab. The extra steps may seem annoying, but there is a method to this madness. Five-BN Games are “thinking” kinds of games. They are not typical cookie-cutter games that can be completed on autopilot. They require you to think outside the box; you will have to solve complicated (but doable) puzzles; you will have to revisit scenes you had long forgotten had open tasks. Five-BN wants you to use your brain, follow the clues, and rely on your instincts. The point is to play this game without the temptation of a single-click, easy-to-access Strategy Guide! (But, of course, it’s there if you need it.)

MINI-GAMES:

Let the games begin! Put your thinking caps on (or your Wonder Woman Cape) because these puzzles aren’t for the faint of heart! They aren’t impossible puzzles to solve, but they will require a little bit of thought and a lot of patience. These aren’t the kind of games that can be solved in one or two moves, and they certainly won’t be achieved by luck of the draw. From the first Gate puzzle you encounter, you’ll realize that you’re in for a treat; by the time you make it to the Gem Sword puzzle, you’ll start to doubt your puzzle skills. You’ll probably be tempted to skip the Boat puzzle, but you’ll stay the course, and you will prevail. After pushing several piles of leaves onto a hammock and clicking the reset button multiple times you may start to wonder if it’s time to throw in the towel. But then you sit back in your chair and realize how much fun you are having and surprisingly, you are looking forward to the next challenge!

BONUS CHAPTER:

The Collector’s Edition Bonus Chapter features a new female protagonist…Susan’s granddaughter, Kiana. She is not a toddler anymore, and this is definitely not an easy-breezy chapter! There are 3 incredible Hidden Object Scenes and 12 maddening Mini-Games across 12 additional scene locations. There are 12 Collectible Spikeletts, which unlocks the final Bonus Puzzle, but there are no Morphing Objects in the Bonus Chapter.

COLLECTOR’S EDITION EXTRAS:

The CE version has 10 amazing Wallpapers, 14 Concept Art Pictures, 8 Music Soundtracks, 16 Video Cutscenes, 22 Achievements, 22 Replayable Mini-Games, (+8 Bonus Puzzles) 30 Morphing Objects, Collectibles: 8 Hourglasses-7 Horseshoes-7 Turtles-8 Shoes-12 Spikelets (in the Bonus Chapter) 10 Lost Lands Manuscripts. You will unlock a Bonus Puzzle for each Collection & Morph category Completed and a Bonus Mini-game when you complete the Lost Lands Manuscript collection. There are 6 very long and intense Chapters, a CE Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.

Find this game in the Mega Pack: Complete Collections – 15 Pack or if you are a Prime member on Amazon, you may have already picked up this title from February’s Prime Gaming giveaway. Be sure to redeem your games before the end of the month.

Happy gaming!