I first played Flight of the Amazon Queen after it was released as freeware for use in ScummVM. I found it be quite enjoyable. It’s a parody of the B-movie adventure films from the 1930’s, so it is heavily influenced by Indiana Jones. You have the plane mechanic (as in Raiders), the heavily self-centered blonde female performer (as in Temple of Doom), and the rival adventurer who you don’t know which side he’s on (as in Raiders). The interesting thing is that the artifact you must search for in this game is a crystal skull, which itself would become an artifact in an Indiana Jones movie many years later. :)

A lot of people don’t like the voices because the voice actors do heavily exaggerated takes on their lines. I enjoyed this a lot though, knowing where the influence of the game came from, since it gave it even more of a B-movie feel.

The game itself is much like a LucasArts adventure game. It’s a light comedy adventure and you can’t die. The earlier parts of the game in the amazon jungle are inspired by games like Monkey Island, while the later levels in the caverns feel so much like an Indiana Jones adventure game (ie: The Last Crusade and Fate of Atlantis).

The puzzles are pretty straightforward, if sometimes a bit weird (especially a joke early in the game involving a dialog puzzle with a gorilla). The story is entertaining, and the game is fairly long. It is split into three major sections, with the last part being the final battle.

All in all the game is very enjoyable and worth playing, especially since it’s free. :)