![[Bytes Link logo]](../../../cgif/bytelnk2.gif)
Egypt: 1156 BC – Tomb of the Pharaoh
by Reviewed By Steve Berlin — NOCCC, SteveBerlin@compuserve.com - August 20, 1999 at 14:52:07:
Egypt: 1156 BC - Tomb of the Pharaoh (Egypt) is one of the earlier games put out by Cryo Interactive Entertainment, one of the great new companies coming out of Europe and putting its name on the map of computer games. After previewing a few of their more recent games including Ring, I can understand why Cryo has plans on becoming one of the top computer gaming industries in the world.Before even playing the game, you have a complete documentary space on the disk that gives exhaustive details and descriptions, maps, links, and other useful information about The Earth, The Time, The Men, The Pharaoh, and The Gods in Egypt. This information is categorized and subdivided into sections describing everything about that time period. You can see places like the Nile River, view maps of Egypt, see how measurements of time were calculated, see the differences between the workmen and officers of the tomb, and view tools, amulets, and magic. You can also see a thorough listing of all the Gods with links to other gods and places. I was extremely pleased by this historical lead-in to the game.
You can also visit many of the places that you will be going to during game play such as the Tomb of Sethi I, Temple of Ramses II, Village of Deir el-Medineh, and the Domain of Amon-Re. These places will give you information about them prior to your visiting them in game play.
When you begin game play, you feel as though you already have some background and useful information about where you are going and what you should expect to find on your quest. You arrive in Ancient Egypt, Karnak, and the 29th year of the Reign of King Ramses. You are a simple man, Ramose who has been sent on a journey and mission to prove to the Pharaoh that your father before you did not pillage the royal tomb and was a good government scribe. The dignity of your family line depends upon the outcome of your quest. You begin in the tomb of Sethi I with a torch and no items in your inventory with the exception of a “document” which will be used throughout the game to reveal clues about objects and people.
During your quest, you will meet up with many interesting characters you will either aid or deter you from your goals, and you will find many items that you will need to use. Many times items will be used with other items in puzzle solving situations.
I found the graphics fairly average for a game with all of this background and hype. But there were great third-person transitional sequences of rituals and acts that really provided a good balance to the game and showed why this company is going to be hot. Some of the sequences reminded me of the game TimeLapse, which is very high on my list of great computer adventure games.
During your visitation, you will visit six different areas and you will collect clues, talk with other Egyptian scribes, priests, and folks like yourself. The document that you carry can be used to place on objects to reveal more about your clues and quest. The tomb areas were quite dark and sometimes hard to see all the detail. But the outside areas in the villages and the party at the rich man’s house were well designed and provided good graphics and a lot of fun.
During your journey, you will find many pillars and walls etched with interesting hieroglyphics. Also the corpse of Tchai, papyrus, jewelry, an interesting embalmer’s workshop, an amulet puzzle, and a star aiming instrument, all of which tie in nicely to a neat ending. There are many places to explore; enough to keep you interested. The game is actually shorter than most and the puzzles are not too challenging, but the documentary makes up for it and makes this game special.
Most of the game is done in the first person, and the transition sequences done in third person. The game offers us a smooth 360-degree panning style that allows us to see these unique places with ease. The game uses Omni-3D technology to permit visual freedom up to 65,000 colors, and motion capture with Omni-sync voice control when interacting with characters. NOTE: I was not able to switch back and forth from this game to other windows programs.
I enjoyed playing Egypt 1156 BC—Tomb of the Pharaoh. It has all the necessary elements for making a good adventure game, and the added elements of Egyptian lore with a full documentary of that time. Since Cryo is trying to achieve a major spot in the gaming industry, I have received several of their games including Atlantis and Ring and will be reviewing Ring in the next issue of Orange Bytes.
Egypt was developed by Cryo Interactive Entertainment in 1998 and costs $29.38. Requirements for this game are Windows 95, P133, 16 MB RAM, CD-ROM 2X+, Direct X 5+, and 60 MB HD space. You can contact them on the web by visiting their site at http://www.cryo-interactive.com.
![[------STRIPE-----]](../../../cgif/str1.gif){kind=small}
Site Disclaimer Suggestions? E-Mail to webmaster@noccc.org