April 30, 2008

Solve the Puzzles of Ancient Egypt

Cleopatra: Riddle of the Tomb (**** out of four) is a mystery adventure game set in Ancient Egypt. You play the part of a young apprentice astrologer who is charged by Cleopatra to find the missing chief astrologer and his daughter and the secret they have found. Overshadowing the disappearance is the struggle between Cleopatra and her brother for the throne of Egypt. Your search takes you to Ancient Egypt’s historical/mythical sites, such as the Lighthouse and the Library at Alexandria.

As you start the game, you must choose an astrological sign to play under. Different signs influence how the game unfolds for you. Cleopatra: Riddle of the Tomb is similar in game play to other adventure type games: you click and scroll your way through your environment, picking up any item not bolted down. These items then become useful later to uncover clues, unlock doors, gain access to codes and such until you’re successful (or not) in your mission(s). In this game, however, we thought there was an over-abundance of bits and pieces to look after to progress through the game. For example, to gain access to vital information and tools that are locked in the chief astrologer’s observatory, you have to unlock the door. This is done by getting a statue of Eros to fire an arrow at the unlocking mechanism, but his arrow is missing, so you must find it--only to find it’s broken, so you find some tar to stick it back together, put it on the statue, position the arrow properly and fire to open the door. But adventure gamers love it, and you may too.

Those with patience and who love exploration will find much to keep them busy, but the best part is the degree of historical/mythical detail interwoven in the story. The detail of the interactive scenes is so pleasing to see and remarkable in its historical content that we occasionally found ourselves wishing the puzzle part would go away so we could enjoy the story and scenery. Cleopatra: Riddle of the Tomb offers 5.1 surround sound if your computer supports it. The music and sound effects are good, but the voice acting seems a bit contemporary for an ancient story.

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