Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh is a point-and-click adventure video game released on August 31, 1996, by Interplay Productions on Windows and by MacPlay, a division of Interplay Productions at the time, on Macintosh.[1][2] It is a sequel to Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster.[3] The game was developed by Amazing Media, directed and produced by Jeff McDonald, Keith Metzger, and Loring Casartelli, written by McDonald and Metzger, and composed by Márcio Câmara.[4] Malcolm McDowell stars as Stuart Davenport, one of the main characters of the game.[4]
The Mummy Game Pc
In Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh players navigate various static frames via a hand-style cursor, and can also pick up items via cursor.[5] They also have a standard inventory as a bar at the bottom of the screen which consists of items such as a lantern, ID card, backpack, and other items of interest they pick up during gameplay.[5] These controls make it very easy and simple to navigate through menus and across terrain. There is also an aspect of danger, being able to be crushed by machinery or murdered by enemies during multiple choice situations, another feature of the game.[5][6] Puzzles are also solved frequently, and make use of the game's simple controls.[5][6][7][8] Gameplay also features real-life actors, added in via green-screen.[5]
Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh is set in Egypt, at one of the fictional National Mining Company's mining sites.[4] Michael Cameron, a representative of National Mining Company has been sent from New York City to deal with a rebellion of workers who believe a curse lies over the mining site due to the hieroglyph-covered box they mined up.[5] Upon arrival he meets Chris Crowley, manager of the site, and Stuart Davenport, representative on site. They become acquainted with many of the workers at the site, and begin to solve many puzzles.[5] After much searching, a mummy who comes back to life and begins to terrorize the work site, murdering many and even brainwashing a woman, Lorrie (who also used to be your girlfriend), into thinking she is the mummy's wife, and then abducting her.[7] Cameron finds the mummy and he channels himself into a power crystal, and after he dies his ghost appears and says that Lorrie, now unconscious after the mummy's disappearance, will recover from her brainwashing and that a man named Stuart Davenport, is trying to sell the artifacts to the US Government for three-hundred-million dollars. At the end of the game the artifacts are found deep in the mine, of which are next to Chris Crowley, who is part of the deal with the US Government for the artifacts.[6] After trying to convince him to tell where Stuart is, he is shot by someone behind Cameron,[6] revealing to be Stuart. He points the gun at him and tells him to hand over the power crystal. Cameron gives him and Stuart uses on himself, but dies in the process, and Lorrie emerges from around the rock.[6] She is amazed by all those artifacts, and then a screen is seen that says the end, but following text explains that after Cameron finds Lorrie he and she go to the top of the mine and phone the authorities, who are not able to arrive before the tunnels collapse due to an earthquake and the artifacts are lost. The text also explains that Lorrie and Cameron return to New York City and resume dating, as well as that multiple attempts to excavate the artifacts fail due to following earthquakes. It is also learned that Stuart Davenport's body is never recovered, but that a man fitting his description is seen in the Amazon Jungle searching for Inca treasure.[6]
Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh was developed by Amazing Media, and was released on August 31, 1996, by Interplay Entertainment on Windows and by MacPlay, a division of Interplay Entertainment at the time, on Macintosh.[1][2] The project was announced at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 16, as the latest title of Interplay Productions. A month before the game was released, the Interplay web site featured an online contest "to coincide with the launch of this product", which featured hieroglyphic phrases being placed around the site that would then have to be converted to clues to inch closer to the $1000 cash prize.[9] Trish Wright, vice-president of marketing for Interplay, thought that the deep tombs of ancient Egypt offered the perfect setting for an adventure game, and hoped the combined efforts of Amazing Media's creative team and the veteran voice acting cast would result in a great game.[9] Ten winners were announced for the PC version via the Interplay website, while others were announced for the Mac version via the Macplay website.[10]
Mummy: Tomb of the Pharaoh received poor reviews. For instance, Chris Hudak of GameSpot stated it was an "okay-looking, reasonably straightfaced, wonkily-balanced game experience not quite challenging enough for the long-time adventurer and not quite guiding enough for the newbie." Hudak added that there was "potential for a deeper backstory and more mythical involvement."[8] Liz Zivney of Adventure Classic Gaming wrote that the same was a "fine example" from the golden age of adventure video games, praising how the puzzles work with the narrative to create a sense of suspense and danger.[12] Conversely, MetzoMagic reviewer Rosemary Young thought the game was average in every sense of the word.[13] Angela Bennett of PC Gamer praised Malcolm McDowell in his villainous role, but noted that the game wouldn't feed adventure game fans who had been experiencing a recent drought in quality examples of the genre.[14] A Next Generation critic also praised McDowell's performance and the quality of the cutscenes in general, but said the gameplay has nothing new to offer beyond that seen in other then-recent horror-themed adventure games.[11]
Balmoral Software thought the game would appeal to Malcolm McDowell fans, but that it didn't have the depth found in other games of the genre such as Buried in Time.[15] Matt Barton of ArmChair Arcade negatively compared the game to The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery.[16] Cathy Ormsby, a student at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas, praised the title's game design, which saw strong story, environment, and gameplay enhanced through the choices in music, sound effects, graphics, and video clips.[17] Tep Repeatedly reviewer Jen thought the game spent too much money on its cast and FMV scenes, and not enough on the actual game.[18] The Computer Show reviewers thought it fell below the standard of Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster.[19] Lynn Alford of PibWeb liked the "excellent" music, and "sometimes amusing" dialogue.[20] Arinn Dembo of Game Center described the game as a Myst clone, and commented that those who don't like horror video games should stay away from the title.[21] Computer Games Magazine reviewer Chuck Klimushyn thought that while the game followed a successful formula, this led to the title being a mediocre product.[22]
There are some things in this world which are doomed to failure before they were even dreamt of by some mad inventor in his squalid laboratory. Things like mint-flavoured peas, ying-yang shaped coffee tables, or a toothbrush that doubles as an earwax remover. It applies to computer games as well; decent Playstation ports come once every century and good film license conversions are so rare, they're a protected species. So when a port from a Playstation game, which also happens to be a film license comes along, it should, by all the laws of common sense, be an absolute disaster. Nothing in the history of videogames, or indeed in the history of anything, ever, says this is a good idea and it's going to work. So why have Rebellion, respected developers of the more than respectable Alien vs. Predator, made the game? Answers on a postcard to: Rebellion's Big Bulging Bank Account, Switzerland.
Cynicism and possible lawsuits aside, The Mummy is a game aimed fairly and squarely at the younger audience, and as a result isn't particularly suitable for anyone over the age of seven. This is a tad unfortunate because ELSPA have given it an 11+ rating. Anyway, if you've read this far, I suppose you'll want to know more about the game.
As you might expect, the story is largely ignored and takes a distant second place to the Tomb Raider -esque running and jumping antics which dominate the game. But if you're looking for a spiritual successor to Tomb Raider, then you're bound to be disappointed. Yes, you run about a lot shooting bad guys, yes you have to jump from ledge to ledge quite a bit as well, but for all its Lara-like pretensions, The Mummy falls short by a long distance.
The first disappointment comes with the graphics. Now, the poor graphics on Playstation ports are nothing new, but when games like Sacrifice, Giants and Severance have graphics so sweet, they'd melt in your mouth, the downright ugliness of The Mummy becomes more apparent and even more inexcusable. Textures are bland and lifeless with a ridiculously low resolution, the real-time lighting is prehistoric and the animation is, frankly, a joke. O'Connell runs like he's in a Charlie Chaplin movie, with back ramrod straight, knees kicking up to his stomach and arms at perfect right angles. Tell him to run at max speed and he just ducks his head down and waves his arms and legs around faster, which looks as silly as it sounds.
But poor graphics don't necessarily make for a poor game. Just look at Civilization - when I first started playing that I thought catapults were really offensive quill pens, but it was a cracking game none the less. Unfortunately The Mummy falls down on just about every other element, as well. 2ff7e9595c
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