Review written by Eric Pankoke

Buy Curse of the Pharaohs from Clickgamer

Do you like exploration? Do you crave rearranging sand blocks and pulling levers to solve puzzles and gather treasures? How about killing mummies, scorpions and cobras with machetes or a pistol? If this sounds like your idea of an Egyptian vacation, and you aren't having flashbacks of Pitfall yet, come join the fun with Curse Of The Pharaohs!

The graphics in COTP are extremely well done. There is a lot to look at in the background, from holes in the floor to sarcophagi in the walls. While the character drawings aren't the best, they are detailed and well animated. Add to that the little touches like splashing when you land in water and grains of sand falling when you flip a switch, and it's easy to see that lots of time and care went into crafting the visuals. When you take into account the fact that this was a one man project, which means the coder actually drew the graphics as well, it makes everything that much more impressive.

The interface was also top notch. Everything was easy to access, the display at the bottom of the screen was concise and useful, and the buttons were easy to read and well designed.

The gameplay in COTP is quite interesting. At times I feel like I'm playing an updated version of pitfall, whether it is jumping over pits, swinging across ropes, or dispatching various villains with my machete or revolver. At other times it feels like Lemmings, as I enter my inventory to choose one of five “modes” for my adventurer – digging (hammer or pick axe), cutting (machete or Arabian sword), shooting (revolver or shotgun), fighting (fists), and demolition (dynamite). Each of these functions helps you progress through the levels in different ways, but each level requires a combination of most of them to be successful. Add to this the rearranging of sand blocks to open up tunnels or create staircases, and the ability to gain experience points and levels by defeating monsters, and you have a mixed breed game that in this case actually works very well together.

The basic idea of each level is to get to the exit. Sounds simple enough, but you'll have to use all the skills in your possession to do so. The directional pad will get you moving back and forth, as well as allow you to climb ladders and duck to crawl through passageways or avoid deadly fireballs. The action key (hardware button 1) allows you to do a variety of tasks, from firing your gun to pulling levers to moving blocks of sand. Hardware button 2 allows you to jump once to get over small obstacles, or double jump to reach those tall ledges that would otherwise seem unattainable. Hardware key 3 brings up your inventory window, which is also accessible by clicking your adventurer's current selection, which can be found in the lower right corner of your screen. Finally, hardware button 4 brings up the menu. Of course, these keys are all configurable in the Controls option of Settings.

There are three types of puzzles in COTP. The first of these is “sand block arranging”. Using your digging tool, you can collect up to five blocks of sand at a time (you can dig up more, but the extra sand will be lost). This allows you to build your own tunnels to reach artifacts and such, but you need to make sure you always have a way back out. You can construct new blocks with the sand you've collected, allowing you to build staircases to reach platforms and get around obstacles. The second type of puzzle involves dispatching monsters. This can be done through conventional methods (machete, revolver), or through using your environment. If something in the level can hurt you, chances are it can hurt monsters as well, so use this to your advantage and save your resources when possible. The last puzzle type involves collecting the Amulet of Ra when you've been cursed. While this will primarily involve manipulating sand blocks, I single this activity out because it is the one point during the game in which you are timed. Personally, I don't really care for timed obstacles interspersed throughout a generally laid back game, but it does add a certain amount of urgency that can be exciting.

The game offers the ability to save at any point, but this can be a drawback as well as a blessing. Don't save the game just because of you struggled to reach an artifact or particular point in a level and finally gotten there. Make sure that you have a way out of wherever you're at before you save, otherwise you might end up repeating more of the game than had you not saved in the first place.

Pros:

• Colourful, detailed graphics

• Good sound effects

• Challenging gameplay

Cons:

• Character drawings aren’t spectacular

• No in-game music

• Saving in the wrong spot can cause frustration

Conclusion:

If you like puzzle / exploration games with a little bit of action and role playing thrown in for good measure, than Curse of the Pharaohs is definitely your game. This game is a very impressive first effort for a one man band.

Score-by-score breakdown

Gameplay:  80%
Graphics:  80%
Sound:  70%

Overall:  70%

Please note that the overall score is more than simply an average of the individual ratings.  Many thanks to Just Mobile Games for providing our review copy.

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