Egypt 3: The Fate of Ramses review

22 July 2004 19:12 GMT / By Stuart Miles

If you like solving puzzles, Egypt 3 might just be the title for you, however be warned its not all plain sailing down the Nile.

The role-playing point and click adventure game sees you trying to solve the story of the Pharaoh Ramses II. At the ripe old age of 60, he's dying and with him of course the glory of Egypt will fall. The Egyptian god Amon-Re has agreed to grant him health and prolong his reign, under the condition that he reconstructs Amon-Re's temple, erecting the largest obelisk ever constructed. However, Ramses is doomed by what appears to be an evil curse. His fate lies in the hands of a beautiful young sorceress by the name of Maia played by you.

In the game the historical facts shine through, although to complete the puzzles you have to make sure you look everywhere, in every nook and cranny and that means not forgetting to look up as well as down then most of the tasks are easy to follow. Because of this reliance on you looking at everything in fine detail this isn't for the impatient, neither is it a game for those who can't think laterally. That said the game gets frustrating at times when there are only 3-4 people maximum you can talk to, and you find yourself going backwards and forwards between these few people in order to complete a task.

Tasks are normally designated to one location of the game - ie: the quarry - which saves you time and frustration in looking in all areas for things, but then the game does seem limited in the number of locations available.

Verdict

Overall the game won’t take you long to complete once you’ve got past some of its more frustrating moments - stronger tasks and perhaps even more timed tasks would have made the game more exciting, in the long run. Ultimately the game’s slow pace is best suited to the Egyptologists among us.

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Review Recap

Made by: Mindscape
Price as reviewed: £30
The good: Based on historical facts, Suits all ages
The bad: Clumsy, limited puzzles, too easy to complete
Quick verdict: A slow place that may only really appeal to the Egyptologists among us.
Score