"An intriguing adventure through ancient Egypt"

Riddle of the Tomb is a standard point-and-click adventure that plays out similarly to most other games in the genre. If you have played Myst or Syberia before, you'll have a good idea of what to expect. You start out plopped down in the middle of an extraordinary situation, and the only way to proceed to the ending is by finding items and solving a series of challenging environmental puzzles.

What sets Riddle of the Tomb apart from other games is its unique attention to detail, in making sure most aspects of the Egyptian setting in which it takes place are as true to life as possible. As the story goes, you are the apprentice to a famous Chaldean astrologer in the service of Cleopatra, and you have fallen in love with his daughter. At the outset of the game, civil war has broken out between Cleopatra and her brother, Ptolemy XIII. The astrologer and his daughter have been kidnapped by forces unknown, and it's up to you to unravel the mystery.

You will travel to a variety of well known ancient Egyptian landmarks, such as the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria, among other locations. These have been faithfully recreated, and it's quite a treat to explore these ancient landmarks. Running with this theme, the mythology of Egypt's various gods is in full swing, and you'll encounter a number of situations which shed light on what some of their beliefs were. Taking advantage of the DVD format, the graphics are extremely detailed and a pleasure observe. Like in Myst III, you navigate by clicking from one screen to another as you move through the environments. Each screen is rendered in a 360 degree bubble, which allows you to looks around at the environment as if you were there. Along with some good voice acting, great ambient sound effects and appropriate music, the atmosphere of the game is its best feature.

For gameplay, if you've played adventure games before, you'll find similar puzzles here. You will need to read documents to decrypt codes, combine items in interesting ways, figure out complicated mechanical devices, and mix solutions from poorly labeled ingredients. None of it is innovative in any way, but if you're a fan of these games, you've come to expect that. It simply gives you a fresh challenge to exercise your brain. However one unique feature in this game is the influence of your horoscope, in keeping with the astrology theme. At the outset you are required to choose an astrological sign from the zodiac. Based on your choice, various segments (days) will have a more or less favorable path to them. For instance, early on an arrow shoots into the ground. If the gods are smiling on you that day, the arrow is intact; if not, it shatters, and you must find a way to reassemble it. Like much else in the game, this feature is not particularly innovative, but provides a bit of extra interest.

Any experienced adventurer should have no problem in finishing Riddle of the Tomb within 10 hours. The admirable attempt at having authentic Egyptian architecture, mythology and historical facts interwoven into the story is certainly worth a look for those interested in the theme. What Riddle of the Tomb lacks in innovation, it makes up for in charm.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/09

Game Release: Cleopatra: Riddle of the Tomb (US, 03/31/08)