Reviewed: February 14, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
The Adventure Company
Developer
Galilea
Released: November 1, 2002
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen
7
7
8
7
7.0
System Requirements
Recommended System
DreamCatcher, also known as “The Adventure Company” when it comes to their line of adventure titles is known among adventure game fans for bringing quality adventure games to the PC at affordable prices. The Cameron Files: Pharaoh’s Curse is their latest release, and while the title may sound like a Vincent Price or Christopher Lee B-movie horror flick, the game is surprisingly fresh, fun, and challenging.
You play as Alan Cameron, a private investigator who made his debut in a previous case dealing with the Secret at Loch Ness. This case begins with an urgent request from a friend of his who is working at a dig site in Cairo. Once he arrives in Egypt he finds his friend is missing and thus begins the adventure.
Pharaoh’s Curse plays like most modern day adventures putting you in a first-person view in a 3D environment that allows you to rotate and look around, walk forward to pre-programmed "nodes" and rotate some more. Occasionally you can zoom in on an area or item and interact with something. This might trigger a small animated cutscene or simply add an item to your inventory. The annoying part of this design is that to travel from point A to point D you have to go through points B and C, spinning the camera, looking for the hotspot to trigger the next movement. It makes getting around a clumsy affair, even for short distances.
This game favors exploration and you will get to do a lot of exploring in four wonderfully unique areas that are detailed and simply stunning to look at. You begin your investigation at your hotel then it’s off to the museum for more detective work. Later on you embark on a trip down the Nile in a fashionable passenger ship where the plot thickens and the gameplay intensifies. Once you reach the dig site you will get to explore and island, search for you friend and make your way deep into unexplored sections of an ancient burial chamber. Each of these areas is expertly fleshed out and is almost a game within the game. These locations offer unique scenery, puzzles, and interactive possibilities that keep the game fresh and exciting.
Of course you can’t have an adventure game without puzzles; especially when a detective is involved, and Pharaoh’s Curse is no exception. There are plenty of puzzles that are fun and often quite challenging, but most important, they are integrated into the story and are not merely there as diversionary tactics to lengthen the gameplay. There are the few annoying timed puzzles where failure equates to death and reloading, so make sure to save often.
Interacting with the environment is easy and you are given various icons to note the actions that can be taken. Working with your inventory is quite easy and you even get a close-up of items when you move the mouse over them. Very nice!
Unlike many games in the adventure genre, this one maintains a perfect balance of adventuring and puzzle solving, all at a perfect pace that keeps the game from getting boring or frustrating. The story is quite captivating and even manages to achieve an Indiana Jones flair at times.
The graphics are excellent and panning around in 3D is very smooth considering the low system requirements for this game. There are plenty of cutscenes and these are a bit lower in quality than the actual game graphics, but still easy on the eyes. After you have seen each of these movies you can go back through the menu and replay them. This is a great feature to check on information you may have missed or simply enjoy your favorite movie.
The characters in the game are interest although their animation is often stiff and repetitive. Object that are usable blend into the environments without hiding in them - yes, there is a difference and it's important. Even so, you will still need to make thorough scans of each of the areas to make sure you have picked up everything that isn't nailed, glued, or stapled to the background scenery.
The first thing that stood out about this game was the excellent music that borrows heavily on Egyptian themes and instruments. This is one of those soundtracks I would probably buy if it were available on a CD. The music fits the general theme of the game and enhances each of the environments that it is matched with.
There are nice little sound effects that add to the ambiance of the scenes. You hear the water when you are on the boat and there are mechanical sounds and such for the puzzles and items you interact with. Nothing terribly fancy, but it all works.
The voice acting is topnotch, again, surprising for a budget title. All of the characters deliver their lines with professional style and are quite convincing. The actual script is believable and often humorous.
Adventure game fans can expect around 20-24 hours of great gaming from the Pharaoh’s Curse. A few of the puzzles are quite difficult and there are a few cheap shots where you will invariably die once or twice, but the overall experience was quite enjoyable. At $19, this game is a steal. Grab a copy before DreamCatcher comes to their senses.
With adventure games becoming the next “endangered species”, at least in the US, I am always glad to see when a new one arrives on the scene. If Pharaoh’s Curse is any indication of the current status of adventure gaming in the US then things may not be as bleak as I thought. While this game doesn't really improve upon the genre or bring anything new to the table, it certainly doesn't disappoint either, and there is plenty of adventure to entertain all who play.
Anyone who enjoys a good old-fashioned adventure will certainly want to assist Cameron with his latest case. Good graphics, great sound, and solid gameplay make this a winner, and I eagerly await Cameron’s next exciting case.