A Just Adventure Preview
by Randy Sluganski
Lovers of all things Egyptian rejoice–Jeff and Karen Tobler have just spent three years painstakingly recreating the landmarks and mysterious dwellings of this fascinating country. For what reason? So that we may participate in their indulgence and immerse ourselves in a mystery as old as time itself as we attempt to solve the Riddle of the Sphinx.
Riddle of the Sphinx is similar to Myst/Riven/Timelapse, et al., except that it combines a “walking” gaming play with VR Panos. This combination is what makes ROTS unique. The graphics are 640×480, 16-bit, 3D-rendered scenes. The Sphinx and Great Pyramid have been modeled and rendered to the same specifications/dimensions/materials as the originals. According to Jeff Tobler, “quite a few think the scenes are actual photographs!”
You play as the closest friend of noted archeologist Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys. It seems your colleague has discovered a secret chamber in the pyramids that housed the “Rosetta Stone” of the Sphinx. Sir Geoffreys realizes too late that he has, by deciphering this scroll, released a terrible ancient curse that results in instant death for all those who come under its spell. By the time you arrive to aid your friend, he has already perished, a victim of the curse. Now the scroll is missing and you must find it before it destroys others. With the greedy members of Sir Geoffrey’s expedition at your side, you must now enter the Great Pyramid and find and then solve the Riddle of the Sphinx.
This intriguing title is being released by the Omni Creative Group, and they hope it puts their name on the map for adventure gamers. We will be expected to match wits with wily archeologists, survive ingenious deathtraps, and decode ancient puzzles while challenged with tremendous feats of logic designed over 2,500 years ago in order to thwart tomb robbers. Exploration through hidden chambers, mysterious labyrinths and tombs that have not been seen by human eyes for thousands of years is a must if you are to solve the ancient riddle that was buried centuries ago by the ancient Egyptians.
What is the riddle, you ask? We will all find out together this spring with the release of Riddle of the Sphinx. Set your hieroglyphics to Just Adventure for the first in-depth review of this new adventure game.
