''Egypt 1156 B.C. – Tomb of the Pharaoh'' ((french: Égypte : 1156 av. J.-C. - L'Énigme de la tombe royale)) is a 1997
adventure video game co-published by
Cryo Interactive Entertainment
Cryo Interactive Entertainment was a French video game developer, video game development and video game publisher, publishing company founded in 1990, but existing unofficially since 1989 as a developer group under the name Cryo.
History
Cryo ...
,
Canal+ Multimedia and the
Réunion des Musées Nationaux for the
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
and
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
(PAL region only). It was later released in North America by
DreamCatcher Interactive.
''Egypt'' was a commercial hit, with sales of 550,000 units in Europe alone by December 2000.
Gameplay
Synopsis
Ramosé, a young
Theban, is on a mission to exonerate his father, who has been accused of pillaging the tomb of
Seti I. In the vault at dawn, he unveils a stone showing a map of the tomb and a monkey, hinting to Hori, a former draughtsman. Ramosé then sets off to the village of
Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina ( arz, دير المدينة), or Dayr al-Madīnah, is an ancient Egyptian workmen's village which was home to the artisans who worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of ...
where he finds Hori lying dead in his cellar, along with clues alluding to a carpenter bound for the embalmers' workshop, where he discovers a wider plot the next day. He skillfully manages to pass for one of the conspirators and is led to a tomb where a burial is being held. Ramosé descends to the funerary chamber. He is immured but manages to escape via a tunnel which leads him to the site of a tomb in construction of another noble, Panéhesy, where a
mourner
A mourner is someone who is attending a funeral or who is otherwise recognized as in a period of grief and mourning prescribed either by religious law or by popular custom. Many cultures expect mourners to curtail certain activities, usually tho ...
awaits him. She leads him to the villa of the noble, who has organized a large festivity. Passing for one of the guests, he finds a map of the
Festival Hall of Thutmose III
The Festival Hall of Thutmose III (''Akh-menu'') is an ancient shrine in Luxor ( Thebes), Egypt. It is located at the heart of the Precinct of Amun-Re, in the Karnak Temple Complex. The edifice is normally translated as "the most glorious of monum ...
in
Karnak. At the temple, Ramosé finds parts of the pillage and documents alleging Ptahnéfer, a close relative of the pharaoh. His father is exonerated.
Development
Serious Games and Edutainment Applications suggests that the 1997 video game
Versailles 1685, a pioneer in the "cultural entertainment" genre that merged entertainment with cultural education, paved the way for games such as ''Egypt''.
Reception
''Egypt'' was a commercial success. French newspaper ''
Les Échos'' reported its sales at 250,000 units by November 1998, and noted that it was among 1997's 10 best-selling computer games.
According to Cryo Interactive, it sold above 500,000 copies by November 2000.
Marketing manager Mattieu Saint-Dennis explained in December that ''Egypt''s sales totaled 550,000 units in Europe alone, of which France accounted for 200,000 units.
By February 2004, ''Egypt'' and its sequel, ''
Egypt II'', had achieved combined global sales above 700,000 units.
Legacy
The game was followed by two sequels, ''
Egypt II: The Heliopolis Prophecy'' and ''
Egypt III
''Egypt III'', known as ''The Egyptian Prophecy'' in North America, is a 2004 graphic adventure game developed by Kheops Studio and published by The Adventure Company. The player must solve an array of ancient riddles that will help a dying Pharao ...
''.
References
External links
''Egypt: 1156 B.C.: Tomb of the Pharaoh''at
Microïds
*
Home page
{{Cryo adventures
1997 video games
Point-and-click adventure games
Cryo Interactive games
Microïds games
Egypt (video game series)
PlayStation (console) games
Video games developed in France
Video games set in antiquity
Video games set in Egypt
Windows games