Mystery of the Mummy, released in 1991 by Rainbow Arts, was purported to be a Sherlock Holmes adventure game. While it is a mystery, it is not very Holmes-esque in nature and has no relationship to any Conan Doyle adventure in print. The narrator and some of the cut scenes appear to be loose adaptations of Holmes, but that is the only influence. If seeking a true Sherlock Holmes adventure, try something else.
However, if Scooby Doo is more your thing, this game is perfect.
It has all the elements of a great Scooby Doo episode. The game is colorful and very kid friendly sort of eerie without being bloody and features a nice mix of timed sequences and clever puzzles. The setting is an old spooky house, which no Scooby thriller was ever complete without.
The premise of the game consists of a disappearing museum curator, Lord Montcalfe. His daughter, the heroine of the game, has to navigate this point and click adventure to recover him. Lord Montacalfe specialized in Egyptian artifacts, and when his daughter enters the mansion, the puzzles begin immediately with Egyptian remnants all over the entryway and foyer areas.
As point and click adventures go, this is standard fair. The heroine wanders about collecting items
to add to her inventory, which will eventually be used to solve a puzzle and advance the story line. One major difference between Mystery of the Mummy and other point and click games is that each inventory item can be used only once before it vanishes. While many of the puzzles seem clever, others are more random, featuring the junction of two completely unrelated items as a result of trial and error instead of logic. There are also several timed sequences, which can break up the pixel hunt of the game, but are also a bit tricky.
In all, though, this is a great game for kids. Children don’t seem to mind the random lack of logic in the puzzles and many are very intrigued with the Egyptian theme. It could even be used to get them interested in ancient Egyptian history and myth. It’s worth downloading!
