January 12, 2005 - Indiagames weighs in again with another licensed movie title, this time based on the Universal popcorn flick "The Mummy," starring lantern-jawed Brendan Fraser. You would expect Indiagames to turn the action movie into something akin to a side-scrolling platformer, but the developer proves to have a curveball up its bandaged sleeve. The Mummy is a puzzle game -- the kind of move-the-boxes puzzle game you might have found on the Game Boy in 1990. And as dated the concept is, it's obviously a solid one, because on a very basic level, The Mummy works.

The Mummy is directly tired into the movie. You control both Fraser's Rick as Rachel Weisz's Evelyn, as they probes the depths of Hamunaptra in search of the Book of the Dead. (That's Necronomicon Ex Mortis for all you "Evil Dead" fans.) They find it soon enough, but in one of those "complications ensue" movie moments, all hell breaks loose due to human meddling as now the dynamic duo must collect some artifacts to seal up the released evil mummy, Imahotep. It's far too much story for a puzzle game like this, but Indiagames' attention to detail is certainly appreciated.

Indiagames wanted much of the game's dynamic comes from the need to constantly switch between Rick and Evelyn. Each hero has specific talents, such as Evelyn being able to read hieroglyphics and Rick's steadier pistol shot, but after completing ten or so rooms, you realize that both characters really are interchangeable. None of the enemies move so fast you can't just use Evelyn's weaker knives to kill them. And all of the puzzles can be figured out without switching to Evelyn and hoofing it over a plaque to read a supposed puzzle hint.

The majority of room puzzles in The Mummy are standard-fare. Move boxes on to switches. Move marked boxes onto like-marked switches. Clear paths around traps. Shoot all monsters in a room. As you get deeper into the tombs, the puzzle ratchet up in difficulty, but there's nothing that you can't solve with a few attempts. And at no point are any of the mummies and monsters a threat.

The Mummy is a pretty decent looking game. The characters aren't terribly detailed, but a puzzler like this certainly doesn't require them to be. The setting is pure Discovery Channel Egyptian tomb, and the puzzle elements are drawn so they stand out from inactive backgrounds.

Closing Comments
The Mummy is actually a pretty engaging puzzler -- if not a little on the easy side. The game may curve toward boring for action gamers, as the action elements are really surface, such as shooting shambling mummies that pose zero threat. But if you've a mind for making sense, The Mummy will offer you a couple hours of distraction. Personally, I enjoyed it up to a point, but after a while, The Mummy started feeling less like a game and more like a job.

IGN's Ratings for The Mummy (Wireless) (Cell)
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7.6 OVERALL
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