Introduction:
Match 3 games were a desert for me after a long day of work for some time, but they started to lose on edge and the quality and just kept falling down and down. There were couple of games that could be distinguished from the others but we are not talking about them. The game is a sequel to a game called Da Vinci’s Secret. Unfortunately I haven’t played that game so I can’t compare one with the other. The theme of the game here is Egypt, and talking about it would be nonsense as the number of times that this theme is used whether it was real or fiction, people still use it for many games. Match 3 games become a challenge to create in nowadays, if you are planning success. If not creating a match 3 game can be done by any beginner programmer with some knowledge, but that is a different theme. Many have tried and even more have failed, as the results of creating a match 3 game is either seen so many times and its more than boring or they create such nonsense you don’t know is it made for 3 year olds, or a pro then needs a couple of hours of analyzing it until he figures it out.
Gameplay:
Our game manufactures, well aware of this fact did exactly what was needed in this time, an old fashioned match 3 game with standard additions, standard theme, but introduction of a newness that completely changes everything and yet it remained the same. Not to be confusing here is the thing: The game is made for everyone, those who want to lie down, click as they please and not worry that much about the time on the clock; those who want to feel pressure of the clock ticking making them make it just in time; and of course those who have one goal only and that is to beat the ace time, and not just for a couple of seconds. Personally I’m the second example, not too fast, not too slow, and I enjoyed the gameplay, however the story is another thing. The story goes with Daniel and his professor discovering an old papyrus lost somewhere on the professor’s stack, and after deciphering it you’re trying to find the lost relic of the pharaoh Didumes. You start off as any match 3 game, by making match 3 or more, but the first feature of this game is that every mismatch means additional tiles falling down into the grid. The main goal here is not to get rid of all the tiles, then all of the levels have their own goals like putting together a broken picture or getting to key to the keyhole. This all contributes greatly to the increase of the match 3 challenge. There are of course standard things like obstacles and power-ups, six to exact each. If the things get too tough and you fail the level the restart is always there without a hitch. Power-ups range from destructive ones like bombs, lightning and ankhs, to useful ones like rainbow balls and extended light (used on darkened puzzle areas). Each power-up has a specific use and activation though, so you just have to read each ones description thoroughly before use if you are new to this game or this type of genre in general. The game main goal is already mentioned, but it is not the only one. The other secondary goal is mentioned in the beginning through the first lines of the review. Getting the level finished before the expert or ace time (call it whatever you want) gives you bonus points. On the beginning, as they are beginner levels, that times is usually about 3 minutes, and I really did get most of them, but as the difficulty increases and the time increases itself up to, let’s say 10 min, getting it done before the targeted time doesn’t lie in my level of skills. The games 100 levels will be challenging enough so like earlier mentioned tutorial reading would be probably a very smart idea. Because match 3 qualifies in the category of the puzzles, the selection of mini-games is quite logical in this game. You are ‘interrupted’ by a set of jigsaw puzzles, mahjong and some other games. The interruption was good for me as it meant I had to take a break from the game itself due to other commitments.
Graphics and sound:
The graphics of the game looks quite nice, especially the power-ups as that is the part of match 3 games that I enjoy the most. The rest of the details have done clearly and in tune with the Egyptian theme, leaving you all the time in that surrounding. The sound of the game is nothing special, like in most of these games. Everything is done in sync with the theme, but as I’m not a fan of this music, I rather listen something that boosts my concentration. All in all, nice game, story needs some additional work, to make it more interesting to you; gameplay done great for my taste; graphics and sound above average but not THAT good. Anyway I hope you enjoy it.
