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Secrets of the Pyramids

Producer: Ednovation
Publisher: Mindscape
Year: 1994
Keyword: 3rd Person, Educational
Compatibility: Windows XP

Secrets of the Pyramids, the title boldly proclaims, hoping to pique your interest. What might their secret be that we wouldn't know already?
Don't get your hopes up, this "multi-faceted multimedia experience" won't tell you. Presumably it's only a red herring, thought of by the marketing department. Sure, you might say, the secret is that the pyramids were tombs of the Pharaohs. But how could such common knowledge ever be a secret? And the title doesn't promise just one secret, but many more! I may need to think harder. Think...think...what could they be?
Maybe that the Egyptians were well versed in the English language! Don't believe me? The game says so! After I translated hieroglyphic symbols into the Latin alphabet I received English messages. Surely that's one! The next might be that Egyptians loved to include a variation of “Simon Says” as the final obstacle into their pyramids, possibly to keep people with weak memory away from the grave of the Pharaoh. And of course, invisible hamburgers! After feeding mine to a vulture, I could still grab and look at it from the inventory, without actually seeing it, thanks to the power of the pyramids. Amazing!
Of course, what kind of game could you expect from a developer called Ednovation? It's one word formed out of two, education and innovation, which were probably their product goals. The first got more or less fulfilled: Secrets of the Pyramids wants to teach you about Egyptian culture, religion and rituals. Yet you won't find more knowledge here than in a children picture book about the same subject. On the other hand, it's clear that the target audience is children and teenagers.
The game offers three modes and recommends you to experience them in the following order: film mode, discovery mode and game mode. Choose the first and you're presented with a ten minutes long animated cartoon that's entertaining, amusing and informative. Annoyingly, most scene transitions happen first after an extremely slow fadeout of the music and an occasional bug halts the cartoon at a specific scene.
The discovery mode depicts drawings of various places, like a burial ground, a pyramid construction, a tomb chamber, and more. You click on screen elements to receive descriptions. Since only six meager screens are available there's not much information to take in.
The game mode is the meat of the game, yet no more than a tiny meatball. It's a 3rd person point and click adventure where you order Harold Peabody, an explorer on his first adventure, around. It begins in front of a pyramid and ends with the discovery of the Pharaohs tomb. There are no characters to meet and no story to speak of. After two hours you're through. It might not even take this long.
Eighty percent of your time will be occupied with the deciphering of hieroglyphs. The first item you find is a small book that translates hieroglyphs to every letter of the alphabet. You decipher messages to pass a potential death trap, to heed warnings and to attribute names to gods. It's quite fun to do, but it becomes slightly tedious after a while. The rest mostly consists of item combination. And some annoying pixelhunting, of course, which sadly isn't the only design sin.
If you enter the pyramid without light, then Harold will cluelessly tap in the dark and fall to his death. At other times, and with lights on, he can be too dumb to realize he's walking into a pit, and you won't be able to stop him. Harold behaves so stupid it frustrates the player! Similarly, until Harold reaches the place you sent him to you have no control over him. Other adventures allow reconsideration of the goal while the player character is on his way, but not this one.
Inscriptions warn of dangers, but one is so senseless that it is unhelpful. I died two times to get to know the doors I shouldn't enter.
The graphics are solid, but the use of black outlines is inconsistent. The music underlines the atmosphere well, yet it can get a bit repetitive. Additionally, the compression ruins the sound fidelity.
While I criticized the game non-stop now, I have to admit it was kinda fun. The puzzles are easy, but enjoyable to solve, since they're logical and varied. The deciphering becomes a bit tedious, but it doesn't outstay its welcome for too long.
So despite its briefness, design sins, bugs and other shortcomings, Secrets of the Pyramids entertains while it lasts. I didn't feel like I wasted my time playing it. It isn't absolute garbage and I assume it might be worth a try for other curious people.

editor rating: 2.0