Secrets of the Luxor Review

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Secrets of the Luxor

Review by Orb

Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m torn. Well, maybe turned into twins.  The good twin says that Secrets of the Luxor is why I got into adventure gaming to begin with—fresh and beautiful, extremely well-designed, someone put some serious time, money and love into this puppy. Now, the evil twin says … but why are the puzzles so incredibly mind-boggling?

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way and finished the game so I might tell you about it (you’re welcome), I’d have to say the good twin wins, as this was the most satisfying game I’ve played in quite a while. Now I’ll admit that at first, I was horrified to discover an incredibly lengthy (71 pages) book to slog through to get clues to solve a few things at the beginning portion of the game, but happily, I discovered, I could toss that away and immerse myself in gameplay (for the most part—I do want to qualify that some—there’s one last surprise you need it for near the end).

Secrets’ storyline is simple. Through a complicated series of unfortunate circumstances, you are trapped in an untouched tomb deep inside the Luxor pyramid and need to solve the mystery of the pyramid while working your way back out. (Stop me if you’ve heard this one …) Redundant storylines notwithstanding (and I’d defy any shooter fan to differentiate the plots of Quake and Postal for me), this is definitely a game worth playing, if you can lay your hands on it. Storyline, however, does not get in the way of the gameplay, which is the real star of the show here.

The game overall is haunting, mesmerizing. What can you say about a game endorsed by the Miller brothers of Myst fame? The introduction really has a cinematic air (which I love), similar to LucasArts’ The Dig, or Mechadeus’ Daedalus Encounter.

The environment is particularly well-designed, richly detailed in every respect and very immersive. Based on the “Egypt as an ancient space civilization” premise, the graphics nicely mix ancient archeological artifacts with lots of high-tech equipment.  There is also a brightness control, which is a nice touch—just don’t turn it up all the way or you’ll lose some of the eerie ambiance. This game gets a perfect score on this point: thoroughly, flawlessly rendered art.

Now the puzzles. In some instances, I suspect that the game designers themselves don’t even know the solutions to some of these. This is definitely one of the more challenging games to get through that I’ve seen, but in this case, the payoff is definitely worth it—and satisfying (in other words, an excellent endgame sequence, not just a screen that basically say “thank you for playing”).  The puzzles are impressively spread throughout the game; intricately incorporated into the artwork/design. There are no old-fashioned adventure/puzzle game puzzles as you know them here—no magic squares, etc.—you have to actually remember what you see and figure out how it works into the equation later. The game makers have thoughtfully given you a Polaroid camera to get you through this, handy as heck (take it from someone that uses one of these a lot), and it works just as well as the real thing.  Also, all the inventory gets used, even the toothbrush.

Let’s talk about the sound and music. This is one of the few games I wouldn’t mind owning the soundtrack of. The music is absolutely superb and mirrors the writing of some of my modern favorites—portions of the music in the first, Ancient Egypt section sound very Rick Wakeman-esque with that big Yes-like organ sound, while a number of areas in the final, third area, Osiris’s Castle, particularly in the toy room, sound completely like Danny Elfman, really giving the game the feel of a motion picture. Who is the guy that wrote this stuff?

Okay, here are points to the game I saw as flaws/drawbacks: there is a drawback in the interface design in that when you move your cursor to inventory at the bottom of the screen, the screen goes black and sound is cut off, which I found distracting. Also, there’s a bug in the Mac version: during the disk switch, you have to switch to the finder, change disks, then go back to the game to use the second disk, and I don’t even want to tell you how many minutes I spent trying to figure that out.

And to be fair, here are the perks: you can die like crazy, but don’t bother saving as the game takes you back to the point just before death, so there’s no distracting redundant saving to worry about, and dying becomes fun. There are a couple of fun Easter eggs, such as a man holding a gun you can see in the Constellation room only by wearing the VR goggles, and a great sequence showing the game designers in a secret room under the bridge in the Power Link room. Finally, it packs a lot of punch into a small package and manages to accomplish in two disks what took Timescape five to get done.

My best analogy of the care taken in the production of this game is in the words of the lepidopteran scientist (okay, okay …  the guy that studies moths) from the film Silence of the Lambs … “Somebody grew this guy, fed him honey and nightshade, kept him warm. Somebody loved him.” The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Mojave Publisher: Mojave Release Date: March 1997

Available for: MacintoshWindows

Four Fat Chicks Links

Interview with DesignersPlayer Feedback

Screenshots

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System Requirements

Mac: 68K or PowerPC 256 colors or higher System 7 or later 5 MB of RAM available 2x CD ROM Drive

PC: Win 3.1 or 95 486 or better 2x CD ROM Drive 8 MB RAM 8-bit sound card or higher SVGA 256 colors or higher

Where to Find It

Check the Game TZ

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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