Ever wonder what it is
like on the flip side of a game? To play not only the hero, but the
bad guy as well? Ever think to your self, “I would do SOOOO much
more damage if I was the BAD DUDE,” or “Sheesh! You call
that a BOSS?” Well “The Mummy Returns” has answered
those silent (and not so silent) gamer prayers.

You
can choose to either be the hero, Rick, who has a very good time killing
zombies, chasing down bad guys, and basically really irritating the
hell out of Imhotep, or you can choose to kick the American’s butt
as the dark godling the mummy. Both have definite pros and cons to
playing. Oh, and both have to face the Scorpion King in the End.

To play Rick one must be
aware of three things. 1) Alex never stays where he is told. He ends
up lost, kidnapped, disappearing, basically the kid finds more trouble
than a cat wandering into a dog pound. Of course, there would not
be much of a game if he didn’t! 2) The undead really, really want
you to join them. They don’t care if it is through henchmen, unholy
soldiers, or their own hands, they all want to give you an RSVP to
join their ranks. 3) It really doesn’t help that Ihmotep still carries
that little grudge from the first one. You know. Where you kinda,
sorta destroyed his plans to take over the whole world? Well he has
the bad manners to actually expect you to pay for that small indiscretion.

Imhotep has his own personal
issues: 1) soul sucking is mandatory to insure you do not decay when
damaged, 2) every cat you run into wants a piece of your soul, 3)
Rick can be a major pain in the derriere this time around. Even more
so than the last time you fought him. The damn American just does
NOT learn to keep his nose out of your business! And of course, there
is the whole army thing, where Ardeth, the lead Medjai crashes your
parties and brings his friends.

THE CONS

I
always start out with the cons of games, because then I can end on
a good note. So here goes:

The level of difficulty
the game can get into trying to figure out the best way to handle
what ever is coming at you. I found the easiest way was to meet a
new creature, watch how the react, then eventually restart the level
after he killed me. Several restarts, you got it down pat. Or, you
can do what I finally did… swear a blue streak and get out the
walkthrough.

Then there is the fact
you can get lost VERY easily. The map is not exactly the most user
friendly I have seen. First, there is no easy see map, you must leave
game play to look at where you are going. Second, nothing is marked.
Just a large amount of colored sections in different shapes. And if
you really want to confuse yourself, spin the map a few times then
try and figure out how to get out to the right location. Oh, and while
you are looking? Leave an area and the critters regenerate. Hence
you have to fight several times more if you get lost. The walk through
attempts to keep you in the right direction, but when you can’t figure
out if you are facing left or right, east or west, upstairs or downstairs,
it can get pretty frustrating. Luckily there is a brighter light that
shows you where you are, and if you pay attention you can figure out
where you wish to be. Of course, just because you got to a certain
area a certain way does not mean you can return that way. The game
has a nasty way of making things a little challenging. If you are
a lazy gamer, you will hate this game. This is for those who enjoy
challenges.

When fighting the controls
are EXTREMELY touchy. Just trying to figure out how to get Ihmotep
to do anything more than just kill the guards took a while. You have
to have them dazed but alive to get their sweet little souls. Of course,
I am so used to kill or be killed in games it took a while to get
the knack down. Then I was a soul sucking mummy let me tell you!

Final
con for the game was Ihmotep looks nothing like the hunk that played
him in the movie. It was very disappointing to this female gamer.
On that note, neither did Rick. The graphics were blocky for the characters.
After playing such things as Final Fantasy, I was slightly disappointed.
However we shall cover the good points of the graphics in the next
section…the pros.

THE PROS

Playing Rick can be hilarious.
The producer’s definitely tried to instill the same wise cracking
happy go lucky attitude the original character in the movie portrayed,
and they did well. It was almost worth it to play him alone for the
one liners and digs he threw at the other characters. Playing Ihmotep
is the first time I have ever truly seen a game where the outcome
is you are a nasty, mean, dark god and you destroy the world. You’re
happy, so who cares?

The depth of detail the
producers went to for the background more than makes up for the blocky
characters. The interactive background, such as shattering glass in
the museum, also lends to a better gaming experience. The game is
never too dark to see where you need to go, as some I have played.
And the game is very forgiving about the avenues you need to take
for the most part to get where you need to go. While it can be challenging
to get from one place to another, you won’t miss anything of importance
by doing the quest in the wrong order. Pick up the sword before you
get the Ahnk? You still find the secret passageway.

The
quests are challenging, but can easily be understood. As long as you
talk to your helpful side kicks, (Eva for Rick, Meela for Ihmotep),
you can figure out what you need to do. They will not steer you wrong.
But they may accidentally hit you…as you can them. The quests
are also pretty cut and dried, there are no secret or hidden diversions.
You get what you came for and move on. However, this does not mean
they are easy. Some are extremely challenging. Others, until you figure
out where the hidden items are, can be frustrating.

Bottom line, I would definitely
encourage gamers who enjoy dark adventures to get this game and play
the Mummy. I would encourage those who love Indiana Jones style games
to get it and play Rick. Neither one can really go wrong.

Final Grade: B-