The Mummy (PSOne)
To be honest, I though this game was going to be bad. I was actually hoping it was bad so I could espouse my views about the danger of game licensing and how it is taking away from designers creativity. The review was to be scathing and concise, but alas, to my disappointment and disbelief The Mummy was a rather fun (well I won't say fun, a better word is tolerable). I guess you can't win them all. So it just might be time to dust off your 7th grade Geography book, and that Septer of Ra you just don't know what to do with, because we're going to Egypt. And not just any Egypt, an ill-contrived stereotype filled movie Egypt. You know what that means: scarabs, treasure strewn on the floor, falling columns, ancient tombs, and -- of course -- a plethora of goulish mummies.
The Mummy is based on the action/adventure movie of the same name. The game puts the fates of the films heroes in the hands of the players as they search for treasures and attempt to defeat Imothep, the guardian Mummy. And if you've ever wanted to be Brendan Fraiser, this might be your only chance.
If you haven't seen the movie, the story goes something like this. In 1290 BC in Thebes Seti's mistress has an affair with his most trusted priest Imohotep. Seti then sent Imohotep to Hampatumpa, the city of the dead to be mummified then buried alive. In Hampatumpa he is given the worst curse the Egyptians had to offer and was entombed and eaten alive by Scarabs. Then in 1923, Rick O'Connell, a foreign legionnaire is fighting in Egypt and barely escapes with his life. He goes to Hampatumpa with Egyptologist Carnahan and her treasure hungry brother Jonathan. From there, they set up camp and find the book of the dead; Carnahan reads the curse aloud, and in standard movie fashion it awakes the entombed mummy of Imothep, and Now he's out for blood. Enough of the movie, let's get back to the game.
The Mummy relies heavily on its movie license to keep the game afloat. Such a generic adventure game could not do without a big name license. It is complete with clips and sounds from the movie, and locations depicted throughout the game have been recreated from the screenplay of the film. Not to mention the reason why the game was made, to add the Mummy 2 trailer to plug the upcoming sequel.
A portion of the game that does not disappoint is the graphics. The graphics are surprisingly immersive. The walls a laden with hieroglyphics and murals, and the atmosphere is that of an Egyptian tomb, whether it be the stereotypical image of one or not.
The Bottom Line: The Mummy is a pretty bad game, aside from also being generic and derivative.
OVERALL: 6.1/10
