Computer Gamer


Entombed
By Ultimate
Commodore 64

 
Published in Computer Gamer #4

Entombed

Ultimate have a name for producing games of very high quality and great originality. Entombed should have been another one of these, it has all the right ingredients but somehow they don't add up to a good game.

The story goes that you, Sir Arthur Pendragon, have discovered the Eye of Osiris, an ancient Egyption magical relic. However, whilst in the process of exploring the Temple you have become trapped and you must now find your way out.

To aid you in this quest, there are two objects to be found, a magical whip (shades of Indiana Jones) and an electric torch. The whip can be used to dispose of the mummies, cats, bees and flies that constantly assail you whilst you wander around the corridors. The torch is used to illuminate parts of dark rooms other torches cannot reach!

Entombed

The whip makes a great crack sound when used and another good feature is that the torch beam must be directed around the room like a searchlight.

Just to confuse the issue are the Crows that fly around from time to time that sometimes carry Ankh symbols with them. If you know that Osiris, the Egyption god was part crow and also that an Ankh is the symbol of life then you will wor out that by jumping up and touching the crows you gain an extra life. If, however, you are ignorant of these facts then you are stuck!

Life is not arranged in the standard way of having a fixed number of lives and each time you die returning to the beginning. Rather, it is arranged that you have a life force that is diminished each time a nasty collides with you. This force can be supplemented by fooling with the crows as I said but you still die pretty quickly if caught in a blind alley without the whip.

After a spot of aimless wandering, you will usually stumble upon a doorway, through which the magical whip lies. Obtaining the whip is not easy though, because as you enter a large number of rolling balls are released which you must dodge.

The graphics are what you would expect from Ultimate. That is, excellent, and the sound isn't bad either. With all this said, I must return to my opening statement and say that I found the game very, very boring indeed especially in the early (pre-whip) stages when the game consists of wandering through passages being slowly smegged!