Egypt III

Egypt III
Developer(s)	Kheops Studio
Publisher(s)	The Adventure Company
Designer(s)	Laure Nollet
Programmer(s)	Matthieu Chopin
Artist(s)	Franck Letiec Jean Lamoureux
Writer(s)	Laure Nollet Alexia Lang
Composer(s)	Olivier Louvel Benoît De Mesmay
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	NA: March 30, 2004 EU: May 14, 2004
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Egypt III: The Fate of Ramses (French: Égypte III: Le Destin de Ramsès), known as The Egyptian Prophecy in North America, is a 2004 graphic adventure game developed by Kheops Studio and published by The Adventure Company. The player must solve an array of ancient riddles that will help a dying Pharaoh survive and restore Egypt to glory. The game is the third and final game in the Egypt trilogy, following Egypt 1156 B.C. and Egypt II: The Heliopolis Prophecy. In 2010–2012, Microïds released an adaptation of the game called Egypt: The Prophecy, split into parts, for the Apple iPhone.

Gameplay

Plot

At the age of sixty years, Pharaoh Ramesses II asks the Oracle of Ammun to extend his reign; the God accepts, at the condition that a majestic obelisk is built before the Shemu season comes. Despite initial progress, the construction suddenly stops and Pharaoh sends one of his priestess, Maya, to investigate.

Development

Following the 2002 bankruptcy and liquidation of Cryo Interactive,^[1][2] many of its key assets were purchased by DreamCatcher Interactive to form that company's new European branch. Two development teams, including the one behind Cryo's Egypt series, were among these acquisitions.^[3] DreamCatcher subsequently revealed the game in April 2003, under the name The Egyptian Prophecy in North America and Egypt III: The Fate of Ramses in Europe.^[4] It was among a slew of announcements by the company in preparation for the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).^[5] Initially, the game was developed internally by DreamCatcher Europe,^[6][7] but in the summer, DreamCatcher Europe shuttered the game development divisions it had carried over from Cryo.^[8] Adventure Gamers later noted that the game "seemed destined for cancellation".^[9]

A group of those laid off from DreamCatcher Europe, led by Benoît Hozjan, proceeded to found the independent developer Kheops Studio.^[8] According to Hozjan, most of the team had already been involved in the game before its development was interrupted, and Kheops received a contract from DreamCatcher to complete the game.^[10] Jeuxvideo.com noted that the game had "quietly resumed development" and was nearing completion by January 2004.^[11]

As Cryo had done for Egypt II,^[12] Kheops worked with archeologist Jean-Claude Golvin to increase historical accuracy.^[13] Unlike its predecessors, it was not created in collaboration with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux.^[14] The game was targeted primarily at casual gamers.^[15]

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	73/100[16]

Review scores

Publication	Score
4Players	76%[17]
Adventure Gamers	[18]
Computer Games Magazine	[19]
Gamekult	4/10[20]
GameStar	29%[21]
Gamezebo	70/100[22]
GameZone	7.5/10[23]
Jeuxvideo.com	14/20[24]
Joystick	4/10[25]
MeriStation	5/10[26]
PC Games (DE)	63%[27]

The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[16]

WorthPlaying recommended the game to Myst fans.^[28] Dan Ravipinto of Adventure Gamers criticised the game's cluttered environments and slow interface.^[18] Jeuxvideo.com thought the short and easy game would offer a pleasant Egyptian adventure for the player.^[24] David Caviness of Game Chronicles thought the game would only receive acclaim or interest from fans of the adventure game genre.^[29]

References

1. Fahey, Rob (July 23, 2002). "Update: Cryo Living on Borrowed Time". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on February 16, 2003.
2. Boutellier, Jérôme (October 2, 2002). "L'éditeur de jeux Cryo en liquidation judiciaire". Clubic (in French). Clubic SAS. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019.
3. Bronstring, Marek (March 7, 2003). "The Adventure Company Europe". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
4. Calvert, Justin (April 30, 2003). "The Egyptian Prophecy announced". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on July 16, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
5. Calvert, Justin (April 30, 2003). "The Adventure Company E3 lineup". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
6. "The Adventure Company to Showcase Exciting Line-up at the Electronic Entertainment Expo". The Adventure Company. Toronto. May 2003. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006.
7. Sulic, Ivan (April 30, 2003). "Many New Adventures". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
8. Fallen Angel (August 9, 2005). "Benoit Hozjan for Kheops Studio". Adventure Advocate. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
9. Walter, Johann (November 14, 2006). "Kheops Studio - Benoît Hozjan". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
10. Hoopy (August 24, 2006). "Kheops Studio] Interview de Benoît Hozjan, co-fondateur et directeur". Jeuxvideo PC (in French). Archived from the original on December 6, 2007.
11. Jeuxvideo.com staff (January 23, 2004). "Egypte 3 fait dans le surnaturel". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
12. "Interviews: The themes addressed in the documentary base". Egypte II. Cryo Interactive. Archived from the original on November 17, 2002.
13. "Interview Egypt III: THE EGYPTIAN PROPHECY - The Fate of Ramses". PC Pointer. March 23, 2004. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
14. "Interviews >> Benoit Hozjan Kheops Studio". Adventure Island. Archived from the original on February 27, 2007.
15. "Egypt III: The Fate of Ramses (Preview)". Just Adventure. March 2004. Archived from the original on November 15, 2006.
16. "The Egyptian Prophecy". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
17. Naser, Bodo (June 15, 2004). "Test: Egypt 3: Das Schicksal des Ramses". 4Players (in German). 4Players GmbH. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
18. Ravipinto, Dan (April 29, 2004). "The Egyptian Prophecy review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
19. "Review: The Egyptian Prophecy". Computer Games Magazine. No. 165. theGlobe.com. August 2004. p. 70.
20. Kuipers, Kévin (April 16, 2004). "Test : Egypte 3, pour quelques herurs de clics". Gamekult (in French). TF1 Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
21. "Egypt 3: Das Schicksal des Ramses". GameStar (in German). Webedia. August 2004.
22. Steinberg, Scott (February 17, 2009). "Egypt III: The Fate of Ramses Review". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
23. Gerbino, Robert (April 28, 2004). "The Egyptian Prophecy - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
24. Superpanda (April 15, 2004). "Test: Égypte III : Le Destin de Ramsès". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
25. Fumble (May 2004). "Égypte III : Le Destin de Ramsès". Joystick (in French). No. 159. MER7. p. 100. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
26. Fortes, Francisco A. (June 9, 2004). "Egipto III: El destino de Ramsés: ¿La gloria de Egipto?". MeriStation (in Spanish). PRISA. Archived from the original on September 8, 2004. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
27. Bergmann, David (July 24, 2004). "Egypt 3". PC Games (in German). Computec. Archived from the original on August 8, 2004. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
28. Zackheim, Ben (May 10, 2004). "PC Review - The Egyptian Prophecy". WorthPlaying. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
29. Caviness, David (May 26, 2004). "The Egyptian Prophecy: The Fate of Ramses". Game Chronicles. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.

External links

• Egypt 3: The Egyptian Prophecy at Microïds
• Egypt III at MobyGames