Please only post comments about today's game giveaway; other comments either inappropriate, or comments with only one or a few words; for example good, thank you, TY, bad, rubbish, this game is ~%!£*? etc , or if the comment has nothing to do with today's game they may be deleted at the moderator or administrators discretion; however, a little light banter among community members and with the moderator to keep this a friendly place to visit is acceptable and welcomed. All comments not specifically about today's game giveaway will be judged by the moderator and if deemed inappropriate, will be deleted and usually with no explanation. Please see the moderation policy HERE for details about posting comments. If you are having problems installing the game check the FAQ's thread HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted; and if for any reason you want to contact the giveaway team, for example, you have a game to offer the community, or are unable to download the latest game or other issues that the FAQ's thread or these comments don't cover or solve you can do so HERE

Egyptoid 3 - (Escape from Tombs)

In Brief

Egyptoid 3 is the third in the series and has not been given away before. It's an easy to play 3D breakout/arkanoid game.

Suggestions:

Please take a few moments to give some positive or negative feedback about your opinion of Egyptoid 3; for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved from your point of view. If you don't like the genre at all, please explain why and if any, what improvements would change your mind? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers new or fresh ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. For example, you could suggest extra content such as better or more original mini games, or a level editor that you would like to see that would make it more appealing to you. Maybe you think the graphics are a little dated and are in need of re skinning, or maybe you've just had enough of the genre and want to see something different or something with more originality? Giving such feedback instead of saying nothing or just saying this game is rubbish or good may bring more developers to the site, which could mean more and better games.

If today's game doesn't appeal check out the forums HERE, HERE and HERE, where members of the community post details of various free games and free game sites as well as links to various indie bundle sites etc. You never know, you may find something that is really enjoyable, or you may discover something new.

If you miss today's game giveaway you can get the game for free from various sites for example MyPlayCity, FreeGamePick, Google Play, MyRealGames and Gametop (renamed MummyBall)

Installation:

Egyptoid 3 downloads to a 32 MB zip file that unzips to a folder named Egyptoid 3 data, the Egyptoid 3 executable and a read me; (there's no security wrapper today, i.e. setup.gcd). You need to create a separate folder which you can name either Egyptoid 3 or Egyptoid: Escape the Tombs,; then copy all the contents of the unzipped file into that folder. You can delete the read me and the downloaded zip file once you've copied the unzipped files (i.e. the Egyptoid data file and the executable) to wherever you wish to place them. The unpacked and repackaged game should be 69.7 MB in size. You'll need to create a shortcut once you've placed the game folder.

Introduction:

Destroy everything in your path and Ancient Egypt reveals its secrets to you in the game Egyptoid: Escape from Tombs! Explore the remains of an ancient city and you discover a secret door that leads you into a room with a mysterious artifact. You can’t help but take the artifact from the pedestal… There’s no escape now. You are to pass the labyrinth, looking for the way and fighting with the guardians of the dungeons so as not to remain an eternal captive of the ancient tombs. An ancient weapon, Egyptoid, will help you in your endeavor.

Reference accessed HERE. 3rd June 2017

Main Features:

⦁ Classic breakout type arcade game
⦁ 3D graphics
⦁ Over 50 levels for you to beat and escape the tombs
⦁ Various power-ups available
⦁ Avoid the ghosts fireballs

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Egyptoid 3 to work please visit the FAQ's thread HERE

The Game:

Egyptoid: Escape the Tombs is the third in the Egyptoid series. The developer Star Ashes has added two types of ghosts to this version, who, when hit by the ball will shoot fireballs at your bat. The Blue ghosts fire a red fire ball that causes your bat to pivot, making it hard to direct your ball and the green ghosts fire a blue/white fireball that changes the size of your bat through various sizes from small to large and back. Both effects wear off fairly quickly. Ghosts can only be destroyed by breaking the canopic jars that you find in the temple. (they are sleeker and darker in color to the common jars/containers). You'll find one for each ghost present. They are usually situated behind or surrounded by hard to destroy bricks. There is only a few power ups that are common to all breakouts for example ball speed adjusters, bat size adjusters, fire balls etc, though in the 15 or so levels I played today, no rocket launchers or guns were evident. You also collect coins that drop when some bricks are destroyed. These can be used to buy more lives (100 coins will get you an extra life), however you can only have a maximum of four lives at any time. You can also pick up extra lives via the Ankh shaped power up that occasionally drops. We have been given the first and second in the series several times (last time 2 years ago), with positive votes between 76% to 87%. Today's version is an updated version with additional components, i.e. the ghosts; however, some major elements from the first two games have been removed, for example there isn't a help menu that lists all the power ups, you can't create a profile and there's no level map, which may explain why after playing 9 levels last night when I restarted the game, it started at level 1 again. I then played 14 levels, closed the game down (no save feature) and when restarting it was at level 1 again.

I did create a breakout thread almost a decade ago over in the forums HERE that lists lots of different breakouts both free and commercial as well as my favorite breakouts. I'd not updated it for years until this morning, when I added a list of Breakout games which you can see HERE, that have been released on Steam over the last few years. It's not an exhaustive list as I've only listed those I could remember. Most are pretty dire, but there are some good ones such as Ionball 2: Ionstorm (A sequel called Ionball 3 will be released in about 7 weeks). Most of the links in the main thread should still be valid. Unfortunately we don't see many breakouts being released these days, though I've seen a few released on Steam over the last few years (see the list I've linked to HERE); however, most of those are not in my opinion very good, for example Simple Ball which was released last July and Breakout Invaders released April 2015. You can also find links to some breakouts listed in the game synopsis HERE, again, this thread hasn't been updated in a long time and only lists all games posted in the forums in the first couple of years i.e. 2007 and 2008. That said there's still well over a thousand games listed (and linked to threads in the forums) for most genres. There's also loads of free breakouts over on Caimans site, though since the original owner of the site (Rudy) passed away several years ago, the site has added some advertising to keep the site open. You can find around 400 free breakouts (some of which used to be commercial (for example Beat Ball, Clash Ball and DX Ball) HERE. If you like a traditional breakout, you'll find something via one of those links.

With respect to playability, I found that (as with previous Egyptoid games) I had to catch negative power ups such as the ball speed ups, ball size reducers and and bat reducers to make the game challenging enough for me to play the game, but that's only because Breakouts are still one of my favorite arcade genres and I've played hundreds of them over the last 30 years. I still play them regularly whenever I have the time; especially my favorites such as Hyperballoid 2, Actionball 1 & 2, Reaxxion, Ricochet Infinity, Funkiball, Shatter, and Acky's XP Breakout to name a few). Egyptoid 3 suffers the same issue as many 3D arkanoids in that the ball doesn't travel fast enough to make it seriously challenging, though with the ball speed up at maximum, it's okay. The addition of the two different ghost types that shoot fire balls at you that if hit affect your bat mechanics does add to the difficulty somewhat, but with practice they can easily be avoided. Egyptoid 3 is an ideal game for those who are new to this genre as well as younger children (8+). If you like 3D arkanoids and want more of a challenge I would suggest checking out the games I’ve suggested above e.g. Action Ball Deluxe, Action Ball 2, Hyperballoid 2: Time Rider and a fun one called Chicken Attack Deluxe. Another easier one with great brick physics is Egyptian Ball. All are available via MyPlayCity for free 24/7. You’ll also find several more excellent arkanoids over at MyPlayCity including the Smash Frenzy series (formerly the Magic Ball series, whose names had to be changed for legal reasons), the best of those is the last one Smash Frenzy 4. Just look through the arcade section HERE to find all of the breakouts. Do remember MPC games can install toolbars etc if you don't uncheck the check-boxes, and your browser is always opened when you close the games down (this earns MPC and the developer of the game you've been playing money).

Review by Whiterabbit-uk 3rd June 2017

Videos and Slideshow of in-game images of Egyptoid 3:

You can see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. You can also see over 30 images as a slideshow HERE.

Conclusion:

A relatively easy to play breakout. Ideal for those who find most breakouts difficult. That's not to say there are difficult levels. Personally I found the end game in each level a little tedious, partly due to reinforced bricks that cannot be destroyed along one face (unless you gain certain power ups) and more so if you accidentally picked up a slow ball near the end of the level. The ball physics are excellent . One major negative is that there doesn't appear to be a way to save your progress, nor create a profile and there is no levels map where you can chart your progress. I got to level nine last night then closed the game down. This morning I had to start at level 1 again, so played through to level 14 and the same thing happened. This game has been ported to android and I have played three different sources of the game, but all have the same start up page and main menu apart from the Star ashes main menu which also includes a flyer for their latest game which they are asking you to Greenlight on Steam. I thought this third version would be an improvement on the first and second, but with the removal of certain elements, including some of the power ups, I think Star Ashes has taken a retrograde step and despite the addition of the ghosts, the game will not be remaining in my library for long. I will endevour to play all 50 levels, in the hope that new power ups appear, but I'm not hopeful.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Star Ashes for giving away Egyptoid 3. nice to see the return of this game distributor. Also a big thank you to the game giveaway team for securing free games

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals', formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

The rest of the information that used to be posted here can be found in the forums HERE. Don't forget, if you have an account with DOT.emu, you need to download any games you have before the site closes permanently (very soon). Finally, check out Delenns thread over in the forums HERE. There are games available for free, some of which are limited to the number of free keys available.