Mysteries Of Horus:

In Brief

A challenging 12 year old matching pairs game. You can see almost 40 in game screen captures HERE.

Installation:

Mysteries Of Horus downloads to a 16.9 MB zip file that unzips to three files, (a setup.gcd security wrapper, the set-up file and a read me). Those with multiple hard drives can save games on any drive they wish by replacing the C drive with whatever drive letter they wish the game to be installed to or if you have multiple hard drives you can save games on any drive you wish by replacing the C drive letter in the path with whatever drive letter you wish the game to be installed to. The newly installed game is 19.9 MB in size. The game installs to the following path by default:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity.com\Mysteries of Horus

However, if you prefer a different path for installation for example I use G:\Games\ name of game instead of 'C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity\name of game'. You can edit the default path when the Setup - Mysteries Of Horus - Select Destination Location window appears.

Four shortcuts are installed to the desktop, three of which can be safely deleted (i.e. Play Online Games, MyPlayCity Games and shortcuts to a free online game; the name of which may vary each week). If you don't want to install the games shortcut to the desktop during installation, just make sure the install desktop shortcut is unchecked when the 'additional task's window appears; you will still get two of the other MyPlayCity shortcuts installed i.e. the Play Online Games and MyPlayCity Games shortcuts. Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you also uncheck the appropriate checkbox when the 'additional task's window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window).

Introduction:

Tremble with respect, ancient Egypt, for there is a chosen one to satisfy your gods and unveil all Mysteries of Horus! Welcome, stranger, you are about to begin one of the most captivating adventures in the world. Challenge your logic and reaction satisfying the forsaken ancient idol who gradually rewards you with points for making him feel better. Pick up old Egyptian signs and put them above into empty slots of horizontal papyrus that moves and shows you more available places. Fill it all to make it disappear and get an empty one. This fretful god is very nervous and you need to keep his satisfaction up to the mark. For this don't forget to give him gifts and work swiftly. Combine symbols of the same color together to create a combo and get more points for solving Mysteries Of Horus. Sometimes specials lie over certain slots - be free to put a symbol there and receive an extra bonus which may be of great help. You may find a pause which slows down time or a gem, which you need to collect and buy additional amulets. Get them all because a level lasts till you earn a sum of points equal to the amulet. If this amount is less than level target - you lose. Not all symbols fit the situation you have, but you may always discard a symbol, just keep in mind this will hurt the god's feelings. The further you go - the more symbols and papyrus lines you have. Finish level with quite a lot of points and a satisfied god and gain a bunch of extra gems as a reward. Download this awesome skill game Mysteries Of Horus absolutely free of charge and experience the mercy of the gods among ancient Egyptian sands.

Edited reference accessed HERE. 4th January 2019

The Game:

Ah, ancient Egypt; Land of forbidden secrets, towering pyramids, mysterious boy-kings and, uh… hieroglyphic-matching races against the clock?

Hey – go with the flow in Mysteries of Horus, an easily-learned, tough-to-master arcade outing that’ll tax both your reflexes and gray matter. Despite a few textual inconsistencies and technical glitches, it’s a relatively diverting amusement capable of helping you kill some time between more captivating and epic adventures.

All you need to know to begin: The ancient gods need appeasing. So what’s the secret to ensuring their happiness? Easy! Just slot appropriate symbols – i.e. birds, spheres, squiggles, bowls, rectangles and prostrate figures – into a series of silhouettes which quickly roll along the screen in a stack of moving horizontal rows. The number of symbols you can use to fill in such holes is, naturally, limited.

Each time you successfully place an object on these conveyor belts, points are added to your score, up to set maximums. Collect enough, and you’ll earn an amulet (the type of which determines how many points you can potentially nab), several of which may need to be retrieved in order to complete any given stage.

Of course, the more time taken, the more points are subtracted from the actual number awarded when you obtain each amulet. (You can boost totals by making point-multiplying combos, created when two or more objects of similar color are placed next to one another.)

What’s more, to advance past each level, you not only need to obtain amulets – you also have to beat a minimum target score. Meaning that while it is possible to technically finish any given scenario, well… You won’t necessarily beat it. Hence the reason you’re afforded three lives, or chances, with which to complete the game’s 100 challenging puzzles.

Making combos grows trickier the further into the title you progress, partly due to increasing speeds. Difficulty also ramps up based on the level of infrequency with which certain (and certain-colored) objects appear.

Collectible gems can be retrieved by making matches using silhouettes containing these jewels. They’re also awarded at the end of every stage based on your performance. You can spend these items between scenarios purchasing god-appeasing magical gifts or amulets that offer higher potential point maximums.

The gods grow angrier with easy passing second, as represented through a shrinking meter which represents their dwindling satisfaction. The more unhappy they are at the end of every level, the less gems you’ll be offered. To regain favor, you can either make huge combos, or offer up the magic gifts you’ve collected in exchange for varying levels of forgiveness

Bonus items occasionally appear, letting you earn extra points, slow time, cause spaces currently-selected pieces can fit within to flash and instantly fill in any gap.

A discard box offers the opportunity to immediately scrap any piece, which will randomly be replaced by another object in the limited pool of symbols you can select from; however, be aware that this also increases the gods anger.

Surprisingly thought-provoking, play soon shifts from leisurely to frantic, as you realize maintaining score minimums by feverishly slamming down symbols is imperative. Tempting as trying for big combos proves, sometimes, your only recourse is letting spare shapes fall where they may.

Alas, this unpredictability isn’t always a plus – luck, not skill, all too often dictates whether you’ll emerge triumphant. But determining when to hang onto gems, when to spend them on magic gifts and when an amulet (and hence, max point score) upgrade is mandatory is a fun science unto itself. As such, you’ll find yourself quickly immersed in the thrill of the hunt.

Bearing this in mind, you’ll largely enjoy the overall experience, along with its above-average audiovisual presentation. A few issues worth mentioning, though…

Once selected, pieces can only be dropped by placing them into a silhouette – it’s important to watch where you click. Text translations (the game was made overseas) are often rough and confusing. Fatal crashes to the desktop which result in irrecoverable saved games are frequent too.

Nonetheless, so long as you’re willing to stomach these occasionally frustrating setbacks, there’s considerable entertainment value to be had. The Mysteries of Horus aren’t all worth uncovering. Still, those that are rapidly prove worth their weight in antique gold.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Originally posted by Joel Brodie on Aug 30, 2006, re-posted and briefly added to by Whiterabbit-uk 5th January 2019

Conclusion:

Although 12 years old, this game is still as challenging as I remember it (I bought this via Reflexive arcade about 10 years ago). The graphics look a little pixelated, but no so that it looks too retro. The concept is simple, but the game gets harder and harder as you progress, due mainly to the speed of the conveyors gradually increasing in speed making it very challenging in the later levels; (too challenging for me as I prefer a more leisurely paced game; ( I now remember never finishing the game); still, I think it's well worth installing if you like a simple but addictive game concept with an increasingly challenging level progression. Please do remember this game is over 12 years old. Gaming has come a long way both in graphic quality and a wider choice of genres and cross genre developments since this game was released back in 2006.

Videos of Mysteries Of Horus:

You can see several in-game videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE & HERE (Français). You can play this game in your browser for free HERE & HERE; You do require adobe flash player installed plus there's a short advert before you can play the game.

Suggestions:

After you've had an opportunity to play today's giveaway please take a few moments to give some positive or negative feedback; for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved. If you don't like the genre at all, please explain why and if any, what improvements would change your mind? If you don't have time to post a comment today, please do so at your convenience, thank you. If you wish to post a review or comment about the game later, you can access the comments section by going to the game giveaways home page, then scroll to the bottom of the page where it says Archives and select the date the giveaway was live (giveaway days are in bold type). This will open the appropriate page for you to post your comment or review. Alternatively, you can google the name of the game and include Gamegiveawayoftheday in the search. This should give you a list of links to whenever this game was given away.

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via MyPlayCity 24/7 HERE; or If you prefer to purchase the game you can get it HERE via Alawar Games.

Problems getting the game to work:

If you're having problems installing or activating or getting Mysteries Of Horus to work please visit the FAQ's Thread HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted, for example, a common issue seen since the Themida wrapper was introduced three years ago is that some community members installation of the game are blocked by their security because Themida code has been known to hide malware, (usually an error message is flagged for example 'The executable is corrupted' even though in reality it is not); so as a precaution some anti malware programs will block and even delete the suspect installation files even though the files (i.e. the setup, read me and setup.gcd files are actually totally free from malware. This issue can be solved either by rebooting your computer in safe mode with networking or a quicker method is to temporarily turn off your security software to allow the installation. You could also try white-listing the setup.gcd file. In the almost 12 years this game giveaway site has been operating there has 'never' been a game given away that was infected with malware.

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

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank MyPlayCity for giving away Mysteries of Horus and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

If Mysteries of Horus doesn't interest you, but you still hanker for something new to play, you'll find details of some game deals whether they be sale items, indie bundles or games being given away for free HERE (I've not updated the thread in a while, but most of the links still take you to the latest deals).

The rest of the information that used to be posted in the game review can be found in the forums HERE. Finally, check out Delenns threads for details of other free games and offers HERE and elsewhere in the game discussion forums HERE, (usually on the first page of the game discussion forums).