Please only post comments about today's game giveaway; other comments either inappropriate, or not about today's game will 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 not appropriate, will be deleted with no explanation. Please see the end of this review for further details about posting comments and links to the teams contact, moderation policy and the FAQ's thread. I've also posted a list of Steam game winners (from my personal collection) over in the forums HERE; and towards the end of this review. Thank you.

Pharaoh's Mystery

In Brief

Pharaoh’s Mystery is an interesting game combining elements of games in the match-three, falling block and stone shooter genres. Well worth downloading and suitable for the whole family. We have another MPC game tomorrow then on Monday two Steam games, one global and one limited, though still 5000 keys. :)

Suggestions:

Whether you like or dislike Pharaoh's Mystery please give some feedback about your opinion of today's game giveaway, for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, and how it could be improved from your point of view. If you don't like this genre at all, please explain why. What improvements would change your opinion? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. 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. Would you give away thousands of copies of a game (or extra content for a game) away to a community that complains all the time instead of giving useful feedback? It only takes a few moments of your time. This site could be transformed if only the community would be more forthcoming in their opinions of the games they are getting for free instead of complaining about the way this site has changed or that they don't like Steam games. If something isn't for you then move on to the next giveaway, or check out the extra's section at the end of this review; you never know, you may find something that interests you..

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via MyPlayCity 24/7 HERE. If you prefer to have a paid for copy you can buy it HERE. It costs £7.70 or if you are a new subscriber £2.99

Installation:

Pharaoh's Mystery downloads to a 17.2 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 are able to save games on any drive they wish. The newly installed game is 16.7 MB in size. The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed by the user if you prefer:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity.com\Pharaoh's Mystery

Four shortcuts are installed to the desktop. three of which can be safely deleted (Play Online Games, MyPlayCity Games and shortcuts to a free online game which vary each week). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you uncheck the box when the additional tasks window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window)

Introduction:

Pharaoh's Mystery is a perfect puzzle where you'll dive into magnificent atmosphere of ancient Egypt! The enigmatic legend of Akhenaton is waiting for you in the game Pharaoh Mystery and you are to solve numerous puzzles to reveal all the mysteries. Scarab is both a weapon and a helper - just throw it to the colored bricks to destroy them. Now you have a lot of coins, they are scattered carelessly right in front of your face! Catch as many as you can! Be quick! When you get a certain sum demanded to complete the task - you are able to go to the next stage and continue your adventure. Enjoy the gorgeous Egyptian views in the game Pharaoh's Mystery and try to set a record! You'll enjoy every minute of the game without fail. The scarab destroys bricks; you gather coins and gems that are mentioned in the task. The clock is ticking - don't forget about it. If you want to accept a true challenge - click your right button and lines will appear faster on the screen. You have to clean the screen from the colored bricks and get as many coins as possible. The colorful puzzle Pharaoh's Mystery is a combination of a dynamic gameplay and perfect mechanics that go inseparably and will amaze you at first sight. There are numerous tasks for you in the game but it's still relaxing. Pharaoh's Mystery is definitely both for those who wants to relax and for gamers of quick moves. All of them will enjoy the bright and captivating game Pharaoh Mystery!

Reference accessed HERE. 14th March 2017

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Pharaoh's Mystery to work please visit the problems section HERE

The Game:

Some 3,500 years ago, Pharaoh Akhenaten, King of Egypt, made a decree. When he died, his mummified body was to be placed in a sarcophagus and hidden in a cave filled with gold. Moreover, the key to that treasure was to be concealed. Thus, when the day arrived, his priests carried out the order and scattered parts of the key across Egypt. From father to son, those pieces were passed on, generation by generation, until a man with nine gems appeared. Now, after three millennia, that person has been found…and it’s you!

Pharaoh’s Mystery is an amalgamation combining elements of games in the match-three, falling block and stone shooter genres. However, unlike most of those diversions, it offers just one level-by-level mode of play. Spread across a series of stages, a total of 54 levels challenge your reflexes and your noggin.

Game mechanics are straightforward. As an ever-descending wall of artifacts advances toward the bottom of the screen, you use your weapon, a paddle-like device that shoots gold scarabs, to eliminate it. Your goal? Clear the wall by destroying clusters of three or more identical artifacts. When they blow up, gold coins rain down from above. Collect enough and you’ll advance to the next level. But, aim carefully. Hit an artifact that’s not part of a cluster and it will turn to stone, becoming a useless deterrent.

You begin Pharaoh’s Mystery with three lives, additional lives gathered, or lost, as you go. If an artifact touches the bottom of the play field, you lose a life. Catch a Soul of Scarab, described below, and a life is added. Exhaust all your lives and the game ends. You’ll resume from the beginning of the current stage the next time you play, but with just three lives.

Obviously, play involves more than shooting artifact clusters. To intensify the action, Black Bricks, Bombs and Orbs add to the mix. Fire a scarab at a Black Brick and it turns into an ordinary artifact. Sometimes this creates a needed cluster, other times not. Shoot a Bomb and it explodes, taking surrounding artifacts and stones with it. Hit an Orb and it spits out coins or a bonus. Clear the screen of artifacts and a deluge of golden coins descend.

As for bonuses, they’re crucial to success. Here’s the complete arsenal.

⦁ Soul of Scarab: Adds an extra life.
⦁ Light Pillar: Improves your aim.
⦁ Desert Snake: Slows the generation of new artifacts.
⦁ Falcon’s Feather: Removes single artifacts and stones.
⦁ Divine Fire: Detonates all bombs on the screen.
⦁ Rage of Anubis: Clears a column of artifacts.
⦁ Eye of Ra: Changes artifacts of one color to another.
⦁ Ankh Amulet: Removes all artifacts of the same color.
⦁ Hands of Osiris: Clears the top row of artifacts.
⦁ Fist of Gods: Detonates everything in a radius of three.

To activate a bonus catch it with your paddle. Even if you miss some coins in the process, it’s more important to snare a bonus, especially as you progress.

Another aspect of play is important to mention, too. Artifacts change color when those next to them are destroyed, making rapid-fire removal tricky. If you fire scarabs at two adjoining clusters, by the time the second scarab reaches its target, it may not be a cluster any longer. One or more of artifacts may have changed. So, obliterate clusters separated from each other rather than positioned side-by-side.

Adorned with striking graphics, cool visual effects and epic music, Pharaoh’s Mystery provides a solid dose of eye and ear candy. It’s also very addictive, enticing you into “just one more level” before quitting. Nonetheless, in spite of high production values, a few aspects of this scarab-filled package are less than golden.

While addictive, Pharaoh’s Mystery is also frustrating. Once you reach Stage Five, your lives will dwindle quickly as complexity reaches an exasperating level. A lack of adjustable difficulty settings means you’re stuck replaying levels ad nausea in an effort to advance. Furthermore, play gets repetitive at this point. No new twists are added, just increased difficulty. The result? What was highly enjoyable and playable beforehand suddenly becomes an exercise in frustration. Additionally, an alternate mode of play is notable by its absence

Ultimately, Pharaoh’s Mystery is a good game, but not a great one. While its first half is challenging and addictive, once past the midpoint play becomes wearisome. Unless you thrive on exasperatingly tough challenges, this game will have you hollering for your “mummy” well before you’ve uncovered its mystery.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Original review written by Joel Brodie on Nov 28, 2006 Edited by Whiterabbit-uk 14th March 2017

Other Reviews, Videos and Slideshow of Pharaoh's Mystery:

You can see community reviews of Pharaoh's MysteryHERE and more information in the Big Fish forums HERE. If you missed the giveaway, you can buy the game via Big Fish games HERE for $7.99 or $2.99 if you are a new subscriber to Big Fish Games.

if you want to see some game play you can see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE (Russian), HERE(Russian ) HERE and HERE. You'll find a slide show HERE.

Conclusion:

An excellent combination of Match 3, Falling Blocks and stone shooter, makes for a more interesting Match Three game than the usual Jewel Quest clone. TheEgyptian theme is well done and the graphics, although a little dated now still look fresh and bright. Well worth downloading for the whole family and ideal for a wet weekend if you stay in. See who can get the best scores. :)

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank MyPlayCity for giving away Pharaoh's Mystery and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games, in this case Steam keys.

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.

If today's game giveaway 'Pharaoh's Mystery' didn't appeal, you may find other games either free or for less than the price of a cup of coffee via the 'Weekly Roundup of Game Deals' thread which I've posted a link to above, or HERE.

The free game over on Origin is now Siberia II. It is a third-person puzzle-solving game. Stylistically identical to the first Syberia, Syberia II improves upon the first game by introducing more realistic character animation. The game includes a recap of the first chapter, so does not require the player to have experienced the first game.. You can get it HERE. Please note that you do require the Origin game platform to be able to download and install the game.

You will also find lots of deals over on Green Man Gaming and Big Fish Games usually have 70% off the first game you buy from them, plus they also have other deals occasionally. Desura was purchased from Bad Ju Ju games last year by One Play. If you already have a Desura account you can read details of what is happening HERE. As yet you can't access games you previously purchased via Desura (I have around 1400), but One Play are working to recover everyone's accounts and hope to do so by the end of March 2017. Indie Royale will also resume on a weekly basis, though at this time I don't know if previous Indie Royale Greenlight bundles will be honoured? Alawar, Gamehouse and Playrix entertainment have free games available (usually online versions) and other game houses such as the AAA distributors Ubisoft and Origin always have some games on sale. I've updated the Weekly roundup of game deals HERE to include a large list of other sites where you can find games on sale ( e.g. Origin, uPlay, GreenManGaming etc, as well as links to free online games and other game houses such as Alawar, Playrix and Gamehouse plus gaming news sites such as Rock Paper Shotgun and Game Seek, and included a list of free to play Massive Multiplayer games such as World of Tanks, World of Warships, Liberators and Allegiance to name a few. For more details please go to the Weekly roundup of game deals over in the game discussion sticky section HERE.

There are 1066 games on sale over on Steam at the moment, with up to 91% off. Game prices range from as little as £0.15p (most of these cheap games are actually cheaper in the UK than the US, so if you are a US citizen and have a UK friend, get them to buy the game for you). There are over 200 games and dlc less than $1 and almost 300 for less than £1. You can find all of the deals HERE.

If you spend more than $2 in the Indie Gala store you'll also get a free copy of The Last Tinker: City of Colors worth £16.99/$19.99, plus there are loads more deals with excellent discounts that you'll find HERE, for example 75% off Ryse: Son of Rome, 75% off The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, 75% off Saints Row IV: Game of the Century Edition, 66% off God Eater 2: Rage Burst, 50% off Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen, 75% off The Star Wars Collection, 60% off Resident Evil Gold Edition, up to 90% off Majesco Games (A Boy and His Blob, Advent Rising, BloodRayne 1, 2 and Betrayal, Costume Quest, Grapple, Double Dragon: Neon, Slender, Slender: The Arrival and Krautscape), plus loads of other deals up to 92% off.

The Humble Bundle site has an excellent bundle called The Humble Jumbo bundle 8 that includes Valhalla Hills, Legend of Eisenwald and The Journey Down Chapters 1 and 2 for $1, plus if you pay the average of $7.22/£5.84 you'll get Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide , Jotun, Turmoil, Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, Void Destroyer, and The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy; finally if you pay $10/£8.09 you'll get the excellent WWI multiplayer game Verdun worth £18.99/$24.99, plus their monthly package that is excellent value for money. A new monthly bundle has just gone live a couple of weeks ago. If you subscribe to the Humble Monthly, which costs $12 a month (or less if you choose various monthly plans) you not only get a large collection of decent Steam games you will also get for the first month of the subscription The Witness (worth £29.99), which was released last year (Jan 21016). The great thing is, you can cancel at any time, so only need to receive the first bundle of games. I personally haven't bothered, but only because I usually have already purchased most of the games included in the monthly bundle. The usual savings on the games you get are around 90%, not counting the introductory offer. There's also lots of games on sale over on the Bundle Stars and Indie Game Stand (IGS).

Giveaway Team Contact and Moderation policy:

Continued from the first paragraph at the beginning of this review ........... I am posting this in light of the massive increase in negative comments not related to the game being given away, inappropriate comments and spam (Almost 700 spam comments were posted over a 24 hour period last month ) that have occurred over the past several months since the site was updated and in particular since the site started using Facebook, Twitter and Steam. This is a site that gives free games away, so it's quite shocking to see the number of negative and sometimes inappropriate comments being posted here, especially when they are not even related to the actual game that we receive. I always though getting something for free was a privilege/perk/treat/ and deserves at least some thanks or gratitude and cannot understand why we get so many negative comments that possibly turn away potential developers who would otherwise have given the project their games. Of course we have freedom of speech, but as mentioned in my review above, there are rules to posting in this comments section; even a free society requires rules and regulations to run properly, so please bear this in mind when posting a comment.

I believe if we get lots of decent feedback about the games we get here, more developers would be happy to give away their games. Seeing lots of complaints (and spam) instead of feedback about the giveaways will not persuade other developers to give their creations away for free, especially when they may have spent thousands of hours working on the creation. So please bear this in mind when posting your comments. Any comment not about the game for example complaints, or if deemed unfriendly or inappropriate, will be deleted (usually with no explanation) or added to the spam folder, which automatically black lists the IP address you used. Although I have enjoyed responding to many of those comments in the past, I will no longer waste my time answering comments from community members who should have read the moderation policy.

Negative feedback about the games given away will always be welcomed because such comments can also be very constructive for developers; however, complaining about the way the site is operating or problems about downloading or installing the games or about Steam keys not received should be directed to the giveawayoftheday team via the contact form (with evidence of completed tasks, the name and email you used to enter the competition, or giveaway etc). These problems are usually associated with the way you have your computer configured, or programs you have running that conflict with the game. all games downloaded from this site have been thoroughly tested. unless you see hundrted sof comments reporting similar problems it's almost certainly a problem at your end. Of all the games ever given away here since the project started, I can only ever recall one game that a large percentage of the community had problems running. I had the original release of that game and it wouldn't play on any operating system after Win 98. Back when that game was given away in early 2007, there were still quite a sizable percentage of the community still using Win 98; they were the lucky ones that could play that particular game (forgot the name of the game but it was a very unusual breakout with a moving platform). Every other game has always played on most of my computers. I've linked to the contact form HERE; alternatively, if the problem is game related and it is late in the day (I can't moderate 24 hours a day), please also post your issue in the forums where you may get a response from the community. All games given away here have been thoroughly checked using several anti malware suites to ensure a safe download and in the 10 plus years this site has been operating, there has never been a game infected with malware. If your security software flags an issue, it's probably the Themida code that is used to protect the game from hackers or sometimes the non invasive adware that MPC games use. Themida code can also be used to hide malware, so some security software's will automatically block anything with Themida code, even if it's absolutely safe to install. also other computer configurations (i.e. the way you have your computer set up) may have blocked the install. Often, such problems are related to your computers set up. i.e. your security may block the installation (for example quite a few game giveaways I've installed have been blocked by my copy of Zemana Anti-malware suite) Also please read the moderation policy which can be found HERE and if you do have a problem please check the FAQ's thread HERE. Thank you for reading.

FREE game offer from the moderator in exchange for quality feedback:

There are now several winners of Steam keys. I've posted yet more games in the thread so if you've already made a choice but wish to change it for one of the new games you are welcome to do so. I meant to email some keys out today, but was hoping for more response, so have decided to wait until the end of this weekend before posting your keys. I am also going to add even more keys later on Saturday, or early Sunday (as time permits), so make sure you check them out to see if you'd rather change, otherwise you'll get what you've already asked for. all games already requested will be honoured as no one as made the same choice for their first choice. The following are winners.

⦁ tinyearl for Turtix 2: Rescue Adventures
⦁ Torque for Turtix 2: Rescue Adventures
⦁ Torque for Sea Legends
⦁ Mavadelo for Exterios plus other comments
⦁ JBurt for Exterios plus other comments
⦁ JoeJ for Exterios
⦁ JBurt for Exterios plus other comments 2 keys as i owe from last year.
⦁ neme for consistently posting comments weekly
⦁ tinyearl for Secret of six seas
⦁ Thomas Zwilling for Secret of six Seas
⦁ Lee C. for consistently posting feedback
⦁ delenn13 for consistently posting feedback
⦁ idluckyone for Whispering willows
⦁ Mavadelo for Old Clockmaker's Riddle

I've posted a list of approaching 300 Steam games in the forums HERE and will be adding more as time permits over the coming weeks. It is quite an extensive list of games taken from the 10 000+ Steam keys I've collected over the last several years; all were either purchased by me, with some )only a few) received free for pre-ordering games on Steam, plus a few from entering competitions and other offers). There will be a limited number of other keys available, such as Origin, uPlay and Desura keys (Desura has recently been purchased following the original owners demise and should apparently be up and running by the end of March). I will announce the winner's from the giveaway the following week. If no announcement is made, it means no one posted feedback that qualified for a free game that week. If you have won a game, I will usually leave a reply to your comment and post details in the thread I've created specifically for that purpose HERE. Once I've given a key away, the game and any comments by the winner will be removed from the list the following week. I will assume if you don't reply within a few weeks you aren't bothered about a key. Please post your preferences (list at least 3 games in order of preference over in the forums HERE. Thank you. Happy gaming.)

Depending on the quality of the feedback, I may choose to award games to more community members for each game given away, 'at my discretion'. The feedback must be about the game, and it must include a couple of paragraphs of feedback following the guidelines I've posted in the suggestions section of my review. i.e. your opinion of the game, what you liked and/or disliked plus suggestions for improvement. If you choose a game that is very cheap I may give you a second game; so, when choosing from the list I provide, please list more than one choice. If a game is chosen by more than one community member and only one key is available the key will go to the one I deem the most useful. I do have multiple keys for quite a lot of the games I've listed, so, don't be put off if you see someone else has chosen the game you want. I haven't indicated any of the games I have multiple keys for

I do own at least three community members a game from the previous giveaways that I posted several months ago. I'd totally forgotten about those. I do have a document with their names on, so they will get a game from the original list when I find the document (I'm extremely disorganized); or they can peruse the new list and choose something different. Just post a comment over in the forums in the appropriate thread. If you do post feedback with a view to getting one of the games and think you have covered the requirements, you don't have to do anything until I announce the winners the following week.

Please remember, this comments section is mainly for feedback about today's game giveaway. If you're not sure, read the moderation policy, which you can see HERE