Nothing new!

The developers should invest in a spelling dictionary.

Errors can be seen in the screenshots.

I won't be d/ling and installing this as I'd rather not have illiterate children.

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Illiterate means being unable to read or write. Spelling mistakes can hardly be construed as being illiterate. Often those with English as their second language write better than native writers. Writing is a form of communication. so long as you can communicate the idea, the actual spelling shouldn't matter. One of the UK's greatest writers Shakespeare actually spelled his name several ways.

played the game a few times in the past already and as I remember it was a nice time waster.

.............................Moderator Comment............................

:)

Hi,

It downloaded very fast on 8.1. The graphics are good. I played fast and finished the key lock. The only thing I was
unsure of and would have liked added, is something to say what you need to complete the level you are on. May have said
it before I began actually playing. I did find it a bit boring compared to the others.
Thank you for another good game!!
Lee

.............................Moderator Comment............................

:)

It's lovely to be able to download so many games free of charge, and because there isn't any pressure to like something because I've paid for it I can easily choose which ones I'll keep and which ones I will discard after a little while.

I've played this for about half an hour - it isn't very challenging and it isn't very exciting so, after a couple of passes through it I'll probably release the space on the computer for something I enjoy more - but like SusanBeth and Erik it's tempting, so far, to keep it because it's an easy way to spend a few minutes knowing I won't be drawn to sit here for hours trying to get a better score, or something

..........................Moderator Comment...........................

Thank you for your feedback. :)

Actually, for those like me, who are NOT very good at the 'spatial' thinking that solving the more challenging, tricky layouts that some match 3 games use, this game might be just what you want. Usually I end up giving up on match 3 games -- the level of difficulty advances to the point it's so hard it stops being fun or I flat out give up in frustration. I think this was the only match 3 game I've ever played all the way through and enjoyed the whole time.

So... recommended for the less-than-masterful player, perhaps?

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Good point; I tend to forget not everyone spends half their life gaming. :) (I do have an excuse for the past 9 years tohugh as game play is a great distraction therapy for acute pain)

A decent game, but not much more than that. If I play for too long the graphics and the gameplay get really boring. That could be a good thing though; if you want to play for just a couple of minutes but actually have more important stuff to do this game does not tempt you into spending too much time. Of course playing one or two levels does not help in making the story becoming alive, but I am not convinced that there really is much of a story anyway...
I'd give it a 5.8 out of 10; barely a passing mark, but still a pass.

..........................Moderator Comment...........................
:)

@whiterabbit
thank You

D.Taucher

..........................Moderator Comment...........................
:)

Thanks for another great review WhiteRabbit.

You probably know about this site but it was recently pointed out to me. (Yes I know you will remove the link until you check it out)

https://archive.org/details/classicpcgames

..........................Moderator Comment...........................

:)

unable to extract receive msg file is corrupt

..........................Moderator Comment...........................

Sorry for the very late moderation Donna, check the FAQ's section. I've linked to it in my review under problems. You should find a fix there. It's usually the security software you are running that is the problem, but other issues can give the same errors.

Todays giveaway is a repeat (several times). The last time it was given away was last March 2014 and previously to that last July 2013. It's a basic Match 3 game with average looking graphics. I didn't bother scoring it previously. In my opinion it's not the best or even an average match three so would only score it a 5 or 5.5 out of 10. If you downloaded this previously, there's no need to redownload it as it's the same version.

The French exchange student arrives at the airport at 10am this morning. I may not be around much this afternoon becasue we have things planned for her. I will endevour to moderate as often as possible. I may not be able to write up a review for tomorrows game. it's one we've not had before, but it is part of a series of games that I enjoy playing occasionally, (I already own the game).

The Great Pharaoh:

Installation

The Great Pharaoh downloads to a 52.7 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked


There’s no shortcut installed so make a note of where the game is installed to so that you can manually create a desktop shortcut. By default it installs to the following path:

C:\Games\The Great Pharaoh_game


Registration

Registration is automatically done when you install the game. You will require an active internet connection to complete activation. Once installed the game uses 82.8Mb of disc space.

Introduction


The game has been given away five times before;




July 2013 where it received a positive 61% out of 270 votes with 19 comments,
November 2012 where it received 65% positive thumbs up from 318 votes and May 2012 where it received 68% positive votes out of 294 votes, back in March 2011 and September 2011 it received positive votes of 62% and 75% respectively. You can read all previous comments made about this game

HERE (July 2013), HERE (Nov 2012), HERE (May 2012), HERE (March 2011) and HERE (September 2011).


Developers Introduction

From generation to generation, each new Pharaoh wanted to be more powerful than the previous one. One got his wealth by seizing the lands of others, another - in the fertile lands of the Nile. But there was another way to gain overwhelming richness... Legend says that in the abandoned temples of the City of the Dead, the treasury of Egypt ancient rulers was kept. Priests put the gold into magical blocks, guarded by those who were gone for eternity. Only the Great Pharaoh could take back the gold, gathering together the blocks and presenting seals. The seals were lost with time. There were no Pharaohs who wished to return ancient treasures, as the price for a mistake was great - eternal wandering in the dark world of the dead. Would you like to try your luck? Returning the treasures of the ancestors, you will build the City, the glory of which will live for centuries... In this fast-paced Match 3 game, the goal is to restore the temples of the City of the Dead, getting hidden gold. You can get the gold by matching 3 ancient blocks. At the same time you should keep an eye on mummies who can put a curse, stealing gold and freezing the blocks. You have limited time to meet your goal on gold and become the Great Pharaoh!

Reference accessed HERE 5th March 2011

The Game

This is a reasonable match three game with decent graphics and additional elements that add to the overall game experience. Game play is as you’d expect from a match three; that is you have to swap adjacent blocks so that three or more blocks of identical color, including those that are frozen line up in columns or rows. This destroys the blocks and releases the gold that is hidden within the block.

There are some original features that make it worth downloading such as the building of a town and the addition of mummies that steal gold from you as well as add a curse which freezes several blocks for a specific length of time. This occurs when there is a line of three similar blocks next to the mummies. If you can line up three of these mummies in a row or column you will get extra gold and destroys the mummies. You can see various symbols within each colored block, these have various values for example collecting 3 ankh’s is worth 120 gold pieces whereas collecting three squiggly lines are worth 250 gold pieces; collecting additional blocks such as a line of 4 or five gives you more gold. You’ll find 7 different values within the blocks ranging from 100 gold pieces to 250 gold pieces. (100, 120, 140, 160, 180, 200 and 250). Destroying three mummies is worth 500 gold pieces. There are 40 levels broken up into eight different stages. Each stage ends in the completion of a specific Egyptian building or object such as an Obelisk, the Temple of Anubis, a city gates or the Pyramids. After each level you are awarded a part of a key. Collecting all the parts will unlock the next stage in the building of the town.

As you would expect levels start off easy with grids of 8x8 which increase in size as you get further into the game. Progression is mapped out via the levels map, which shows you the various buildings and monuments that you will build throughout the game. There doesn’t appear to be any power-ups added to this game (I didn’t encounter any while playing the demo, which included the first five levels).

The options menu enables you to change several parameters such as screen resolution , windowed mode and an advanced lighting mode that adds shadows to the game (not very obvious) as well a sound and music sliders to adjust the volume and a difficulty slider that has three choices, easy, medium and hard difficulty.

Features:

• Collect gold from ancient tombs in this entertaining Match 3 challenge.

• Restore the Temple of Anubis, the Great Pyramids, the giant Obelisk and more.

• Watch out for mummies and their curse as they steal gold and freeze blocks.

• Rush to clear 40 levels before time is up.

• See the megalithic structures take shape before your eyes.


Images & Video:

You can see a slideshow of around 50 images showing the first area to be unlocked HERE. You’ll see help screens, several levels, statistic screens and the level map. Unfortunately the images were uploaded backwards, so you see the later images first


You can view all the images in full screen or as a grid with adjustable slider to view in various sizes. Just click on one of the two buttons to the bottom right of the screen, just above the film strip; (you need to hover your mouse over the bottom of the screen to see the filmstrip)

You can see a couple of videos of game play HERE and HERE

Conclusion::

This is a match three game of medium quality. It’s not the best in my opinion, but still playable. It’s got similarities to games like Atlantis Quest which was given away some time ago, but the quality of the game does not match Atlantis Quest by a long shot. The graphics are uninspiring and drab with no power ups to add sparkle and excitement. That said, it’s a basic match three; and if you like match three’s you’ll probably play this one, but too be honest you'll find far superior match threes for free from MyPlayCity and Jenkat games

I’d give it an average score of around 6.5 out of 10. This is broken down into a 7 out of 10 for game play (I’m being generous) and 6 out of 10 for graphics and sound. I like Match Three’s as they are mindless and sometimes I need a mindless game that’s easy to play. The main problem with this game is that this genre has moved on from the original Jewel Quest type game play and now we get match three’s that are combined with RPG elements for example Puzzle Quest 1 & 2 or card playing games like Gyromancer, or more traditional match three’s like Treasures of Montezuma that have upgradeable power ups and spectacular graphics or give you screensavers at the end of the game like Atlantis Quest; (or several if you play Around the World in 80 Days). The amazing thing is the last three games I mentioned above can now be downloaded completely free for the full version - (follow the link to MyPlayCity).
Apart from the addition of a quest to build various landmarks and buildings in between levels this match three game is very basic. The attempt to spice the game up with this building quest really didn’t work in my opinion because there is no actual contribution from the player apart from completing a match three level because the building stages are automatic and occur when you’ve completed a level. You’ll be whisked off to the site and magically see a new building or a city gate appear, and then the next level will start.

Reviews:

Check out THESE reviews from Big Fish, they are all basically negative with respect to uninspiring game play





Problems with the game?:

If you have any problems installing or playing today's game please go to the game discussion forums where you'll find a FAQ's section HERE.

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Problems:


If you have any problems installing or getting to work today's game please go HERE for help. I've posted all of the common problems and solutions in a FAQ thread, which you can find in the sticky section of the forums by following the above link.


If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums, in the game discussion section because I cannot moderate 24hrs a day over the weekend. I've created a thread HERE for that purpose. If you've installed the game but it won’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at another time. Unfortunately if your problem is actually installing it then once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done until the game is given away again (though that isn't guaranteed). Sometimes you can still register the game after the giveaway has ended so long as you managed to start the download before the giveaway ends. I've tested this and sometimes the grace period lasts for up to 2 hours, but more often than not 1 hour is the norm.


It’s always worth checking out the free games sites because sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity (MPC) has the most with over 1000 games to choose from. Other sites include Gametop and FreeGamePick. You'll find hundreds of match three games between these sites.
Todays giveaway is available from Gametop HERE and you can get another game in this series called Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome Collector's Edition



If you do download any other games from Gametop or the other free game sites 'do' watch out for toolbars etc. Make sure you un-check the check-boxes during installation, and, in the case of MyPlayCity, every time you boot the game up, (this may have changed now as these freeg ame sites tend to change the format frequently. .. I've posted links to all of the common free game sites below in the games, games games section. :)
For now I won't be recommending you download games from Jenkat Games. They have changed the way you get games from their site. Diane has posted information about this over in the game discussion forums. If I have time or remember, I'll link to it.


You can get loads of excellent match three games or similar for free from MyPlayCity (MPC), Jenkat Games or Gametop. Jenkat or Gametop aren't as aggressive with respect to toolbars and home page changes as MyPlayCity is at the moment. With MPC games you will need to uncheck boxes for toolbar and home page changes every time you start the game up. plus during installation you may get adverts.

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Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:




There are 544 games on sale over on Steam this week, ranging from 10% to 90% off. There's also a Sega sale this week with up to 75% off publishers prices. You can find a full list of all sale items HERE.

You'll also find some excellent deals over on the following Game sites.

GreenManGaming
Gamersgate Summer Sale
GOG (DRM free games)
Desura
Gamestop
GameFly (soon to be sold off)


Free Game Sites:


MyPlayCity (over a 1000 games to choose from)
Gametop
FreeGamePick



To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price. If like me you prefer Steamworks games, many of the above sites also sell steamwork games.

If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles (there's over 20 of them - If you purchased all of them you'd be paying around $80 for around a thousand dollars worth of games); or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand. you'll find the indie bundles thread HERE. The thread is outdated, but all of the links will still take you to the latest bundles.

The latest IndieGameStand game is Lilly and Sasha: Curse of the Immortals
* Collect runes and attach them to skills to change their effects in battle
* Solve unique and exciting puzzles in each dungeon
* Detailed quest journal to keep track of quests
* Numerous side quests grant items, levels and secrets
* Find hidden dragon eggs and Immortals symbols for powerful rewards
* Collect pets and have them fight alongside you in battle
* Continue your save file in subsequent Lilly and Sasha games



If you pay over the average, which at the time of writing was $1.88 you will get a two more games in the series, Lilly and Sasha: Nexus of Souls, Lilly and Sasha: Guardian Angels and a Strategy Guide
You can pay as little as $1 for the game if you wish. This bundle ends around 5am (GMT) Tuesday 31st March.


The latest Daily Indie game is called Avencast.

In a world of wizardry, wonder and untold mystery, you must undertake some of the most diverse quests to hone your skills in spell casting, weaponry and melee combat. Your martial skills are soon put to the test as demonic monsters descend upon Avencast, turning the academy into a state of chaos and destruction.
Armed with countless combat moves and spells, and a vast arsenal of equipment you must uncover the source of this evil by vanquishing an onslaught of enemies. Treachery and deceit reveal themselves as the vicious army threatens Avencast's very existence. Amidst the mayhem, an astonishing truth unfolds which will forever change the battle scarred Wizard.
You can get two keys if you pay more than the average of $1.72 (at the time of writing); one key to share with a friend or family member perhaps?. You'll find that deal HERE. They also have four bundles of several games that'll cost you less than $1.50 each HERE (DIG Bundles 23, 24, Rebundle 6 and Desura 3). You get Steam keys for all of these games (apart from the Desura bundle). The single game deal ends Midnight tonight (GMT) and will be replaced with Tank Universal.

Most of the other bundles retail for around $5 give or take a few dollars (apart from the Daily Indie bundles that only cost $1.49 for six games), but you can pay as little as a dollar for some.
The free game from Origin has changed to the original Syndicate from 1993. It's been optimised for todays computers. Well woprth getting, especially if you are into classic games from the 1990's Check it out HERE

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A Request for helpl>:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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