Pharaoh's Tomb

User Summary

"Pharaoh's Tomb is a platform game written for MS-DOS, created by George Broussard and published by Apogee Software. The protagonist, Nevada Smith, is an archaeologist and adventurer who is exploring an Egyptian pyramid.

The game features CGA graphics based on the FAST (Fluid Animation Software Technology) engine. Notoriously, objects' positions are determined by their bounding volumes, not their exact positions on screen.

Gameplay is straightforward, requiring the player to navigate and avoid obstacles by jumping or falling, evade or kill enemies, and find keys to exit each level. Nevada Smith has no life bar, and is killed instantly when he touches enemies or dangerous objects. Lethal obstacles include pyramid themed traps, such as blocks that fire projectiles when Smith passes in front of them, spears, and pits with spikes below. Navigational challenges include moving platforms and elevators. Bonus points are randomly concealed in some bricks, which are awarded when hit from below. The game contains many dead-ends as 'traps' where you could become permanently stuck, forcing the player to either quit or reload a saved game.

Pharaoh's Tomb was distributed as shareware. The game consists of four episodes, with only the first episode distributed as shareware, and the rest available commercially. There are 20 levels in each episode, each level consisting of a single room. The episodes are:

* Raiders of the Lost Tomb
* Pharaoh's Curse
* Temple of Terror
* Nevada's Revenge

A sequel, Arctic Adventure, based on the same engine, features Nevada Smith as the protagonist and has similar gameplay."