I'm doing these two games as a job lot, since they have a Pharaoh amount in common. "Tut tut" I hear you say, "What an ankh-er!" But fear not, this Raider Of The Lost Ark, sorry, Art Of Reviewing will do what he can to give both these titles a decent burial.
Oldest title first I sphinx. King's Valley (RetroWorks, 2009) was made by Konami for the MSX in 1985. The only instructions I could 'dig up' are in Spanish. Better than Egyptian at least. You play Vick Vaporub, a famous explorer from Manchester, that hotbed of archaeological studies, in search of fortune and glory (kid) in King's Valley, Egypt, east of Java.
You must find jewels, avoiding mummies naturally, who you can lob rubber knives at, and use the many pickaxes lying around to reach any tricky spots and defile the place generally. Quite often the tombs consist of multiple screens, so getting the scrolls is a grim reality. Best to use some (em)balm for that I reckon.
This is some cracking arcadey fare right here, well worth its weight in gems. It reminds me a little of the ancient Ocean title Gilligan's Gold, except this game isn't impossibly finicky, which kinda ruined that one. The game looks and sounds the business, nice tune too, and each tomb presents a different challenge, thus giving some decent longevity. Which is nice.
So now onto the unexcitingly named Shovel Adventure (Pat Morita Team, 2021) which is a convo of an old Amstrad game this time. Where do they dig these up from? Your less silly name this time round is Johnny Pallas, a legendary explorer from Urethra. Ah sorry, that should be Utrera. Wherever the heck that is. You've discovered the secret entrance to the Pharaom Lohla Flowers' chamber apparently. But you must collect all the gems in all the chambers in between to open up the connecting doors. Before that guy from Manchester gets there first.
Each chamber has mounds of sand handily placed where you have to dig to find all them there jewels. And you can dig a hole anywhere you like to trap a mummy, then fill it in again for lols. It's a bit like Panic really, just from a different angle. Get all the gems in a room, then a garish magenta ankh appears as if by magic. Grab that and make good your escape.
This is a nice little jaunt. Presentation is great, with a good intro setting the scene, then the game is neat with good graphics and music, and plays well too. But now for the crunch - which of these games sits at the top of the pyramid? I think King's Valley's gameplay variety just about clinches it in its favour, but both of these are spendid expeditions if you fancy a go at being Indy...or Lara...or Nate...or Fred...or Rick Dangerous...or (fades out)
THE VERDICT
KING'S VALLEY 88%
SHOVEL ADVENTURE 86%
Two modern ancient games here which are well worth dusting off and exploring. And I'm not even being my usual sarcophagus self when I say that. Taxi for Al!
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