Curse of the Pharaoh: The Quest for Nefertiti
Curse of the Pharaoh: The Quest for Nefertiti is an ancient Egypt-themed casual game in the adventure genre. Set in the 1930s, this game was released by its developer, Canadian studio Ph03nix New Media, for the Windows operating system on March 10, 2008. The first in a series, it was followed by Curse of the Pharaoh: Napoleon's Secret and Curse of the Pharaoh: Tears of Sekhmet.
| Curse of the Pharaoh: The Quest for Nefertiti | |
|---|---|
 The cover artwork for Curse of the Pharaoh: The Quest for Nefertiti, painted by Mike Grills, depicting the main character, Anna. | |
| Developer(s) | Ph03nix New Media |
| Publisher(s) | Big Fish Games |
| Platform(s) | Windows, macOS |
| Release | March 10, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Story
The story of the game is told through both in-game cutscenes as well as journal pages that the player must collect. These journal pages allow the player to unravel the story as they work through each of the 53 levels of the game.
The story begins in London of the 1930s. The player takes on the role of Anna, an archaeologist who discovers a letter from her stepbrother William, asking for her help. William informs Anna that, during his expedition in search of the tomb of Nefertiti, he has encountered a terrible plot with implications of a government conspiracy and cover-up. William implies that he is in danger and asks Anna to come looking for him should she not hear from him within two weeks. The game begins with the player attempting to find clues to locate William.
The journal left to Anna by William is incomplete, and during the course of the game, additional pages to that journal will be revealed to the player, outlining William's journeys through the locations the player is playing through, and providing the player with valuable clues.
Main Gameplay
Curse of the Pharaoh consists of 53 levels in its main gameplay mode, plus 4 minigame levels. The main gameplay mode includes the three following types of levels:
Spot the difference levels
The player must find all 10 differences between the pictures on each side of the screen, additionally the player will collect and keep one such item in their inventory, to be used to solve a puzzle in that level, or some other level within the same world.
"Secret Room" levels
The player must locate 4 objects within these rooms. The 4 objects to be found will be indicated by silhouettes that appear in the player's inventory. The player must also find 5 pieces of a mask, when completed this mask will serve as the key to open the following Logic Puzzle Level.
Logic Puzzle levels
The player must unlock these levels with mask keys found in "Secret Room" levels. Then he or she must use the objects in his or her inventory to solve the puzzle presented by the room.
Minigames
Curse of the Pharaoh includes 4 minigames which, can be purchased in the in-game store using coins that the player is expected to collect within levels.
Simon Says Game
The player must follow the pattern of lights and complete a certain number of rounds to win.
Scarab Game
(aka concentration) The player must turn over two scarabs at a time, if the symbols on their undersides match, those scarabs are removed from play. The player must clear all the scarabs within 2 minutes. This game has 3 rounds.
Wack-a-Wipi
This game requires the player to wack the cartoonish character known as Wipi. Each time Wipi pops up, the speed of the game increases. Also, "fake" Wipis will also pop up to confuse the player. The player must identify the fakes and wack only the real Wipis. The player wins if they complete 15 rounds or more without missing Wipi once.
Push Game
The player is presented with 5 statues. Pushing each statue downward will cause the other statues to move up or down. How each statue affects the others differs from statue to statue. The player must solve this puzzle within 2 minutes to win.