When the latest cinematic version of The Mummy arrived in theaters only two weeks before the release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, film reviewers met the film with lowered expectations. Much to the surprise of the audiences, and even critics, was that this new retelling of the story of a deceased ancient Egyptian come to life was actually quite a well-put together film. It wasn't the best piece of filmmaking, but it filled the void that our old friend Indiana Jones seems to have left.
The Mummy was enough of a blockbuster hit that it has already spawned a sequel: The Mummy Returns, which is in the works with wrestling super-star The Rock in a starring role. Who knew that Brendan Fraser could be such an action star or even a leading man? A better question is, why has it taken so long for a game developer to jump on this bandwagon and create a movie tie-in? Of course, most game tie-ins completely fail to capture the spirit of the film let alone come up with a compelling storyline that acts as a companion to the movie version while also providing an original storyline.
Now after a short wait, Konami has released a PlayStation tie-in and this game version of The Mummy will soon be making its way to the PC. Recently I had a chance to venture to the virtual city of the dead, Hamunaptra, to experience the film's proven formula and I was more than ready to save the damsel, kill the bad guy and save the world.
While there are obvious similarities to Tomb Raider or even some of Indiana Jones' video game adventures, this film tie-in is less focused on puzzle solving and is more about hacking and slashing through many of the game's 15 levels. Considering that you're basically in the role of a tomb raider – although not the role of Lara Croft – this theme doesn't seem all that politically correct, but it does a decent job of fitting with the Eurocentric view of Egyptology! “This ancient thing would look excellent in the study! Let's cart it back to England!”
Before anyone asks, while Brendan Fraser's character from the film, Rick O'Connell, is the star of the game and hence the player's onscreen persona, Mr. Fraser was obviously too busy filming Bedazzled with Elizabeth Hurley to lend his voice to this adventure. However like Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine, players will have a third person view of their onscreen character as he runs, jumps and battles the battle guys. The adventure crosses over to the fighting genre at times and unless I missed something in the film I didn't realize that Rick was able to make all of these action packed moves.