I love puzzle games. I really do. I can get lost in a puzzle game for hours if no one checks up on me, which frequently happens. But I do have one beef with that genre, the one that involves all the colors and matching and the clicking. It's too easy. Time and time again, I've discovered a new addiction on the internet and then simply whizzed through it with no trouble at all. I was getting fed up.

I craved a challenge. And then I tried Luxor Amun Rising. Reading the synopsis and looking at the screenshots, it reminded me of games like Zuma and Tumblebugs. Those products were fun, but didn't provide enough of a challenge. I was expecting this one to have the same problem. Oh boy was I wrong.

Walk Like An Egyptian

The game presents a nice, spiffy Egyptian theme that's reminiscent of movies like The Mummy. You travel across the land, completing stages and racking up points. In each stage, you have to stop multiple lines of colored spheres from reaching the temple. If they reach it, you lose a life. You stop them by making matches of three of more spheres by shooting them from your scarab. You have three different pieces you can shoot, and you can cycle through them by right-clicking.

The gameplay is very similar to Zuma, with one small exception that makes all the difference in the world. Unlike Zuma, where your shooter was located in the middle and could rotate all around, your scarab is located at the bottom of the screen and can only move back and forth ala breakout.

This means that the lines of spheres constantly cross in front of your path, blocking your shot to the other spheres. This little detail makes the game incredibly more difficult than other puzzlers, and ramps the replay value up tenfold. The levels are constructed around this little pitfall, and oftentimes you will get lines that do nothing but zigzag across your path constantly. This makes planning ahead complicated, and you'll constantly find yourself making split-second decisions. It definitely keeps you on your feet.

What Would Life be Without Bonuses?

Of course, there are bonuses. The bonuses fall from the spheres and you must catch them with your scarab for them to count. Each time you eliminate a line, a gem appears that will you award extra bonus points. For successful combos, you are awarded tokens that will eventually net you an extra life. Combos also produce powerups, which can help tremendously. These powerups do everything from slowing down the lines to blowing them apart.

When it's all said and done, Luxor Amun Rising is a fantastic game that will not only keep you mesmerized for hours but will completely challenge you as it does. The great thing about puzzlers is the fact that you can constantly go back and challenge your best scores and times and in this case, you'll actually want to do that. I can't think of a game that comes more highly recommended.