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The tombs of the Pharaohs have long held their reputation as repositories of richly decorated artefacts shrouded in mystery and magic; such a prize is the Scarabaeus. An emerald fashioned by ancient craftsmen into the form of a beetle, the Scarabaeus was buried with a Pharaoh in a labyrinthine pyramid guarded by the spirits of the dead and now you are the discoverer of its final resting place.

The excitement of this discovery was marred by the poisonous bite of a spider whose venom can only be countered by a potion from the tomb. As the sands of time run out, you must search the mazes of the pyramid and find the Scarabaeus before it is too late.

The tomb was built on three levels and each is guarded. The first level contains the ghosts who are the guardians of the heiroglyph symbols which form the key to the solution of level two. By wandering through the 3D maze, you must trap the ghosts and take their heiroglyphs. The ghosts are harmless but swift moving and a map is available to trace their movements. Recovery of all nine symbols enables you to distinguish between poisonous or medicinal potions and good or bad zombie traps down on level two.

To travel between the levels means using the ancient lift which is cranked up or down to the floor you require. Its location is marked on the map and the graphics are very effective and unusual.

From the second level, things become less and less friendly. Spiders lurk on level two in hidden niches in the wall. Passing one of these alcoves releases the spider who will hunt you down. Fortunately, they travel at a sloer pace than yourself enabling you to lead them deep into the maze where they will wander forever while you continue searching the alcoves for the medicinal potions and Zombie traps.

If a trap or a potion has heiroglyphs which are all to be found in your key, then you can carry these onto the third level with you. You must find all eight medicines to stand a chance on this final level and the collection of the eighth bottle will automatically kill all of the spiders on level two allowing you to escape to the lift unmolested.

Level three contains the Pharaoh's tomb which can only be entered by collecting more potions which open up new sections in the tomb entry puzzle. This level is guarded by Zombies, hence the need for the traps.

The puzzle is solved by sliding the pieces around four columns so that they match the fixed end columns, revealed by finding the medicines. You are only allowed 40 moves to solve each puzzle and the sands of time are running low.

The game is a challenging mixture of puzzles and stratagems depicted in attractive graphics. Spice is added by the guardian creatures and the time limit imposed. Unlike all other maze games I have encountered, searching around for an exit from your current location causes the screen to pan around as if turning your head, rather than jumping from one view to another.

An excellent challenge for labyrinth enthusiasts.