Pocket PC Games. What do you look for in them?

Frantic action, mind bending puzzles or intense atmosphere.

Curse of the Pharaohs, from Just Mobile Games, has all three.

Reviews

"Curse of the Pharaohs offers amazingly puzzling gameplay with arcade elements, effective audio and great graphics." TOTAL RATING: 90%
Read Review by Rob Loach at Games Art

"The combination of perfect, real sounds, arcade and logical genres and cool graphics makes Curse of the Pharaohs a game for all ages, for all players, for now and for the future." TOTAL RATING: 5/5
Read Review by Andrey K at PDA Ground

"Curse of the Pharaohs is a fun and exciting game to play. Be sure to save often and keep playing. You’ll find more puzzles than you thought were possible."
Read Review by John Becker at Pocket PC Louisville

"Curse of the Pharaohs is near perfect in game play with great sounds, music and graphics...If you want a fun game that will last you for hours, this is the game for you!" TOTAL RATING: 5/5
Read Review by Russ Terrell at Mozongoware

"If you like puzzle / exploration games with a little bit of action and role playing thrown in for good measure, then Curse of the Pharaohs is definitely your game." TOTAL RATING: 7/10
Read Review by Eric Pankoke at Pocket Gamer

"A lot of effort went into the design and game play of this title, and it shows." TOTAL RATING: 3.5/4
Read Review by Allen Gall at Pocket PC Mag

"If you enjoy platform games, you owe it to yourself to check this one out." TOTAL RATING: 5/5
Read Review by Jerome at Gadgetorama

"Einfach toll gemacht. Das Adventure Game sorgt nicht nur für viel Retro-Action, sondern auch für stundenlange Unterhaltung."
Read Review by Helmut at pocket.at

Journey to the Pocket PC

Curse of the Pharaohs was written for the Pocket PC by myself, Justin Topham. You have probably noticed the “just” in Just Mobile Games. When developing a game for the Pocket PC, I wanted to include elements from the different genres of games that I enjoy. I am a fan of FPS, action adventures and role playing games. I particularly like exploring in games, the feeling you get when parts of a level you are on are still a mystery.

One of the first games I ever played, back in ’84 or something, was on a device not entirely dissimilar in shape and feel to a Pocket PC. Obviously the game, which was called “Crazy Kong”, was 2D, monochrome and was the only game on the device. The screen was more like a pocket calculator in fact. You couldn’t scroll but there was a kind of cinematic effect that got me hooked. I think you had to duck under a gorilla, kill a vampire with a cross, climb up a ladder, then proceed up some steps while a mummy threw bombs at you. Finally, you had to jump up through a trapdoor and battle a skeleton on a walkway with a sword. When he died, he fell off the walkway onto the bombs below and you rushed through the gateway. You wanted a new level, of course, but you just had to play the old one, but faster.

With Curse of the Pharaohs, one of the challenges was including things from games I played on the Desktop PC and moving them into a retro setting while retaining a certain richness and cinematic quality in the game environment. Fortunately, the Pocket PC is light years ahead of anything around in the early 80’s so it is possible to make retro games with a lot more to them than just cloning the past.

The Pocket PC was the first mobile device that I have programmed a game for. Maybe it was because I was working a lot with Microsoft technologies in my job at that time. If you are interested in playing Curse of the Pharaohs, you can download the demo and check out the first two, large, levels for free. There is a lot going on in each of the levels so they will keep you occupied and entertained for a little while. Enjoy Curse of the Pharaohs!