By Brad Cook

The more the world changes, the more the basics remain the same — Assil, son of a well-known pyramid architect in ancient Egypt, is a fine example of that. He steals a key from his father and sneaks into the Scarab King’s tomb with two friends, intent on drinking some beer and swapping spooky stories.

Ever the casual type, Assil leans back to savor the moment and knocks over several urns that crash to the floor. A mummy appears… And whips out a calculator. “Six broken urns,” he notes. “That means” — he pauses ominously — “a warning.” One of Assil’s friends, simply trying to be helpful, blurts out: “It was seven.” Not the right time for such an attempt.

Seven broken urns mean a death curse from the mummy, whose Ankh necklace transfers to Assil’s neck while its undead hand leaves a scary imprint on the hapless youth’s hand. “Okay, try explaining that to your father,” one of his friends says. “At least we have a bottle opener now,” Assil responds, motioning to the Ankh.

Bring Your Funny Bone

Borrowing its sense of humor from a variety of media — the Monkey Island series of games, the movies “The Emperor’s New Groove” and “Shrek,” and such series of novels as “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and Discworld — Ankh brings wacky absurdity to ancient Egypt. Assil’s life is one of wealth and privilege, leading him to engage in the kind of reckless behavior typical of youths from any era. And, true to form, he shrugs off a death curse with the assumption that, hey, he’ll find a way to meet the Pharaoh — the only one who can lift the curse — and all will be well.

If only it was so easy. When Assil sneaks into his home after his misadventure, he arouses his father’s suspicion, which means he’ll need to find a way out other than the front door. True to its roots in the adventure genre, you guide Assil around his environment, picking up objects that will help him and engaging other characters in conversations that reveal clues pointing toward your next series of actions.

For example, an old shirt and Assil’s father’s robe can be combined into a rope that Assil loops around a hanging plant and uses to swing out the window. Unfortunately, he lands in the presence of two assassins sent by the Pharaoh to kill his father, who knows too much about the pyramids and must be silenced. Luckily, they’re the bungling type, and Assil doesn’t have much difficulty getting rid of them, once you’ve figured out how to convince them to return the silver coin Assil shouldn’t have handed over in the first place.

A Wide-Ranging Journey

The game’s tasks take Assil all over Egypt, from the merchants’ bazaar to the desert to the legendary Sphinx. You control the main character most of the time, but sometimes you must switch to others, such as Thara, the daughter of the Arabian ambassador and a captive of the Pharaoh. She’s useful when you need to summon Osiris, the Egyptian god of death, for example.

Make sure you pick up all the objects you come across, even if their usefulness isn’t immediately apparent, and engage other characters in all possible lines of conversation, even if you’re not sure of the relevance to the current situation. All becomes clear over time, and certain branches in the story will only open up once you’ve discussed a particular topic with another character. For instance, you’ll need to get the Pharaoh’s palace guards to explain how they feel about crocodiles if you want to get past them later in the game.

So do you think you’re up to the task of helping Assil get rid of the curse, and possibly find love in the process? Just don’t be afraid to tell a little old lady that she’s violating animal protection laws and she’ll need to hand over her crocodile skin purse. Oops, we’ve said too much…

Down By the Sea. The ferry man is an important character in your journey.

Flirting With Disaster. Moments before Assil leans too far back.

The Bazaar of the Bizarre. Volcano introduces you to the marketplace.

And Their Top 40 Hit, Scarab Rock. Make sure you read all the signs and posters.

Let’s See, Six Urns, That’s... Don’t mess with a mummy who has accounting skills.

If you liked this game, check out:

• A Tale in the Desert III
• Ankh: Battle of the Gods
• Ankh: Heart of Osiris
• Riddle of the Sphinx II: The Omega Stone

System Requirements:

• Mac OS X version 10.3.9 (10.4.9 recommended)
• 1GHz Intel or PowerPC G4 processor
• 384MB of RAM (512MB recommended)
• 32MB video RAM (128MB recommended)