These days it seems like just about every blockbuster movie has a game to accompany it. As is the case with many movies that become games, the story closely follows that of the film in an attempt to re-create the experience on the small screen. In fact, it is almost a given that these games play in such a way that they appeal to the mass market--playable by young and old gamers alike. The Mummy Returns, by Universal Interactive, is one of those games, with a few key changes that make it stand apart from the pack.
While almost every movie-to-game conversion puts you in the role of the hero, this game also offers the flip side of the coin by letting you go on a completely separate adventure as the evil mummy, Imhotep. As you might imagine, the two characters play quite differently. Rick O'Connell is your standard hero character, outfitted with a variety of helpful items, weapons, and the like. Imhotep, on the other hand, relies more on powerful magic and a soul-sucking ability not unlike the one found in Eidos' Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. While Rick can heal himself with health pickups, Imhotep can feed upon the souls of his stunned enemies to replenish his health.
Both playable characters go on a quest that involves fundamentally similar actions to those in many third-person action-adventure games--fighting off enemies, jumping platforms, searching for key items and new weapons, and so on. The end result is a path that has been walked down many times before, with Rick's quest being almost cookie-cutter-like in execution. As previously stated, you can also control Imhotep in his quest to rule the world. Letting you take control of a villain in a type of game normally meant for heroes is quite a departure from the standard action-adventure fare, and it's a welcome change from Rick's quest. You control both characters in virtually the same way, and the control scheme is easy to grasp. The two games also intersect in their overall goal, to defeat the evil Scorpion King.
Fans of the film will instantly find themselves at home with the story behind The Mummy Returns, because it follows the movie very closely. The many cutscenes in the game advance the story, albeit with 3D renditions of the movie's stars, with mouths that do not move and voices that are quite different from those in the movie. At times, the experience is almost like watching a badly dubbed kung fu movie.
