The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid
| The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid | |
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| Developer(s) | The Learning Company |
| Publisher(s) | The Learning Company |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows, Macintosh) |
| Release date(s) | 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid is a computer game in The Learning Company's ClueFinders series, where the ClueFinders embark on an Egyptian adventure to save the world from the forces of chaos and Alistair Loveless.
Synopsis
The ClueFinders are on an adventure in Egypt with Professor Botch, Alistair Loveless, and their dog, Socrates. There, at a dig site, they uncover the tomb of Peribsen, a king from the second dynasty. Joni finds a mysterious ring and tries it on her finger, but it magically latches on to her finger and can not be removed with force. Fearing embarrassment, she fails to tell Professor Botch.
Later that night, Alistair Loveless arrives at the dig site with his goons, who kidnap Professor Botch and steal several valuable artifacts. Loveless reveals his intention of unleashing the power of Set, the Egyptian God of Evil and Chaos, whom it was believed Peribsen was aligned with. Loveless planned for this ever since he was a poor urchin in the streets of London.
The next day, the ClueFinders return to the dig to find it deserted. However, they find a mysterious scroll the thieves missed. The ClueFinders decide to take the scroll to Cairo so someone can translate it. There, they meet an old antique dealer, who claims to be five thousand years old. He tells them that the scroll tells of the power of Set and that whoever kidnapped Professor Botch is attempting to unleash it to wreak havoc in the world.
He says to stop him, they must find a mysterious place of power that can be used to stop Set. The scroll has five clues that guide them towards reaching this place of power. However, the clues are written in ancient code that the antique dealer cannot read without "Cairoglyphs", ancient pottery pieces with letters inscribed on them.
Meanwhile, Alistair Loveless interrogates Professor Botch for one piece of information: the location of the ring (the one that latched onto Joni's finger). Professor Botch tries to feign ignorance, but Loveless manages to figure out the ClueFinders have the ring, and sends his minions after them, as well as admitting to a shocked Professor Botch of his plot of conducting a ceremony to awaken Set from his slumber.
After collecting the Cairoglyphs, the ClueFinders learn they need to take a boat south of the Nile. This takes them to the mysterious Nile kingdom, where an obelisk rises above the trees. Realizing that the obelisk is the place of power that the scroll is talking of, the ClueFinders head toward the area, which is populated by mice who seem to be convinced that they are ancient Egyptians and spend their time building pyramids, columns, and such structures. A cat who lives in the obelisk has had gems stolen from their doors by these mice. The ClueFinders agree to retrieve the gems, in exchange for being let inside the obelisk.
Loveless' goons finally catch up with the ClueFinders, and take the ring from them. Loveless returns to the tomb, where he will begin the ceremony to summon Set and unleash the power of Chaos. His goons put ancient pistons and gears in place that will cause the pyramid, long buried underground, to rise to the surface, so that Loveless will be ready to conduct the ceremony.
The ClueFinders reach the heart of the obelisk, only to discover that it is the residence of the Egyptian gods. The gods are aware of the latest attempt to unleash Set, but they are unable to act, as they exceed the height requirement to fight the forces of Chaos. This doesn't stop them from helping out, however, and four of the gods gives special powers to the ClueFinders: Horus gives Owen the power of flight; Bast grants Leslie heightened intelligence; Sobek gives Santiago extreme physical strength; and Isis grants Joni supernatural bravery (in the case of Leslie and Joni, these are simply amplifications of traits they already possessed). The powers also changes the appearance of the ClueFinders to resemble the gods. They are transported back to the tomb, in time to see a pyramid rise out of the ground due to the pistons being activated by Loveless' goons. Thoth assists the ClueFinders in crossing the various chasms within to rescue their professor and the world.
Meanwhile, Loveless finally manages to awaken Set from the ground in order to grant the power of Ultimate Chaos. As it turns out, however, his overconfidence was his weakness, as he has never considered the possibility that he might not be able to "control Chaos," just as Professor Botch warned before. As punishment for Loveless' foolishness, Set transports Loveless' soul to a dead mummy, just before the ClueFinders show up to stop Set. Loveless, now a living mummy, gets angry at Set for his current condition and demands that he be granted of the power of Ultimate Chaos. Set, seeing that Loveless is still sticking to his mistake again, refuses, and instead flings Loveless and his minions down a chasm with one wave of his hand before turning his wrath towards the ClueFinders.
Not wanting to let Set wreak havoc upon the world, the ClueFinders formulate a plan. Using her intelligence, Leslie gets Joni to distract Set while ordering Owen to lift Santiago into the air so he can push the pistons back in place. The pyramid collapses and Set falls into the chasm. The ClueFinders escape with the Professor, but lose their new powers in the process, as Set has finally been defeated. All the artifacts stolen earlier returned to their proper places. The story ends with the ClueFinders and the Professor flying home on an airplane, as well as Socrates who takes on a disguise as a passenger in order to prevent from going into cargo. As Professor Botch and the Cluefinders fly home, both LapTrap and Socrates express relief that Set is finally gone forever and they won't be seeing the now-mummified Loveless again. Just as they do so, the game shows (unbeknownst to the ClueFinders) the mummified Loveless disguised as a newspaper-reading passenger and cackling madly.
Voice cast
- Chrissie McCarron - Joni Savage
- Clayton Stroope - Santiago Rivera
- Keoni Asia Gist - Leslie Clark (credited as "Keoni Gist")
- Brian Michael Gregory - Owen Lam
- Derek Sorentino - Socrates
- Roger L. Jackson - Professor Botch/Antique Dealer/Sphinx/The Artist Mouse/Rocko/The Artist Mouse Overseer/Stone Mason/Associate Mouse #1 (credited as "Roger Jackson")
- Charles Martinet - Sir Alistair Loveless III
- Les Hedger - LapTrap/Associate Mouse #2
- Sean O'Kane - Kaffi Coffee Shop Owner/Sami the Jeep Dealer
- Irene Trapp - Cat/Salima the Export Shop Owner
- Rebecca Wink - Sima the Fabric Store Owner/Bast
- Terry McGovern - Fixnupan
- Doug Boyd - The Map Mouse
- Ron Obregon - Set
- Michael Bartle - Sobek
- Jeff Kramer - Stone Crocodile
- Brett Abramson - Fieluca the Boat Dealer
- J.S. Gilbert - Horus
- Jena Logan - Isis
- Jon Olsen - Associate Mouse #3
Skills
Language Arts
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Set in stone | Reading Comprehension |
| Artiste Mouse | Sentence Structure |
| Rolling Stone Builders | Vocabulary |
| Chasm of Words | Spelling |
Mathematics
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Cairo’s Best Coffee | Whole Number Computation |
| Gorgeous Fabrics | Fractions |
| Columns R Us | Decimals |
| Riddle of the Sphinx | Word Problems |
| Cheap Jeeps | Multiplication |
Science
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Floats and Boats | Observation and Testing |
| Crocodile Bridge | Force, Mass and Angle |
Social Studies
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| World Exports | Map Reading |
| Map Mice | Directions |
Problem Solving
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Secret Chamber Challenge | Spatial Reasoning |
| The Palace Doors | Patterns and Sequences |
Critical reception
All Game Guide gave the game a rating of 80/100, writing "The cut-scenes successfully build excitement, providing an incentive for completing the entire game [though there is no] real reason to play a second time...Gameplay is simple with an easy to use click or click-and-drag mouse control scheme, and the lack of a written manual is overcome with full explanations of all activities within the game...The game seems a delightful mix of adventure and learning".[1]Game Vortex also rated the game 80/100, saying "Clue Finders 4th Grade Adventure: Puzzle of the Pyramid is a typical edutainment game that teaches your child the ins and outs of what he or she needs to know to make it through the fourth grade".[2] 7Wolf Magazine rated the game 70/100, while macHOME gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[3]
Trivia
- On the box art of the original edition, Santiago's T-shirt was depicted green; but in the game, it is depicted white. In later editions of the game, the characters were depicted in their usual clothes on the box art, but their clothes remain unchanged in-game.
- Joni's backpack vanishes after she and the other ClueFinders transform with special powers they had been given to enter the Ancient Pyramid. Ironically, in the end after all the ClueFinders transform back into their normal selves, the backpack is never seen again.
- This is the only ClueFinders game that doesn't involve a video phone, since all the ClueFinders travel together. Instead, the player uses Socrates for help.
- Alistair Loveless, the game's villain, reappears in The ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade bonus disc that was later included with all ClueFinders games. However, even though he became a living mummy at the end of 4th Grade Adventures, Mystery Mansion Arcade inexplicably depicts him as looking like he did at the beginning of 4th Grade Adventures.
- The Sphinx the Cluefinders encounter in the final level appears to be based on Groucho Marx, with a similar voice and similar jokes (including a variation of the famous "elephant in my pajamas" joke).
- The three mice who appear in the game "Map Mice" are designed after The Three Stooges; Moe, Curly and Larry.
References
External links
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