The Mystery of the Mummy for Windows

Despite the short demo, Mystery of the Mummy looks like fun. In the game, you play Sherlock Holmes as he investigates the disappearance of a famous Egyptologist. Mostly, that entails poking around a mansion until you use the second key you find, at which point the demo ends. The first puzzle requires a bit of thought and some exploration, but it's not too much of a challenge. Though the demo lacks an introduction or instructions, the mouse controls are elementary. If you click on everything you can, you should get through the demo in no time.

The game has a few problems besides a short demo. The installation, from a ZIP file, is inelegant. The camera swings around with the cursor, which got us a bit woozy. The audio level is comfortable, but we still would like volume control. Also, turn off your instant-messaging application before playing--interruptions caused our demo to black out and crash during testing. Mellow kids and undemanding gamers should find some pleasure in The Mystery of the Mummy.