The Dagger of Amon Ra
Roberta Williams' Laura Bow in The Dagger of Amon Ra (also known as Laura Bow II[1]) is a computer game published by Sierra On-Line in 1992. The game is the second and final installment in The Laura Bow Mysteries line of adventure games, the first of which was The Colonel's Bequest. Unlike the first game, it was not written or designed by Roberta Williams, but she was a creative consultant on the project. It uses 8-bit color and a point-and-click interface. The CD-ROM version included voice acting. The Dagger of Amon Ra was developed using Sierra's Creative Interpreter (SCI1.1). It is a spiritual sequel to the original game, contains the same elements and themes as the first, and is a much more traditional point-and-click game. It was re-released in 2017 on GOG.com with modern Windows support.
The Dagger of Amon Ra
Sierra On-Line
Bruce Balfour
Bill Davis (creative)
Bruce Balfour
Bruce Balfour
Brian K. Hughes
Cheryl Sweeney
Chris Braymen
Mark Seibert
Gameplay[edit]
The Laura Bow games were distinctive in that they required some actual logical detective work on the part of the player; for the most part, though, the puzzles were of the typical variety of inventory and environment interaction (and frequent, often unexpected, player character death) found in most Sierra adventures.
Gameplay uses a point-and-click interface featuring icons for different actions, similar to other Sierra games that were published during that time. An additional icon is used to ask characters a question about a topic listed in Laura's notebook, which auto-populates with names, places and other subjects that she has previously heard or encountered.
The identity of the murderer is not automatically revealed at the end of the game. Instead, the player is asked a series of questions, ostensibly by the police, to prove that Laura had solved the crimes and discovered the secrets of the other suspects. If the questions are answered incorrectly, the coroner will give a hint to point the player towards the path that would have revealed the correct answer in subsequent playing of the games. The ending of the game can change depending on the answers given to the questions, most notably in that Laura can be killed if the player does not know the identity of the main murderer.
The game includes "The Official Guide to the Leyendecker Museum",[2] which also serves as the game's manual.[3] It features a map of the main level of the museum and a rough drawing of the lower level.
Plot[edit]
The game is set in 1926, primarily in a museum, and reflects the Egyptology craze of the period. The protagonist is Laura Bow (a reference to Clara Bow[4]), a Southern belle who has just graduated from Tulane University and moved to New York City, where she has landed a job at a prestigious newspaper, The New York Daily Register News Tribune. For her first assignment, she is asked to write a story on the theft of an artifact from the museum's Egyptian exhibit. When a murder occurs during the party, however, she is locked inside with all of the other suspects. As other guests begin dying one by one, Laura must solve the numerous crimes occurring before the culprits escape or kill her.
The game features four different endings, depending if Laura gathers enough evidence to expose both O'Riley as the murderer and Watney as the thief. These endings include combinations of O'Riley going to prison or exacting revenge on Laura, Laura being asked on a date with Steve, Laura's job status, and the fate of the dagger.
Reception[edit]
Computer Gaming World stated that Amon Ra was "much improved over" The Colonel's Bequest. The magazine criticized the "slow and repetitive" gameplay in the first two acts, and the possibility of unwinnable situations, but said that from Act 3 on "the game is very difficult to set aside". It praised Amon Ra as a "visual and aural treat", stating that its creators "should be justifiably proud", approved of the game's serious, realistic tone with "a touch of humor", and called the use of a female protagonist "refreshing". The magazine concluded that the game was "another quality adventure from the fertile minds at Sierra".[5] In April 1994 the magazine said that Amon Ra had a "much more believable 1920s setting" than its predecessor, and "calls on the player's attention to detail and deductive reasoning skills".[6] The game received 4 out of 5 stars in Dragon.[7] Cynthia E. Field of PC Games called Amon Ra "a captivating whodunit" and praised the game's "near-perfect blending of sound effects, music, and graphics".[8]
In April 1994 Computer Gaming World said that the CD version's "hand-painted art, emotive stereo soundtrack, deep puzzles, and a convoluted storyline all combine to make this multimedia game a winner".[6]