Actual Game
Microsoft
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The Game
Ancient Lands covers the period "from the dawn of Egypt to the glory of Greece to the fall of Rome." There is some general information on the other civilizations of Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent area, but Egypt, Greece, and Rome are the main focus.
There are various ways of going through the information, either by category, (monuments & mysteries, people and politics, work & play) or by a guided tour. The guided tours are aimed specifically at kids and are wonderful. In Egypt you can choose a young Egyptian boy, a farmer and more to take you on a tour of ancient Egypt through their eyes. The voices are excellent, and well done. How could we forget hearing about the embalmer's daughter and how she embalmed the family cat when it died. The photos and illustrations are stunning for a mid 90s program, and the animation and video are quite good. The guides bring to life something that otherwise may seem dry and lifeless - history! They have done an excellent job covering the history of the ancient world
There are over 1000 interactive articles, illustrated with full color images and featuring hours of sound and narration. Ancient Lands features animation of the ancient pyramids and monuments as they came to life with color, people, and artifacts. You will realize how different these places looked when they were in use. Other examples include video of papyrus reeds being pounded into paper, and Carter carrying out the first artifacts from King Tut's tomb. Children will be fascinated with the toys and food that the children of the ancient lands played with and ate.