Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

"An excellent action adventure in the vein of Zelda"

Introduction:
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a joy to play, with familiar action adventure elements for anyone who has ever enjoyed a 3d Zelda. Although the game is fairly short, and the gameplay is somewhat uneven in parts, it is still highly recommendable to anyone who is looking for a cheap, charming adventure story that won't eat up too much of their time.

Graphics and Sound:
Sphinx's graphics are a joy to behold, and they are also the first noticeably fun part of the game. With enormous, geometric environments that evoke the wonders of Egypt (towering castles, enormous Anubis statues, vast sandy deserts) the game does an exceptional job of making the world feel hot and alive.

Still, the most striking thing about the game's presentation is the animation of the Mummy character. In general, the game animates its characters and environments well, though not exceptionally. The one truly exceptional set of animations are the Mummy's, which are specific to the environment that the Mummy is in. For example, if there is a puzzle that calls for fire, the mummy (set on fire) will hop around like he has a hot-foot, flailing his arms and going "ooh oh oohh!" It really is an amusing sight to see. In addition to fire, there are many other amusing animations that the Mummy will do that are amusing as well.

The sound in this game is really rather bland, with high-faluting dramatic symphonic pieces complementing the action, and low-toned, almost quiet music when not in battle. Unlike a game like, for example, Beyond Good and Evil, the music in this game is missing soul. Actually, this soullesness also is true of some of the games graphics, particularly the buildings in the game. Many of the rectangular rooms feel like they were made using the same engine as a million other PS2 games, which is a problem for games on the PS2.

Gameplay
The game play in Sphinx is really a mixed bag. On the one hand, it can be enormously fun and funny(by which I mean humorous.) On the other hand, the gameplay can frequently be frustrating, such as when you are killed in battle or from a poorly timed jump, and you have to re-fight through the whole level. There are no quick-saves, and it always feels like you could use one or two more checkpoints so that you wouldn't have to retry that irritating platforming section it already took you three lives to pass.

The gameplay is divided between the two title characters of the game, both controlled by the player (there is no 2 player option in this game.) Sphinx's portions are obviously the main portion of the game, yet they are far less fun overall than the Mummy's portions. Even though Sphinx has the Sword of Anubis and has many special weapons and items at his disposal, the combat in this game feels very rote. It is not very complex, nor is it very gratifying to defeat your enemies - it is weaker overall than the combat of even Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time. Sphinx's segments also contain the vast majority of the platforming, and the platforming is handled merely adequately.

The Mummy, however, is a blast to play. For me and my girlfriend, the majority of the game when we weren't playing as the Mummy, we were looking forward to the parts where we would be. The Mummy's parts are almost entirely silly puzzle solving exercises - get through a series of doors with various obstacles. The puzzles are neither overly simplistic, nor are they frustratingly obscure. The best thing about playing the Mummy, however, is how funny his different ways to solve the puzzles are. Every puzzle requires maiming the Mummy in some way: drowning him, setting him on fire, electrocuting him, smashing him paper thin, etc.

Story
I'm sorry to say that the story in this game is really cliche and simplistic, and is one of the weaker parts of the game. The initial set-up is ok: a prince is turned into a mummy by an evil vizier who wants to take power through an evil ritual, and then sphinx must help the mummy back to regular life. But, the narrative throughout the game is sparse, and your tasks are barely assigned to you before you are off, and it just doesn't feel as natural as the stories in other games are. but the worst thing is how cliche it all is: "save these people turned to stone by finding the sacred orbs and all that."

The characters are amusing (except for Sphinx, who is a severely bland character) and the dialogue is passable. This is the kind of game you come to for the gameplay, and not the story, however. (actually, that's much like the Zelda series in general.)

Conclusion
Not a perfect game by any stretch, Sphinx is quite short and fun. The plot doesn't go anywhere, and the main character is sometimes tedious, but the supplementary characters are amusing and the graphics are fun. The gameplay isn't nearly as deep as Zelda's is, and the quest is much shorter, but this game would be a nine if not for those two things. Overall, this game is easily recommendable if you love action adventure type RPGs, but unlike the classics of the genre (Zelda, Beyond Good and Evil, Prince of Persia) this game probably won't age as well because of the rougher aspects of the game, especially the occasionally humdrum Sphinx segments of the game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/05