Sabre Wulf

"A fun game to play every so often"

Sabreman is a video game character that was forgotten long ago. He was introduced in the game Sabre Wulf for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer, a machine that only did well in Europe. The company that released it, Ultimate, became Rare, a company with a mix of classics and disasters. Twenty years later, Rare has decided to go back to its roots and create a 2-D platformer with plenty of puzzle elements.

The tale begins as Sabre Wulf is set free. An evil doctor called Dolittle-Goode steals the amulet that kept the wolf locked away inside a statue, and plans to cause mischief. Sabre Wulf swipes treasure from the local villages as the evil doctor creates laboratories. The only way to put the wolf back to rest is to gather the eight pieces of the amulet by destroying all of Dr. Dolittle-Goode's laboratories. This duty has been placed upon our seasoned hero, Sabreman. Fans of Banjo-Tooie may remember saving this old man during the stage Hailfire Peaks.

The typical stage of Sabre Wulf is a mix of puzzle and platforming elements. Sabreman must run and jump his way through various locations to nab the treasure back from the evil Sabre Wulf. The twist begins with Sabreman's useful partners. Sabreman can summon an animal at any given time and place it in the stage. Every animal has a special ability that can help Sabreman navigate the stages. An example would be Blubba. He is a purple bear with a big stomach. When placed on the screen, he will lay on the ground. Sabreman can jump on his stomach and gain extra height. Another example would be Boomer, a red lizard. Once placed on the screen, the fuse on his tail will run down and cause him to explode along with enemies. The animal system is a unique idea, but it is a bit shallow in execution. Many of the animals are worthless, so Sabreman will find himself constantly calling upon the same trusted helpers over and over again. The stages start out very simple, but can become difficult to the point of near-frustration near the end of the quest.

The stage is only half-finished when Sabreman reaches the treasure. Once he grabs the precious item, Sabre Wulf will let out a mighty howl that eliminates all of the enemies and animals in the stage. Thus, the epic chase begins. One touch of Sabre Wulf means a game over, so tricks must be used. By jumping over the wolf's head and back, Sabreman can live through the challenging chase.

Though the chase scene is obviously a sense of rush, all of the stages make Sabreman take haste. The value of the treasure will go down from Gold, to Silver, to, not Crystal like Pokemon, but to Bronze. Money from treasure is used to buy more animals and more stock of each, since only a certain amount of each animal can be used each stage. Getting the best time for each stage is quite a feat that adds challenge to the game of Sabre Wulf.

The stages are fun, but are broken apart by a dull overworld. The game is presented in a way that seems to try to mimic Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge. There is an overworld (an overworld is like the castle in Super Mario 64), which includes villages, mountains, temples, and more. As the 3-D terrain is being explored, there are villagers to talk to, but they are of no importance to the gameplay or even the story. There is a side quest to obtain five flowers from villages and people, but the only reward is a higher clear percentage. The levels pop-up one-by-one as they are cleared, and then a laboratory door is opened. Other than running from one level to another and shopping, the overworld is worthless.

Sabre Wulf will last about a week to clear the main adventure, but Challenge Mode will snatch a few more days. If a Gold Treasure is snagged from a level, the stage can be played in this mode. With only a couple of animals to use, things can become very hairy. Challenge Mode is successful at reaching for those who seek to truly master the game, but casual fans may be turned off by the daunting difficulty.

The 3-D graphics engine was obviously borrowed from the Donkey Kong Country series, which is obviously a compliment. The environments are very realistic and sometimes downright pretty. The character models and enemies animate shockingly smoothly. The overworld sometimes looks flat, along with the villagers, but in the end, the overall style fits Sabre Wulf like a glove.

The audio side of Rare's latest creation is also successful. The music brings out the theme of each area, but is easily forgettable. The game features the typical Rare mumbling. The mumbling behind every set of text fits Sabreman and Dr. Dolittle-Goode well but do not do justice to the villagers. During the stages, Sabreman has a few voice samples. A British accent on “Run like the wind!” when the treasure is nabbed fits our hero and the situation perfectly.
The main problem with Sabre Wulf's format is the repetition. The stages are not drastically different from one another, and there are no mini-games or multiplayer to mix things up. Though the game's idea is “arcade action for the thinking gamer”, it is still no excuse for not introducing more ideas as the game goes on.

Sabre Wulf is repetitive and is not a dramatically rewarding experience, but still a fun game to pop in and play. When played at little steps at a time, the repetition is tolerable. The mix of puzzle and platforming are presented and executed in a unique manner that copies no other experience. Spiced up with great graphics, any fan of the genre should not miss this arcade-style gameplay.

7.5 Gameplay
A mix of platforming and puzzle done in a unique way. However, the overworld slightly slows the pace and the stages are significantly repetitive when played in long sessions.

9 Graphics
The scenery is gorgeous and the sprites animate well, but the overworld looks more 2-D than it should.

7 Sound
The music is okay, the Rare mumbling is pointless, but Sabreman's voice samples are great.

7 Lifespan
The game is of good length, but the Challenge Mode is all there is to come back for.

Closing comment:
Far from an epic adventure. However, this is a fun game to play in small doses, which portable gaming is all about.

The Verdict: 7.4

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/07