the game is better than how it sounds, the game actually lived up to what we expected
User Rating: 8.3 | Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy GC
Sphinx and the cursed mummy, is, really, a lot like The Legend of Zelda. The game is played by going through stages as sphinx, a half man half lion demigod, or the mummy of king tut, who does not have any fighting sequences or many special items, but features intriguing puzzles. Most of the game is played as sphinx, who will continue through his quest by completing zelda-esc puzzles and battling enemies with his sword. I found the puzzles in this game to be as good or better than zelda, and include a good mix of fighting and, as a major difference from zelda, platform jumping. Mummy sequences are still just as fun even though there's no fighting involved. The mummy, trapped in the castle of uruk, must explore to find items for sphinx. Since the mummy is undead, he can use the traps in the castle to his advantage. For example at many points in the mummy puzzles you will have to set the mummy on fire to burn away a blockade, these and other similar cases are common.I also found the mummy areas extremely entertaining, most of these are clumps of a few huge rooms filled with traps and obstacles. In these rooms many areas are used to solve more than one puzzle, very entertaining. One of the major differences between zelda and sphinx is the battling, while zelda features a more rigid, target-based battle system, sphinx features a more open endednon-targeting system. I personally like this system because it allows better camera angles and the ability to hit more than one enemy, times like these occur often. There are a few reasons why I would personally choose a sphinx 2 over a new legend of zelda, the main one being that the game is so much faster and open. The whole game has a feeling of openness, unlike zelda's feeling of rigidness. Faster character movementand non-targetting battle system add to this feeling. Another major addition is that the game has less emphasis on boss battles, many situations where boss battles could be added are replaced by succesions of sets of three enemies, followed by one very strong enemy. There are only a few bosses in sphinx, and they don't appear until later in the game. The graphics in this game are brilliant, especially the character's faces, these have vivid expression and detail, character movements are also good. The mummy walks with a goofy jog, and will yelp and squirm in pain when burning or electricuted. Meanwhile sphinx makes realistc fighting moves, a flowing double jump, and walks with a spring in his step and with his short tail wagging. Finally, all potential purchasers should know that you cannot save at any point, while save points are plentiful, players may not be able to stop abroubtly, especially at the begining. As a final note, fans of zelda will like this game, and people who think zelda is a little too slow will love it.
