Xbox

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

About seven months ago I had the pleasure of doing a hands on preview of this title on the PS2. Our THQ representative hooked us up with a fully playable demo at E3, with one full level playable for each of the two current characters. At the time we were promised three playable characters, however when the finished product shipped only two were available. The title itself actually changed as well, originally being dubbed ‘Sphinx and The Shadow of Set’. I was able to get my hands on the finished Xbox version of Sphinx not too long ago and despite the lack of a third character, I was still pleased with the game.

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy might just go down in history as the biggest sleeper hit of 2003, but I’ll do my best for the remainder of this review to make sure you go out and buy this amazing game right away.

All around Sphinx is a solid game, and is one of the years very best in the action/adventure category. The graphics, plot and creative characters will keep Sphinx in your Xbox for a while, and definitely is worth the investment.

From Eurocom Entertainment (James Bond 007: NightFire, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) comes Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, an epic third-person action-adventure filled with magic and mystery and set to the backdrop of ancient Egypt. This long-in-development title is perhaps the 200-person-strong company's most ambitious undertaking to date and the hard work has for the most part paid off. Sphinx has a few mechanical and technical flaws that can occasionally hinder the experience, but it still succeeds as a very fun, challenging, clever and sometimes-beautiful adventure that reminds us in many ways of the Zelda franchise.

In an industry of highs, lows, surprises and disappointments packed into a busy holiday season, it's the unexpected surprise that always delights. Sphinx has gone through many name changes in its lengthy development cycle, being compared to a modern Legend of Zelda. My last "like Zelda" game was the disappointing Starfox Adventures, so please excuse me if I didn't expect much from THQ's "like Zelda" game. The result? Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is another holiday surprise, capitalizing on many gameplay elements of a Zelda game, if not a little more shallow and linear.

It's a rarity these days to find a truly compelling multiplatform action adventure game in the vein of the Legend of Zelda series, but that's exactly what Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is. Developed by Eurocom Entertainment and available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, Sphinx is based on various aspects of Egyptian history and mythology and features a gameplay experience that can easily be compared to the style of the recent entries in the Zelda series, with lots of intriguing puzzles, challenging dungeons, and solid combat. This is not to say that Sphinx is quite up to the level of the Zelda franchise--not by a long shot. But what Eurocom has created here is a fine starting point for what could become a long, fruitful series.

Mélange d'aventure/action, de plates-formes, le tout étant saupoudré d'une bonne couche d'énigmes, le titre de THQ est un bon divertissement qui lorgne du côté de nombreux hits pour créer une alchimie à la fois étonnante et concluante. Des petits problèmes de caméra et de maniabilité feront un peu d'ombre à l'entreprise qui se veut malgré tout louable et jouable.