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Want to hear something crazy? This game is going to turn ten years old this year. For
those of us who remember when it launched...I guess time marches on, right? But you know,
time also makes it kinda unfair to review this game now, through a modern lens. Games
like this have evolved quite a bit since 2003, especially in terms of things like control
and cameras. And in some ways, Sphinx does show its age.
But despite a few wrinkles, this game’s still a beauty.
Released back in 2003, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy was developed by Eurocom, which has
since done stuff like the new GoldenEye and Dead Space: Extraction. Their work speaks
for itself, but ten years ago, they were mostly known for licensed games. Sphinx was their
biggest and most ambitious work to date. And even now, ten years later, it’s still a
pretty impressive achievement.
You play as both the warrior Sphinx and the legendary prince Tutenkhamen. Of course, poor
Tut soon meets with a terrible fate at the hands of his brother. These are two very different
characters that only become more different as things progress, and that gives the game
an interesting dynamic and some real gameplay variation.
Of course, at its core, the game is quite familiar. This is basically Zelda, only set
in ancient Egypt and with more platforming. In fact, platforming is a primary part of
the game’s design, with lots of perilous jumping and wall climbing that brings to mind
a certain Persian prince. And given the Egyptian setting, that works really well.
Speaking of the setting, Sphinx is a beautiful game. Even now. I mean, this game was doing
things on the PS2 in 2003 that some Wii developers didn’t do with more powerful hardware. There’s
some beautiful lighting effects here, and even things like reflective surfaces. The
sandy color palette can get a little repetitive, but the game is generally stunning considering
its time and platform.
What’s a bit less stunning, though, is the combat. The game obviously takes cues from
Zelda, but combat is one area where it doesn’t. Unlike Hyrule’s Link, Egypt’s Sphinx has
no lock-on ability. So the combat feels a bit loose and button mashy at times...but
to be honest, that’s really nitpicking.
Come on, I have to criticize something. It’s kind of the gig.
And if you look at this game from today’s standards, you definitely see a few things
to criticize. Games like this now control better, they have better cameras...and really,
you do notice that evolution when playing it. But that’s more of an unfortunate inevitability
than a knock on the game. In 2003, this was an outstanding action/platformer.
And though it’s older now, it’s still an outstanding action/platformer. Big thanks
to our good friend Christopher from Illinois for sending us Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy.