|
Many
moons ago, the savage Sabrewulf attacked the village of Blackwyche.
But he was soon turned into a stone statue by the hero of
the day, Sabreman. Now the Wulf has been freed by the mysterious
Dr. Dolittle-Goode and together they set about stealing from
the local villages. The Mayor of Blackwyche has contacted
the now retired Sabreman in a last bid attempt to free his
village from the terror...
Being
a bit of an old man myself, I remember Sabreman's original
outing on the Spectrum. Sabre Wulf was one of a number
of instant hits from Ultimate.
Now,
years later I too felt like I was being dragged out of retirement
to rejoin my old friend Sabreman - who I spent many hours
with all those years ago - to once again rid the world from
evil... or something like that.
You
start the game with a few simple challenges, find stolen items
that Sabrewulf has taken from the village, and then run back
to the village with Sabrewulf hot on your heels. As you progress,
you'll be given a number of other forest beasties to control,
each has its own function, allowing you to pass obstacles
in your way.
This
sees one of the games major problems. In later levels, you
will have to run through your list of helpful animals in order
to complete each level. But, with so many to choose from,
picking the right one quickly is not easy. And, as the game
doesn't pause while you choose your critter, you'll find yourself
getting killed through no real fault of your own. This is
extremely frustrating.
Each
level gives the player a setting (village, forest, etc) which
they must explore in order to discover Sabrewulf's tunnels.
Once you've successfully managed to enter one of his tunnels
and retrieve the stolen artefact, a flag appears to let you
know you have completed this challenge. And the great thing
about this game is that if you are caught by Sabrewulf, on
your return back through the level, instead of having to start
all over again, the game lets you continue from when you grabbed
the artefact.
This
game looks the business. The graphics are great, with the
small characters beautifully detailed. The sound is also pretty
impressive - with characters mumbling as you meet them. Sabreman
himself mumbles like a real old English gent, and some of
the dialogue he comes out with while running away from Sabrewulf
had me laughing out loud - "Spiffing, what!!", "For
the Empire what!", "Run for it!" and "Gently,
Bentley!" are just a few of his phrases
The
background noises are great too. The village has the sound
of the village clock bell tolling and there are chickens clucking
as well. And, when you go venture in to the jungle, you can
hear birds, monkeys, grasshoppers, frogs and the odd trunk
call of an elephant. Also, when you return with each artefact,
you get a slightly too long fanfare. So it's a welcome relief
to note that pressing button A or B will result in the sound
of a record being scratched, and the fanfare abruptly ending.
As
the games and challenges are so short this is the ideal game
for long car journeys, as well as for quick bursts for short
bus rides. A great game which you'll still want to play long
after you've collected the last part of the amulet.
Ray
Thompson
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below.
|
|
|
£22.49
(Amazon.co.uk)
|
| |
|
|
|
£26.99
(Streetsonline.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
