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[drspeedy]

I accidentally discovered this one recently during my infinite backlog padding "What Gamecube games did I miss?"search, and popped it in for the first time last night.

Dayyyuuummm- this is gorgeous! Why did I not hear about this one before?


The game was $5 used, which is a steal for what I've seen so far. Admittedly I'm only a couple hours in, but the game has been quite impressive so far. The character models and animations are all superb, the lighting is amazing and the environments feel massive. I already found myself gawking at the colors and backgrounds when I should have been concentrating on the puzzles... There's a definite lighthearted cartoon-y element, but that's not a bad thing; a little humor and slapstick pratfalls fit well in the adventure genre.


The game pulls quite a bit from the 3D Zelda formula -puzzles, item search, puzzle- but the game designers choice of the Egyptian setting and 'steampunk-esque' technology are perfect, I could see an Egyptian Zelda dungeon working well after playing this... actually gave me a really cool MP2 Luminoth vibe, not sure how much exploration the game requires later (fairly linear so far), but this one is definitely a keeper.


A few weeks back I also grabbed Darkened Skye and Summoner: Goddess Reborn (that one took a while to find, and didn't have a case), looks like I'll be mock-Zelda'ing for a while. Probably as soon as I finish this one and Pandora's Tower...

 

[HamPster PamPster]

All I want to know is who bought this from THQ and when they plan to release the HD remaster

 

[Morfeo]

Damn you thread-starter for making me go on ebay and add another game to my back-log!

But seriously, this game looks awesome! Looking forward to play it!

 

[GoofsterStud]

This was a great game. Such a shame it didn't get the sales it deserved.

 

[drspeedy]

Damn you thread-starter for making me go on ebay and add another game to my back-log!

But seriously, this game looks awesome! Looking forward to play it!

best $5 you'll spend today!

 

[Dragoshi1]

I remember there was a small Pokemon type of minigame, where you could battle little monsters against each other.

 

[dose]

Great game, but watch out the for the game-breaking bug that I encountered.

Spoiler

In the Castle of Uruk

there's a door that you open

Spoiler

when you're the mummy

. If you die soon after going through this door you'll be taken back to that section but the door will be shut, and you won't be able to progress. You have to start from scratch :/

I remember there was a small Pokemon type of minigame, where you could battle little monsters against each other.

I think you're thinking of another game.

 

[Morfeo]

best $5 you'll spend today!

Considering my plans for the night before Labour Day, I would say this is a definite!

 

[Flamfas]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who appreciates this game! Fantastic. I need to buy it again, but thankfully it's cheap.

All I want to know is who bought this from THQ and when they plan to release the HD remaster

yes

 

[sphinx]

hey, what's up?

 

[Hero of Legend]

THQ never owned this, Eurocom retained the IP, now who owns it now that Eurocom is gone (RIP :'( ) is the question.

 

[Flachmatuch]

Ubisoft released three games that season: Sands of Time, Beyond Good & Evil (also a little bit Zelda style) and Sphinx (maybe more, but these are the ones I remember). 2003 was a pretty awesome year for video games. I think Sands of Time was the least awesome of these three.

God damn this generation sucked ass. HD and surround sound doesn't compensate for homogenous focus grouped generic crap.

 

[Dragoshi1]

Great game, but watch out the for the game-breaking bug that I encountered.

Spoiler

In the Castle of Uruk

there's a door that you open

Spoiler

when you're the mummy

. If you die soon after going through this door you'll be taken back to that section but the door will be shut, and you won't be able to progress. You have to start from scratch :/


I think you're thinking of another game.

Nope, there was a shop in one of this game's towns that let you use monsters to fight other monsters.

You did so as Sphinx, but I don't recall what exactly else happened in the shop.

I' pretty sure there was a rat and scorpion themed creature that could be used.

 

[codhand]

hey, what's up?

nice, yeah game rules,
mummy puzzles are amazing,
beware a couple game breaking glitches though, i had one happen on gamecube,
pretty sure this is widescreen and 480p too

 

[drspeedy]

hey, what's up?

Awesome! I knew there'd be someone on GAF with a Sphinx avatar, didn't suspect a user name, too.

Ubisoft released three games that season: Sands of Time, Beyond Good & Evil (also a little bit Zelda style) and Sphinx (maybe more, but these are the ones I remember). 2003 was a pretty awesome year for video games. I think Sands of Time was the least awesome of these three.

God damn this generation sucked ass. HD and surround sound doesn't compensate for homogenous focus grouped generic crap.

Yup. I could play late-PS1 through Gamecube era titles pretty much forever, I don't think photorealism and real-world physics have even come close to eclipsing the fun and feeling of those games.

Basically too much Michael Bay and not enough Robert Zemeckis (hopefully that analogy makes sense to someone besides me...)

nice, yeah game rules,
mummy puzzles are amazing,
beware a couple game breaking glitches though, i had one happen on gamecube,
pretty sure this is widescreen and 480p too

It is- which is very, very welcome. Bet this would look fabulous in Dolphin

 

[codhand]

Awesome! I knew there'd be someone on GAF with a Sphinx avatar, didn't suspect a user name, too.



Yup. I could play late-PS1 through Gamecube era titles pretty much forever, I don't think photorealism and real-world physics have even come close to eclipsing the fun and feeling of those games.

Basically too much Michael Bay and not enough Robert Zemeckis (hopefully that analogy makes sense to someone besides me...)





It is- which is very, very welcome. Bet this would look fabulous in Dolphin

games do feel more samey these days, but you rightly mentioned how much this game cribbed from zelda...

if you think the game is good at two hours in, youre in for a treat, the mummy sections are unparalleled in design in my opinion.

 

[SmithnCo]

A surprisingly solid puzzle adventure game, I remember the graphics and animations were one of the highlights. Definitely an under-the-radar gem.

 

[krae_man]

I remember seeing the commercials non stop when it first came out, but I never bought it. One of these days I'll give it a go.

 

[Flachmatuch]

Yup. I could play late-PS1 through Gamecube era titles pretty much forever, I don't think photorealism and real-world physics have even come close to eclipsing the fun and feeling of those games.

That's what I'm doing actually - I play PS1/PS2/DC/GC/Xbox games all the time. Damn, even the original Xbox had lots of gems, from the three incredible Smilebit games, the Otogis and MWC to Kotor etc.

 

[TacticalFox88]

I would've taken terrible voices instead of just what we got.

 

[sphinx]

Awesome! I knew there'd be someone on GAF with a Sphinx avatar, didn't suspect a user name, too.

since 2006! same avatar and username, hell yeah.

anyway, this game has some exotic, timeless beauty.

Everything fits very nicely, the music, the purple/gold/brown colors, the puzzles, the items, it's really a great game of last gen. Zelda-Cloning done perfect.

 

[drspeedy]

I remember seeing the commercials non stop when it first came out, but I never bought it. One of these days I'll give it a go.

heh, had to look that up- captures the spirit pretty well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrgVxENivQ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu3fNuFHtow


Also can't find much on it for Dolphin, apparently it doesn't play well on emulators or Wii USB loaders. I can't even find any hi-res shots on google images

scratch that, found a few in PCSX2 forums. Still don't know how it plays, but apparently it's possible

 

[Myriadis]

Love this game.
The game has some nice challenge (especially when it comes to the Darknut-like enemies) and the puzzle sections with the Mummy have some of the best riddle-based gameplay in video game history. The gameplay itself works really well, very close to the Zelda franchise, and there is quite a bit of optional content.
A few negative points are there, though. The first two hours are very linear and you spent most of the time in some dungeons or buildings - after that, you finally reach the main hub and from there it's "only" 10 hours or so till the end. Also, the reward for collecting all monsters completely sucks. It would've been better if they made that making of video the unlockable instead of getting it unlocked from the beginning.

Nonetheless, an amazing game and definitely worth the few bucks.

I remember there was a small Pokemon type of minigame, where you could battle little monsters against each other.

No, you can collect every monster to complete the museum, and you can use two types of monsters as items.

 

[atbigelow]

When I worked in retail a decade ago, I would recommend this to every single GameCube parent looking for a new game for their kid.

Some of you might need to thank me.