Sabre Wulf Total: 213
Geekay:
Sabre Wulf is here and it’s about time too. It isn’t often high profile games like this appear for the competitions. When I saw this one announced, I jumped for joy and crossed my fingers that this would actually happen. Although not complete, Ervin has decided to release what he has done so far to let Sabreman fans see how his remake fairs.
It’s a shame to review something that shows plenty of potential, but isn’t 100%.
Sabrewulf really has what it takes to be something special. After all, I hate maze games, but I did love this one back in the day. There was something different about it that made it stand out from the rest.The engine is solid and works really well. The new way that the game is presented will work wonders with the new sprites when they get done. Instead we have to put up with rips for the moment. The game has gone all Paper Mario. This gives depth and a semi 3d environment to play in. Rather than Sabreman’s body taking up the whole pathway at any one time, he now stands upright and this allows for a more flexible movement within the confines of the maze. There is also a lot of subtlety within this design. Sabreman himself becomes progressively larger towards the bottom of the screen and smaller towards the top. The swaying vegetation (which I really like), gives a feeling of parallax scrolling in the open area sections. It’s small details like these that refine the game.
The remake itself does not stray away from the original. It is what it is. It’s the subtle refining that is what will make this a top class remake once it is done. Without the full version, it is hard to judge. As the enemies are just static at the moment, it is hard to tell how they will fit in to the newly imagined 3dness of the maze. Will it just be easier to avoid them than to battle them?
I’m keeping my eye on this one.
50%
Ian:
“Way down deep in the middle of the Congo,
A hippo took an apricot, a guava and a mango.
He stuck it with the others, and he danced a dainty tango.The rhino said, “I know, we’ll call it Um Bongo”,
Um Bongo, Um Bongo, They drink it in the Congo.The python picked the passion fruit,
The marmosets the mandarin,
The parrot painted packets,
That the whole caboodle landed in.So when it comes to sun and fun and goodness in the jungle,
They all prefer the sunny funny one they call Um Bongo!”Like the super-sweet, sickly and artificially flavoured juice drink Um-Bongo, Ultimate Play The Game’s SabreWulf could only ever have come about in ‘80s Britain. A time where there were few production rules and you could pretty much make any old shit and sell it to anyone. However, SabreWulf was far from being any old shit and has earned itself a place in many a Speccy lover’s heart, not only for being a damned fine (but tricky) game, but for also being the first of several to feature SabreMan.
As SabreMan, your task is to find the four pieces of a broken amulet scattered in dense jungle to allow you to escape from a curse that turns into a werewolf.
It is then with great disappointment that this game comes to the competition so incomplete. What is there looks wonderful. The graphics, which have been ripped from the CPC version, are presented in a totally new and unique way. Rather than being just 2D like the original, the author has created a scrolling, parallax world of paper, where everything stands up and out in 3D and sways beautifully in the wind.
It’s such a shame then that while the paper world feels solid, the game is totally vacuous, with the only challenge being to find the amulet pieces and collect items; the enemies, whilst present have not been imbued with life and are purely decorative at this point.
Sound and music also appears to be lacking, although what’s there sounds good. Such a shame that lack of time was a factor in the making of this game, but even unfinished it deserves a higher score than some completed games in this competition.
60%
Oogy:
To be honest, I am not sure why this game got submitted, as there is not much game to it in its current state. You can walk around the labyrinth unhindered and that’s about it really. No colision between the player and enemies, no killing them either. It feels more like a tech-demo than a game to me. Now if this game had all its features in place, I could see it go a long way. The graphics are cheerfully colourful, and the way sprites flip over is a very nice touch. Too bad it ended up just a demo though, and I hope this game finds itself in a completed state in the future.
38%
Spray:
I am actually honestly and truthfully gutted that this wasn’t complete for the compo. This is a classy looking version of one of the most famous maze games out there and is, even in it’s current state, looking and sounding lush.
Obviously there’s a lot missing, mostly to do with enemies and their movement, meaning this ain’t gonna be in contention, but for an unfinished entry, it’s still leaps and bounds in front of a lot of the games I’ve played!
Scored as an incomplete game.
65%
