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| Preview - Sabrewulf If you're under 20 years of age, Sabre Wulf will probably mean nothing to you. But most gamers who are 20+ will remember Sabre Wulf on the Sinclair Spectrum rather fondly. It was a massive success for Rare (then Ultimate Play The Game), a game that spawned a popular sequel, and 18 years later, will again set the handheld market alight with the latest game in the series, simply titled Sabrewulf. Gameplay Sabrewulf is a brand new adventure from the team that brought you such classics as Donkey Kong Land on the GBC. It?s a side-scrolling/isometric adventure, featuring the white moustached explorer Sabreman, who was re-introduced too the younger generation of Rare fans in Banjo Tooie on the N64. Since E3 2001, Sabreman had garnered a surprisingly large amount of exposure, due in some extent to Rare's willingness in releasing details and screens steadily ever since it was announced.�� The details give off the sense that Sabrewulf will be very character driven. Already we have met the new cast, consisting of a pretty, young librarian to an older, much wiser wizard. The story is refreshingly original, with little side quests and task already becoming clear. Sabreman has just learnt that a mysterious stranger has broken the amulet that imprisoned the wolf for so many years. The unknown bad-guy has sent the wolf out to steal anything and everything he can get his paws on. With the aid of his army of friends, Sabreman must recover the 8 pieces of amulet scattered about in the quite town of Blackwyche, while also discovering who the mysterious bad guy is, and placing the wolf where he belongs. Sabrewulf's gameplay differs from your usual side-scrolling adventure, in that the game takes on 2 different camera angles, an isometric view and the regular side scrolling view. Despite most of the action being seen through the side-scrolling angle, while Sabreman is in town, shopping for items or consulting the locals for clues or answers, the game takes on the isometric angle, which offers a diversity to the gameplay. The rest of the game is traditional side scrolling action, where Sabreman must use the interactive environment to his advantage, like setting up traps to kill enemies. This aspect of the gameplay is very unique, and should add a whole layer more onto the already deep gameplay. Graphics To say the least, Sabrewulf's graphics are simply remarkable for a handheld title. There is such superb detail to the environments, and even Sabreman himself. The levels are seemingly real, teeming with life with all kinds of exotic animals. They are very reminiscent of the Donkey Kong Country games on the SNES. Every single thing on screen is beautifully detailed, the characters, enemies, plants, foreground props, right down to the realistic backgrounds.� A great aspect of Sabrewulf is its brightness. Everything stands out, making all the important aspects distinguishable from the backgrounds. It?s a welcome change from some current titles of the market, where all the detail on screen blend in with each other, the end result looking like a messy pile of pixel's. Sabrewulf is easily Rare's best achievement so far on the graphics side of things, and it will be interesting to see whether Rare makes any changes as the game nears its release. Don't expect anything less than exceptional graphics all crammed� into the Sabrewulf cartridge. Sound Rare has decided to go old-school, keeping the traditional style of music from the Sabre Wulf franchise. So you can probably expect some remixed tunes from the original games, plus some top notch new stuff from the outstanding sound studios within Rare HQ. Sound effects will again be plentiful, meaning all enemies have their own ways of alerting you of their presence, and terrific music during boss battles, just like in most Rare games. Obviously, with only a 30 second clip to go by, it really isn't all that clear exactly what the game will sound like, but again, it is Rare were talking about. Outlook This game has quickly moved up the most anticipated lists, simply for that fact that it looks spectacular. Sabrewulf is going to be an addictive action/adventure, coupled with superb music, an interesting cast and a unique storyline, this is a game that will bring retro gamers to the GBA in their droves, while also attracting young newcomers to the franchise(me:). Sabrewulf is a Triple A title, and when we finally do receive it, should be on the top of everyone's Christmas list. Tim Schaefer |
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| - 23/07/02 - Preview - Tim Schaefer |