When Sabreman appeared in Banjo Tooie, gamers everywhere started praying that the guy with the big moustache would get his own game. At E3 2001 fans of the original rejoiced when it was announced that Sabreman would star in the GBA game, Sabrewulf.
GAMEPLAY
Sabrewulf will stay true to the old school game back in the 80's. The majority of the game is the classic 2D side scrolling, while a small part of the game sees you in a town where you buy and sell items, which has an isometric view. As you can see, Rare is trying hard to bring the goodness of the original. Sabrewulf's story is familiar with the first game. A mysterious stranger has shattered the amulet that has kept Sabrewulf, the games main enemy, entombed in stone. It is up to Sabreman to tackle Sabrewulf on his own. Sabreman has to find the 8 pieces of amulet so he can once again entomb Sabrewulf in stone. Sabreman must use the lands unique animals to aid him on his quest, some that can provide Sabreman with a platform, trampoline, or animals that can crush enemies on the spot. Except Sabrewulf to be an outstandingly playable game, mixed with classic side scrolling action, and all new twists and turns put into the game by Nintendo's 2nd party developer, Rare.
GRAPHICS
Just by looking at Sabrewulf, you can see how detailed it is. Rare has worked on the graphics extensively so they are inviting and fresh. The game is very colourful, and very bright, which is good considering the darkness of the GBA's screen. Something that has plagued the Gameboy games in the past is how some characters and items fade into the background, making it impossible to see them clearly. Rare has fixed this problem in Sabrewulf, making backgrounds darker, and foreground character and items colourful and easy to see, so they don't blend into the background, which got very annoying in games such as the Donkey Kong series on the GBC. Sabreman is highly detailed, and even on the Gameboy Advance this games graphics are very impressive. Sabremans graphics are much better than any of Rare's other GBA games, and it will be interesting to see if Rare wil improve on them further.
SOUND
Like every other Rare game released, sound will be a very important part of Sabrewulf, and will be outstanding to say the least. Really, have Rare ever released a game were sound hasn't been exceptional. As no in game footage has been released, it is hard to predict what the music will be like, but it will most probably be typically Rare, fun, cheerful and addictive. GBA can produce excellent sound, and if Rare's other games are anything to go by, then the sound department will be top notch, and take full advantage of GBA's sound quality.
OUTLOOK
Sabrewulf is looking mighty good, and if it can be anywhere near as good as it sounds, then Sabrewulf will be very special.
Anticipation Rating: 92/100 |
