Sabre Wulf
| Sabre Wulf | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Tim and Chris Stamper |
| Publisher(s) | Ultimate Play the Game |
| Platform(s) | ZX Spectrum BBC Micro Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 |
| Release date(s) | July 1984(Spectrum) October 1985 (Amstrad CPC) |
| Genre(s) | Arcade adventure; Maze |
| Mode(s) | Single player Two player (Spectrum and Commodore 64 only) |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
| Media/distribution | Cassette |
| System requirements
48K RAM (Spectrum) |
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Sabre Wulf is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1984. The game is the first in the Sabreman series. It was written originally by Tim Stamper and Chris Stamper, and later ported to many other computer platforms. In 2004 a new Sabre Wulf game, with completely different gameplay, was released for the Game Boy Advance.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A traveller falls into a deep chasm and must battle the creatures that live within in order to make his escape.
[edit] Gameplay
Taking on the role of Sabreman, players must navigate an intensely colourful flip-screen jungle maze (256 screens) to recover four pieces of a lost amulet (which depicts the titular Wulf). Once all four have been collected and assembled, the Keeper guarding the maze exit can be safely passed. However, between the entrance and exit, Sabreman must fend off a constant army of tropical foes that emerge regularly from the undergrowth with his sabre. Some enemies such as scorpions, snakes and spiders are easily dispatched, but larger adversaries such as hippos, rhinos and natives can only be made to run away by fencing. Furthermore, if the player remains in one screen for too long, an invincible and lethal bushfire appears and moves around the screen, visiting all space the player can occupy, forcing the player to either move on or leave. The appearance of the bushfire effectively prevents the player from 'camping', or placing Sabreman in a corner with the fire button depressed and amassing points from dispatching the constant stream of jungle creatures that appear. Along the way, the player also encounters the Wulf itself (albeit rarely). An invincible and persistent foe, it is better avoided than confronted.
[edit] Collectables
As well as searching for the amulet, players can collect treasure for bonus points and extra lives to prolong their jungle adventure. Also available for the player to collect are jungle orchids that periodically grow and flower in forest glades. There are several varieties of these, each in a different colour and with a different effect on the player. Some confer immunity to the jungle beasts or increase movement speed, while others cause negative effects such as paralysis or disorientation (reversed controls). Collected wisely, they can make progress through the jungle much easier.
[edit] Reception
The game was a bestseller on the Spectrum at the time of release.[1]
The game won the awards for best maze game and best advert of the year according to the readers of Crash magazine.[2] It was also was voted the 11th best game of all time in a special issue of Your Sinclair magazine in 2004.[3]
The game was included on the 1985 compilation They Sold a Million,[4] along with Beach-Head, Daley Thompson's Decathlon and Jet Set Willy.
[edit] Appearances in other media
- The tape loading sound can be heard at the start of "Carn Marth" by Aphex Twin. Both Sabre Wulf and the Sabreman character have featured in several RARE games since the original game as either cameo or main character:
- Both Killer Instinct & Killer Instinct 2 include a werewolf character named Sabrewulf.
- Sabreman makes a cameo in the game Banjo-Tooie as a frozen explorer who must be revived and returned to his camp.
- In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country, Sabrewulf's head has been stuffed and is mounted in Cranky’s hut.
- The Xbox 360 game Viva Piñata, also developed by Rare, features a minor cameo to Sabre Wulf - the in-game creature known as Mallowolf launches broken Sabre Wulf amulets as its attack.
- The Game Boy Advance has a very different game called Sabre Wulf, featuring both Sabreman & the titular Wulf.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue035/Pages/CVG03500018.jpg
- ^ http://www.crashonline.org.uk/12/awards.htm
- ^ "Top 50 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair (Imagine Publishing). November 2004.
- ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0011371
[edit] External links
- Sabre Wulf at Ultimate Wurlde
- Sabre Wulf at World of Spectrum
- Sabre Wulf at MobyGames
- Sabre Wulf map
- Sabre Wulf review at CRASH magazine
- A walkthrough video of Sabre Wulf on the ZX Spectrum at Google Video
- Sabre Wulf at the Open Directory Project
| Preceded by Jet Set Willy |
UK number-one Spectrum game September 1984 |
Succeeded by Jet Set Willy |
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