Sabre Wulf Review

By Kristan Reed Published 23 March, 2004

Rare seeks inspiration from its past for a return to form...

Version tested: GameBoy Advance

20 years ago there was only one game developer you could really trust. Going by the justifiably arrogant and typically long-winded Ultimate Play The Game, this Ashby-De-La-Zouch based company had - in just over 12 months - churned out six bona fide classics on the Sinclair Spectrum. Cookie, Pssst!, Trans Am, Jet Pac for the humble 16k version, and Lunar Jetman and Atic Atac for the 48k.

These games, retailing at a mere £5.95, had set the bar for British game development, and had all been huge critical and commercial hits for the enigmatic company, also known as Ashby Computer Graphics. In the early summer of 1984 it had just finished the format's first isometric 3D title - Knight Lore - starring an adventurous character by the name of Sabre Man. But in this bewildering era of fast progression, Ultimate held it back, not wanting to play its hand too soon.

The war against terror

'Sabre Wulf' Screenshot 1

Instead it upped the price to £9.95, put the game in a lavish black box and released another Sabre Man title - Sabre Wulf. Like a bloated jungle-based version of the still-brilliant-today Atic Atac, this vast 256-room epic took action-adventure exploration gameplay into uncharted territory. Featuring the Khaki-clad, sword-wielding imperialist Sabre Man, you were tasked with retrieving the shattered remains of an amulet which would put an end to the reign of terror of the dreaded Wulf.

With just five lives to play with, you wandered around collecting booty, fended off deadly respawning enemy and took in the sights, which - at the time - had you bellowing excitedly "look at the graphics!" to all your fellow rubber key Speccy owning mates over a well thumbed copy of Crash! The truth is, it was easy to be impressed back then, and Sabre Wulf was actually one of the first Ultimate games to dispense with its glorious pick-up-and-play formula. With its one-touch-and-you're-dead gameplay, and literally a maze of rooms, it was fantastically difficult - even in those bloody-minded times. But it was nevertheless a fantastic technical achievement that endeared by being so vast and so pretty, and - like most other Ultimate titles - it spawned endless exploration-based clones.

With our history lesson over, we can fast forward to the present and welcome back Sabre Man after an absence of nearly two decades. Only this time, this isn't the freeform exploration romp that thirty-somethings will recall, but a focused, superbly designed platform game that takes Rare's Donkey Kong Country graphics and applies them to its own long dormant franchise. Removing the rose tinted spectacles, it was obvious that Rare couldn't get away with just reviving the redundant unplayability of old, and instead it has come up with one of the few handheld games we've seen lately that is a) not licence-based, b) isn't a port of an existing title and c) is a fresh take on a stale genre.

Stupidly named baddie alert

'Sabre Wulf' Screenshot 2

The premise is simple. The evil Dr Doolittle Goode has released Sabre Wulf from his long-term imprisonment, and you must work your way through eight increasingly difficult areas in order to reclaim the Amulet and thwart Goode's nefarious plan. In reality this involves wandering around an isometric 3D environment, chatting to its inhabitants and performing a daring raid on each of Sabre Wulf's lairs.

Entering each area switches to a familiar side-scrolling viewpoint, and the game then becomes something of a 'platform title with a difference'. Being long in the tooth, Sabre Man hasn't quite got the physical prowess he once had, and although he can't fight, he can call upon the help of a posse of 'Good Creatures' in order to defeat the various 'Bad Creatures' that block the path to Sabre Wulf and whatever ill-gotten booty he's guarding.

For example, the sleeping Blubba bear makes for a great trampoline to bounce over obstacles, or reach higher platforms, while the explosive Boomer can blow up almost anything. Better still, the Clubber or Big Foot can be set on their way to smash or stomp their way past most of what's in their path, and the game quickly tools you up with more of these Good Creatures, but simultaneously throws an ever increasing number of Bad ones in your path.

The need for speed

'Sabre Wulf' Screenshot 3

This Paper, Scissors, Stone gameplay formula then gives way to a simple chase sequence where you must guide Sabre Man safely back to his tent, with the rabid Sabre Wulf in hot pursuit. Touch him and the game puts you back to the start of the chase - rather than forcing you to do the entire level from scratch - and then rewards you with a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal, depending on how many coins you've rounded up. You can later trade in your treasure and medals at Cookie's shop for new Good Creatures, which become permanent additions to your inventory and give you a better chance of progressing. If you feel like improving on your medal status, the game keeps each level open for replay, and even times your performance into the bargain.

The first few hours of play, though, seem worryingly simplistic. Most levels can be conquered within minutes and for the first 30 per cent or so, reaching Sabre Wulf and certain victory doesn't pose too much of a problem. Even so, the exceptionally well-designed visuals add a gloss rarely seen in GBA titles, and nostalgists will be wallowing in the dozens of Ultimate references sprinkled throughout the game. Not only do the place names reference old favourites (Blackwyche, Karnath, Underwurlde, Entombed, Knightlore, Nightshade, Imhotep, Dragonskulle), but even the odd character from the past makes an appearance (Cookie), as well as some of the lavish cover art (witness the Atic Atac mat near the beginning). Even if you don't get the references, there's still plenty to admire in the game design, the neat animation touches and the quality of the environments generally, and eventually there's a head-scratching challenge to overcome too.

Taking a step back into old territory has given Rare the chance to focus on the basic principles of solid gameplay, with a smooth learning curve and a refined feel that hooks instantly and keeps you coming back for more. Some might find it a little twee, or just too simplistic to commend, but for a handheld title it has that perfect bite-sized sensibility that guarantees you enough gameplay to fit any period of dead time that you might have on your hands.

Wulf it down

It's surprising that more hasn't been made of Sabre Wulf's arrival to the GBA. It's possible that the name just doesn't inspire any interest in its target market (not that the lack of marketing behind the title has exactly helped), and old timers rarely justify buying something on the GBA unless it's something they're familiar with. It's not often that original GBA titles inspire the feel good factor of Sabre Wulf. It has an uncanny knack of holding your interest, rarely feels frustrating, and deserves to be heralded among the very best titles on the format. Whether you'll feel too happy shelling out full price for a game as simple as this is another matter, but on the basis of quality alone, it's right up there.

8 / 10

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Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (23) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • pjmaybe #1 8 years ago

    I dunno what it is but it ain't sabre wulf!

    Peej

  • slider271 #2 8 years ago

    Good review, and an excellent, fun game from Rare. Just to be picky though, you're not awarded medals for picking up coins, it's for how quickly you get to the Wulf's treasure. You'll see it changing from Gold to Silver to Bronze if you wait near it.

    On the save slot select screen, choose the boar's head then your save slot to go to a Time Trial screen where you can re-try any level you've got Gold on, but this time only with certain creatures the game gives you. It adds a lot of replay value, trying to get the fastest times on the levels, making for pick-up-and-play-for-five-minutes gameplay which Ultimate's old games had (apart from the 5 minute loading times...)

    And the speech samples for Sabreman are excellent!

    Mike

  • CyberClaw #3 8 years ago

    8/10 uhh?

    ...

    wait for it

    ....

    Wait for IT....


    .....


    Soooooooo, does that mean this game is as good as Halo? :D

    Kick me, someone had to do it ;)

  • Killerbee #4 8 years ago

    /kicks CyberClaw

    /hard

    /in the nadgers

    :)

  • pjmaybe #5 8 years ago

    I remember the speccy original. Spent days wandering round a similar-looking maze, only to meet face to face with "the wulf" who promptly charged me down, killing me instantly.

    And back it went into its box, never to surface again...

    Peej

  • CyberClaw #6 8 years ago

    Balls of Steel they say... Balls of Steel rat's ass I say. It still hurts as hell. I know one shouldn't crouch, and should do some push ups... But godamn it hurts so much I want to get into my fetus position and just wait for the excruciating (comes from scrotum right?) pain to go away.

  • EVERYGAMER #7 8 years ago

    I lost my gaming Virginity to JetPac. The bright colours, the crazy fuzzy aliens on level 2 and the superb strobing colours on the rocket when it launched.

    /wipes tear from eye

  • EVERYGAMER #8 8 years ago

    Jesus I've been gaming for 20 years, My god I've wasted my life!!!!

  • Dizzy #9 8 years ago

    Very good review! As a 30-something guy I was really excited to see Ulti*heu* Rare back to form with a nice platformer. I might get it for my next big planetrip. Good GBA games are very Rare *pun intended*

    /whoozzzzzzzzzzzz
    /decapitates CyberClaw with light sabre

  • slider271 #10 8 years ago

    JetPac, Pssst, Tranz-Am and Cookie were very different games, gameplay-wise, so whether or not they used the same basic engine they were excellent fun for the time and very technically impressive, to boot.

    While Alien 8 was a recycling of Knight Lore, at least it was a new game using the same engine, rather than the industry's current penchant for releasing the same game using an updated engine (most football games spring to mind). And who could blame Ultimate for re-using their Filmation engine when it was the first to do anything that looked that good on the Spectrum? In the same vein, the Stampers' last Speccy title, Gunfright, was a vast improvement over Nightshade which now seems like just a test for Filmation II.

    Sabre Wulf was an extension of what they'd done in Atic Atac but with arguably simpler gameplay spread over a much larger map. The exploration of the jungle was the big selling point, as it was with many games of the time (e.g. Starquake, Nonterraqueous and many more I'm sure).

    It's not just rose-tinted specs, I genuinely still enjoy Tranz-Am, JetPac and even the insanely-hard Lunar Jetman (I managed to get to about 3rd in the high score table once), and I think it's that instant pick-up-and-play factor that Rare have managed to get into the GBA Sabre Wulf which is often missing from modern games.

    Mike

  • Kami #11 8 years ago

    Well, I may try this one out via rental.

    Looks nice. But from the sounds of it, I'll finish it during rental...

  • mustardkid #12 8 years ago

    i always prefered hewson's firelord to be honest ... yeh yeh i know i'll get me coat

  • Kami #13 8 years ago

    Actually, I always liked Pitfall...

    *kick*

    Ow! Who kicked me?

    *goes back to dreaming of the days you could get a brand new game for under a tenner*
    Edited by 1 at 23/03/04 @ 15:33

  • slider271 #14 8 years ago

    Cheers, same for me, WOPR. Cool touches like the animation as Sabreman changed into the Wulf (as well as the great boxes that the £9.99 Ultimate games came in) made it a really special purchase at the time, especially compared to some of the other games available at the same time. Plus, a tenner was a lot money back then!

    That's something I miss - because of the internet, there's no sense of awe when you go into a shop and see the latest games running...obviously getting older has affected the excitement as well, cos I probably wouldn't go into John Menzies and make their Spectrum display "I'm cheaper at Micro Shack" repeatedly any more either...

  • mustardkid #15 8 years ago

    anyone remember the lunar jetman trailer controversy ... i'd like to think that it's still raging in some dark corner of the interweb

    linkage
    Edited by 1 at 23/03/04 @ 15:36

  • Zero Beat #16 8 years ago

    "Rare seeks inspiration from its past for a return to form..."

    Rare never lost their form. *tch*

  • Mox #17 8 years ago

    There were 'only' 256 screens in Sabre Wulf, arranged in a 16x16 grid.

    I always thought they kind of lost their focus at Sabre Wulf, to be honest. Their games lost a certain kind of spirit and became clinical. Knight Lore and Alien 8 pretty much exhausted the possibilities of the mechanics offered; you have to look ahead to Blast Corps to see them recapture something of the quality of play experience that Jet Pac had. Actually, even that is unfair; their other titles were certainly perfectly playable ... but I never felt much soul to them.

  • Sko #18 8 years ago

    "Rare never lost their form. *tch*"

    Yeah, you can't lose what you never had...

    /runs away

    Looks like one of their rendered DK games. Never liked their rendered DK games. Meh.

  • 3william56 #19 8 years ago

    Boys and girls, it's Christmas time without Uncle Fred getting p**sed in front of 'Er Maj on the telly.

    The full BBC B version of Sabre Wulf can be had, free gratis, legit and for nowt at http://www.stairwaytoh ell.com (along with Elite and just about every Beeb game ever made, including Cookie, Atic Atac, Alien8 and the rest of Ultimate's output).

    The windows Beeb emulator (an absolute doddle to get working - no DOSsy Mame fiddling here) can be had from http://model b.bbcmicro.com/download.html

    8 bit hog heaven. Expect Beeb user reviews soon. Tom Seddon - you are a legend.

  • Blerk #20 8 years ago

    The full BBC B version of Sabre Wulf can be had, free gratis, legit and for nowt

    Er... wrong. Not 'legit' at all. RARE absolutely 100% denies free distribution of ALL its previous games, including Ultimate stuff. Bar none. They are quite vocal about it, in fact. Which is a shame, 'cos they're great games and hardly best-sellers these days.

    As for this version of Sabre Wulf... s'not really 'Sabre Wulf' at all, is it? Seems to be getting wildly varied reviews too - Games TM gave it 4/10 this month.... Who should I believe? ;-)

  • 3william56 #21 8 years ago

    Damn. *Thought* it was legit.
    /dons eye patch, parrot and Keith Richards accent/

    It'd pretty sad of them if they were to get uptight about software for a system 20 years dead.

    Obviously, they've got to defend their ownership of the name and concept, for updates such as this one and POP. No bother there. But IMHO any software that far out of date should be declared orphanware as a general PR principal. It costs them nothing, and it could generate interest in the new versions.

    I don't go with piracy of current games, but once a game is no longer on sale, and the owners are losing nothing, it's open season as far as I'm concerned.

  • Blerk #22 8 years ago

    Yep, it's pretty sad really. It's not like they're losing anything by allowing people to play them. Of course, I can play them all legally... 'cos I own all the originals. :-)

  • Blerk #23 8 years ago

    I haven't actually read the review yet - I'll take a look at it tonight. From the quick glance I had at it, however, I seem to think they were bothered that it was too short and had next to no replay value.

  • Bill-Lumberg #24 6 years ago

    This game is excellent fun - pick it up cheap if you see it. Even the wife loves playing it.