Review #753: The Scorpion King - Sword of Osiris

 And this is why WayForward are the kings of licensed games.

 Long, long ago, the Mummy movies, starring Brendan Fraser, were pretty famous and thus a spinoff, the Scorpion King was born. In case you couldn't tell what the Rock was cooking, because the movie was pretty mediocre, the movie received a couple of licensed games in order to cash in on the Rock's rising popularity, The Scorpion King - Sword of Osiris being the Gameboy's version, developed by mainstream videogame developer darling WayForward.

 I don't know if the game follows the plot from the movie, and I really don't care because it doesn't really matter. Mathayus' sweetheart, Cassandra, gets taken away by the baddies, so he is out to rescue her and save the world, and restoring a magical gauntlet and obtaining the mythical Sword of Osiris in the process. The game is made up of seven stages, and you can play as both Mathayus AND Cassandra, although the latter is only available on the game's intro and through cheats. The game runs on passwords, which kinda suck, but at least they are only four pictures long.

 The game is a fast-paced 2-D action/platformer game in which you'll jump and slash your way to the end. Mathayus has access to two weapons(technically three), a two-handed sword and two hook swords, a dagger and a kick in the case of Cassandra, and the difference between both is merely about range, speed and strength: The Sword/Dagger is much stronger, but has less reach and a bit slower, while the Hook Swords/Kick have more range, come out quicker and hit overhead. I was just fine with the broad sword for most of the game, but a few flying enemies were better dealt with using the hookswords, so swapping weapons has its sparse uses. Both weapons have charge attacks(Hold B and then push different directions) but those moves are incredibly situational, so I only used them because I wanted to try them out, not because they'd be the optimal response to an enemy.

 As you defeat bosses, one per stage, you'll unlock gem slots on your gauntlet. Gems can be obtained from fallen enemies and they boost your stats. The first gem you find powers up your weapons, engulfing them in fire, the second level adds a rotating, defensive flame around your characters, etc. There are four different levels for gem power, but gems can be hard to come by and getting hit means you lose one gem level, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I wasn't good enough to manage to keep a level 3 gem buff long enough to see how the fourth level worked.

 The Scorpion King on the Gameboy Advance is a fairly solid offering for people looking to get their action-platform fix. Gameplay is snappy and there's nothing particularly bad about it, maybe how forgettable it can be due to the unremarkable licensed its based on. Regardless, the game does have its staying power. I first tried it out during the Advance Emulation heyday, before I even know what WayfForward was, and I never forgot about this game because of how great a first impression made thanks to how fun it was to play.
 7.5 out of 10