Developer : THQ
Release date : February 20, 2004
Synopsis :
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is an action-adventure video game inspired by the mythology of Ancient Egypt for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game was developed by Eurocom and published by THQ. Nordic Games acquired THQ in 2014 and formed THQ Nordic, as a result, a remastered version of the game was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux on November 10, 2017. A physical Nintendo Switch version with several enhancements was released on January 29, 2019.
In Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, the player falls into the role of a demigod, Sphinx, and the undead corpse of Tutankhamen. Sphinx’s role is one of a brave warrior who battles fearsome monsters and relies on raw power to complete tasks. Tutenkhanmen, also known as the Mummy, revolves around puzzle-solving and logical thinking to outwit his foes.
The fictional version of Egypt in which the game is set is in a period of turmoil when the player is introduced to Sphinx, one of the main protagonists. He and his fellow apprentice Horus are given the task of retrieving the legendary Blade of Osiris by their master, Imhotep. They are taken to Uruk, “the land of darkness”, where they eventually find the Blade. Horus is attacked and supposedly killed by a deadly ray that protects the Castle of Uruk. Sphinx retrieves the Blade, but while trying to escape is also attacked by the ray and forced to travel to an unknown location through the use of a portal system.
Meanwhile, the young Prince Tutenkhamen of Luxor celebrates his birthday, but his older brother, Akhenaten, captures him and performs a ritual that turns him into a mummy. Sphinx arrives and interrupts the ritual, causing Tutenkhamen, Akhenaten and his henchman Menes to be teleported to the Castle of Uruk. Sphinx learns that fragments of Tutenkhamen’s soul are stored in Canopic Vases, and takes on the task of recollecting them to restore him to his former self. In the Castle, Akhenaten gloats that the recent events were nothing but a minor setback. The player then learns that “Akhenaten” is in fact the dark god Set in disguise, and that the real Akhenaten was mummified in the same way as Tutenkhamen to allow Set to assume his form. However, because of Sphinx’s actions he cannot disguise himself as Tutenkhamen to take power in Luxor as planned.
Sphinx and Imhotep devise a plan to use the Mummy/Tutenkhamen’s immortality to their benefit; a single Canopic Vase is able to bring him to life for a short while, but he still remains practically dead allowing him to safely venture the trap-riddled Castle of Uruk. Imhotep creates Bas-ket, who can sneak inside the castle to deliver the Vases to the Mummy. Throughout the story, the Mummy exploits his inability to be killed to survive the traps and retrieve valuable items to aid Sphinx in his quest. In return, Sphinx finds more Canopic Vases over the course of the game and uses Bas-ket to send them to his undead ally.
During his time in the city of Heliopolis, Sphinx learns that the god Anubis has caused great suffering to the people of the land; most prominently, he cast many of them into stone statues. Sphinx’s heroic nature appeals to Anubis, and gradually allows him to free the people from their stone curse. However, the tasks given to Sphinx become more dangerous over time. Anubis asks him to retrieve “Sacred Crowns”, immensely powerful objects once used by the gods of Egypt.
The first crown to retrieve is the Sacred Crown of Abydos, a city barraged by various disasters and troubles (though not apparent at first, the chaos is the work of Set). Most recently, the Mayor falls very ill and the Crown almost falls into the hands of his traitorous aides. Sphinx is able to save him and in return is rewarded with the crown.
Each crown presents a greater challenge for Sphinx than the previous; he battles and defeats the fearsome Geb Queen for possession of the Sacred Crown of Uruk, and the pharaoh of Heliopolis for the Crown of Heliopolis. As Sphinx proves his might to Anubis, the enigmatic god reveals he cast the people of Heliopolis into stone to protect them from the darkness that will soon descend upon Egypt at the hands of Set.
The Mummy discovers The Sacred Crown of Set, the final crown, in the depths of The Castle of Uruk. He takes it and this greatly weakens the ray protecting the castle. Bas-ket is able to escape with the crown, but Set catches the Mummy and paralyses him.
With all four Sacred Crowns, Anubis is able to summon Osiris, another god who reveals he and Set were once a single form named Ra. Set, however, became greedy and stole power from Osiris to take over Egypt. Osiris uses the last of his power to transport Sphinx past the defenses of The Castle of Uruk, where he challenges Set for the fate of all Egypt. Set takes on his “true form”; a hideous monster with immense power, but Sphinx is able to defeat him. Set is not destroyed, indeed Imhotep appears and tells Sphinx that this is not in his destiny. Instead, Osiris arrives and forcibly reunites himself with the weakened Set and Ra is formed once again. Ra gives the Mummy the last Canopic Vase, but the Mummy tragically falls and breaks it. As the game ends on a cliffhanger, Imhotep states there may be other ways to help Tutenkhamen regain his human form.
Source : Wikipedia
