Animal Husbandry
The evil Dr. Doolittle-Goode has released Saber Wulf from his lengthy imprisonment in a statue in the middle of town. Doolittle-Goode shattered the amulet that was holding the Wulf in place, and has hidden the shards in his different labs across the land. The villagers, after having all of their goods pilfered by the pesky blue wolf, have sought the help of Sabre Man, the hero responsible for the wolf's imprisonment. Sabre Man must find the 8 shards of the amulet while recovering the goods that Saber Wulf stole from the villagers.
Sabre Wulf is split into two different sections. An isometric section serves as the game's overworld, where Sabre Man can chat with the locals, and purchase all sorts of goods that will aid his quest. The meat of the game is found in the 2D platform levels, where Sabre Man must find the treasure that Sabre Wulf has stolen. Being an old geezer makes things a lot tougher for Sabre Man. As he is unable to fight enemies, Sabre Man has to enlist the help of a group of friendly creatures. These friendly creatures range from the trampoline-like Blubba, to the dimwitted-but-extremely-powerful Clubba.
Once Sabre Man has negotiated his way through a level, he will have to snatch up the treasure which was stolen by Sabre Wulf, and rush back to his camp before the wolf catches up with him, and gives him what for. The value of the treasure the player recovers in the level is based on the time they take to make it to Sabre Wulf's lair - a quick romp through the level will net you a gold treasure, while taking your time will get you a bronze treasure. These treasures can be exchanged for coins, which you can then use to purchase power ups and new creates from shops placed around the overworld. This formula is mixed up with the laboratory levels found at the end of each world. In a lab level, Sabre Man must hit three switches to prevent a gauge from expiring. Successfully completing this task will net you a piece of the amulet, and progress to the next world.
Challenge seems to be vacant from the earlier half of Sabre Wulf, as even the most average player's will rip through the first two or three worlds in a matter of minutes. Thankfully, the game's difficulty begins to reach satisfactory levels from then on, though never really shaking off the simplicity expressed in the earlier levels. There aren't any bonuses to speak of, but fans of the older Ultimate games will notice a lot of references to the older games, which is a treat in itself.
Cave Dwelling
Sabre Wulf boasts a graphical presentation that uses the same techniques featured in the Donkey Kong Country games. This look hasn't translated too well to the small screen of the GBA in the past, but Sabre Wulf at least solves the brightness issues found in DKC. There's a variety of funny looking creatures that you'll encounter through the game, as well as the usual cliché platform level settings, with the lava and the snow, and so on. The game features a decent soundtrack and a variety of imperialistic voice samples from the hero himself.
For the Empire, Wot!
Sabre Wulf shows gamers that Rare still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. While the game is fairly easy, and doesn't stray too far from the formula mapped out in the earlier levels, it's still a joy to play. For gamers looking for an original, simplistic and enjoyable platform game on the GBA, then Sabre Wulf is the way to go.
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