The story may be cursed, but the gameplay is not.  This isn't an overly complex game, but you might be a tad overwhelmed at first.  The worlds are pretty massive, featuring more enemies, open areas, and multiple passages than most Xbox titles.  This being an adventure game and all, expect to see some story segments in between your puzzle-solving and enemy-killing.  There's a lot of platforming involved as well, and with some areas suspended in the air, you must be careful not to fall off.

If you do, you'll notice the game uses a different kind of life bar.  You have what are called Gold Health Ankhs.  Each ankh is equal to a few hits of damage, or a few falls into a lava pit (or off a cliff).  You begin the game with only three ankhs but can increase that number considerably as you advance.

To keep the game fresh and appealing, each character plays quite differently.  Sphinx is more of an action, go-in-and-get-'em kind of guy.  He can be stealthy, but with a variety of attack types, he's the character you'll look forward to using most of the time.  That's not to say that you won't also enjoy using the Mummy.  The Mummy's attacks or more magical than Sphinx's.  Burst yourself into flames to become a walking torch.  You know that deadly lava that keeps creeping up on you?  As Fire Mummy, lava can't hurt you.  Flammable obstacles will perish.  New paths can be open.  Even enemies are unavoidably vulnerable to your fiery self.  They can run, but what's the point, you'll catch up to them eventually.

As Smoke Mummy, you can walk through spikes without being harmed.  Paper-thin Mummy turns your toilet paper-covered friend into a weightless creature.  Wind machines can blow him into the air and narrow cracks can be passed through in this helpful form.  By contrast, the Electric Mummy can activate machinery that's not currently working.  Enemies don't like electricity, so if you see any, give 'em a buzz.  Be aware though: water counteracts the electrical effects, so if you touch water, your powers will disappear.

These are all from the same Mummy mind you.  He can take on all of these forms, as well as a couple of forms that I should probably let you discover yourself.

If Sphinx's regular attacks aren't enough for you, then you'll love his handy Blowpipe. The blowpipe has five different types of darts – Ice, Ka, Acid, Bouncing, and Standard.  Ice darts turn certain creatures into a block of ice.  By shooting a Ka dart at a Ka Ankh while standing on a specific pedestal, Sphinx can be transported to the location of the ankh.  Acid darts have two nice effects: they continue to harm enemies even after impact and can help you in other ways by dissolving things like metal chains.  Bouncing darts are very cool because they enable you to shoot at enemies from different angles.  The only catch is that these darts are only powerful enough to take out explosive enemies.  The Standard darts are cursed with the same weakness – they too cannot harm anything but explosive enemies.  You do get an unlimited supply of Standard darts though, so that is one advantage to using them as opposed to the rarer, more important Ice darts.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker may be in a league all its own, but Eurocom made sure that some of its gameplay shined through in this game.  Your controls and all of their actions are placed on the top right of the screen.  As both characters the A button is jump, X is action, B is attack (Sphinx only), etc.  Depending on your actions the X button's function may change.  The most basic example would be when you come across on object that can be picked up.  If you pick up a rock, you can drop it with the X button or throw it with the B button.  The Y button is left open for item assignments, as are the L and R buttons.  As you can see, the guys and gals at Eurocom must be very big Zelda fans.  You'll be glad they are – the controls probably wouldn't have been as good without that inspiration.

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy has got a lot of competition right now, but its great, somewhat unique gameplay will carry it to victory.  The game has not been targeted in the same way that Zelda or even Legacy of Kain have, but it has a lot in common with those two titles.  It's not the longest game in the world, but it is very big, with many objectives to complete in each area.  The most hardcore gamers could maybe finish it off in a several hour marathon of non-stop gaming, but the rest of you will need a weekend or two to take it down.  Additionally, there a few memorable moments that make the game worth playing after it's finished.

Gameplay: 8
One of the better adventure games released this year, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is the most fun you'll have playing as the dead.  The big levels and use of Zelda elements push this game above the average titles on the market.

It was smart to include two individual characters in this game – that really sets it apart from its competitors who use two characters simultaneously.  Of course, individuality is nothing if both characters play exactly the same.  In Sphinx, gamers will have the luxury of controlling two entirely different characters.  Their attack styles are different, and to separate the characters even further, the developers made them walk/run differently as well.  It's subtle, but important in making each character feel unique.

Graphics: 8.8
Sphinx looks very good.  The graphics are pretty much without flaw.  However, the textures, lighting, animation, etc., has been seen a zillion times on Xbox.  This is the most powerful console available and rarely does a game show it.

Sound: 7

Difficulty: Medium
Patience and endurance.  That's what it takes to beat this game.  There are parts of the game that are really tough to beat if you're in a big hurry.  Other parts take resilience – if you give up easily, you're likely to give up here.  It'd be a mistake though.  No one wants to waste several hours playing a game just because it might be worth it, but this game is.

Concept: 7.5
Conceptually, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy isn't as impressive as the end result.  There aren't too many games out there with a Sphinx in them, but there are quite a few that feature the same gameplay mechanics.  However, most games fail to execute those mechanics as well as Sphinx.

Overall: 8
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy comes from game developer Eurocom.  Eurocom is known for developing high-quality ports of 32- and 64-bit arcade games.  Recently they went on to create James Bond 007: Nightfire and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds.

Their first foray into the adventure genre should be very well received by the Zelda-loving public.  Game developers are getting better and better at designing top-notch levels and Eurocom is no exception.  Sphinx will take you to worlds you've never seen before, some high up in the air, others deep inside a creepy lair.  The controls aren't entirely perfect, but they function well enough to get players through the game without wanting to quit.