Sceptre of Baghdad came out quite late in the C64 lifecycle. That usually means excellent graphic, controls and music! I hope I will be platforming, slinging spells and swinging a sword!
We do need to discuss the cover art, though...
The cover is busy, as in a "Where's Waldo?" level of busy. It's hostile. The cover is daring us to stay around long enough to find the main character. This art has some of the most appalling use of color that I have ever seen in a game jacket. Cyclops is dull. Medusa is completely one color, as if her face and clothing and snakes are all made from the same material. Her facial expression is fantastic, however! She seems incredibly grateful for the chance to do evil. Not quite sure about the reasoning for the fangs. Is she also supposed to be a vampire? Regarding the hero, we don't get to see the hero's face. My assumption is that the artist started drawing from the outer edges first. They got bored once they reached the middle and didn't bother giving my dude a face. The genie on the bottom got way more love than the rest of the cast, considering that he got actual clothes to go along with a full facial expression. Don't I wish that I was playing as him!
Status: Played it
Thoughts: The controls are wonderful! I love running around and jumping. And on screens with enemies, I can shoot energy blasts from my hands! The game looks beautiful. So smooth that you would think it was an early Amiga title! The music is EXCELLENT.
The problem is that this game also wants to be an adventure. When there is only 1 button, the choice is usually between adventure or action. It is a poor idea to put both of them together. Both modes end up shortchanged. In this case, the adventure portion is boring. It involves picking up objects while having a very small inventory that must be cycled through. Then drop certain objects in different places, essentially trading them with other objects in order to solve puzzles. If you have the correct item highlighted and are in the right place, something will happen to advance your play.
But since the items don't really have descriptions and you cannot use the item in a visible way, there is no reward for accomplishing goals. A text adventure would give detailed descriptions and you can communicate with the game. A point-and-click adventure would allow everything to be examined on the screen at your own pace, along with providing a list of verbs that can change the context of your interaction with the item.
Sceptre of Baghdad made me realize that I really want the randomizer to give me an adventure game!
Rating: 2.0 out of 4 Genies
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