The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian

Inspired by the Universal blockbuster hit, The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian puts you in the role of a fearless warrior looking to avenge the spirits of his people.  While this sounds interesting, there are a few inspired-by-the-movie games that really aren’t worth mentioning.  Could The Scorpion King be one of these games?  Please read on, wayward warrior.

Gamers play Mathayus, a mighty warrior that belongs to a tribe of assassins known as the Akkadians, who is destined to be the last of his people and the future Scorpion King.  The events in the game takes place before those seen in the movie and so gamers get to witness the actual extermination of the Akkadians and Mathayus’ rise as a legendary warrior. 

The story is simple: after being sent on a mission of assassination by his King, Mathayus returns back to his home only to find his village burned down and all of its people killed . . . including the King himself who dies before him.  After finding out that this was the work of an evil sorcerer known as Magus, Mathayus seeks vengeance and goes on a journey to put an end to Magus and his plan to unleash the power of the Underworld and release its minions to the mortal world.

After completing a number of challenges used for training, gamers will see that moving Mathayus is simple.  He can perform a number of different tasks such as jumps and a number of kicks and punches.  You can easily pick up huge clay pots to throw at your enemies or unleash a special attack that can knock more than one opponent down.  Special combos allow Mathayus to make a spinning punch or kick that can knock a few enemies down in a single move.  And there are weapons such as various kinds of swords, spears and shields that even things out with enemies with bow and arrows.

Gamers should expect to be greatly outnumbered because the enemy comes in waves--and often with attack dogs.  There are a number of things you can use to ward them off such as tossing a clay pot filled with scalding acid or fire and your weapons can range in size such as huge long swords or double-bladed spears.  If you die--and you will die often--the game transports you back to the last save point.

The problem is that sometimes the camera angles do not give you the best view of the action and there will be many times where the gamer will be looking at nothing but a wall while you listen to the enemy beat on your character.  There is also no targeting system that allows Mathayus to lock-on to the nearest enemy . . . you have to quickly face the direction of an enemy and leave yourself vulnerable.  Or there will be a time when you will groan in frustration when you can’t hit a moving target like an enemy with a bow and arrow.

There are level bosses scattered throughout the game that range from tough human foes to supernatural creatures straight out of Egyptian lore and getting to them is simply a matter of beating up wave after wave of henchmen.  Make a mistake and go out the wrong door, you’ll find the place filled with henchmen you have to defeat all over again.  And sadly there are no puzzles that break away from the repetitious battles, all you’ll find are unchallenging searches for door opening levers.

The Scorpion King is also not a very visually impressive game, although it is just a tad better looking than The Mummy Returns . . . but not by very much.  Palaces, for example, aren’t richly detailed and have a rather plain-looking appearance that is completely disappointing. There are certain areas throughout the game that actually do look good.  The same can be said about the characters themselves that--with the exception of the recognizable main hero that really does look like The Rock--are not really eye-catching.

While the visuals are not inspiring, the score that plays throughout the game is thankfully one of the game’s better features.  It does a good job of setting up an ancient mood and the haunting melodies make the game feel much bigger than it really is.  And while the voice acting is pretty decent--Mathayus is voiced by The Rock himself and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker from Star Wars) is also in the game--the enemy tends to repeat their phrases to the point of being irritating.

The Scorpion King is a bloodless hack-and-slasher that goes nowhere and will leave gamers feeling truly disappointed.  With awful camera angles and nothing new to offer, this game is not for gamers looking for an action title fit for a king.  

Gameplay: 5.4
Mathayus possess a number of combat moves that range from spinning punches to grabbing a foe and tossing him. Special attacks can also be used on multiple enemies as long as the Stamina bar is filled.  You can also pick up certain clay pots that have different effects when they strike a foe down such as the fire pots or the acid pot.  Depending on the weapon you possess--swords of various sizes or gauntlets for extra punch strength--Mathayus can inflict various degrees of injury to his enemies.

However, enemies can also come in various shapes and sizes and Mathayus will find himself often outnumbered.  Unlucky for gamers use to having a targeting system, players will be bashing buttons hoping to get some good shots in before they completely surround you.

Graphics: 5.5
One of the game’s biggest disappointments is the visuals and here the game does not quite capture the overall grandeur of the movie’s exotic locations.  The textures in many of the interiors of the game are flat and uninteresting and courtyards are littered with objects that look as if they were made entirely of cardboard. Although not all is entirely bad, desert villages look fantastic and wonderfully ancient.

As far as characters are concerned, Mathayus looks a lot like his movie counterpart and is actually nicely rendered while the other characters aren’t as sharp looking in comparison--something gamers will notice right away during cut-scenes.  Meanwhile, the special effects are reduced to shimmering glows in the grounds and green flashes that come out of the hero’s body when an enemy hits him.  There are supernatural enemies, however, that do look fantastic.

Sound: 5.9
The game’s soundtrack mirrors the score found in the film and this is a good thing, actually, since the score is composed of exotic half-Arabic and half-tribal rhythms.  The cinematic score actually does do a good job of putting gamers into that world.  Gamers also get to listen to Godsmack’s “I Stand Alone” during the main menu screen and end credits.

Equally good is the voice acting, which surprisingly features Dwayne Johnson (also known as The Rock) in the lead role and Mark Hamill (of Star Wars fame).  Mathayus makes plenty of observational quips and after-battle remarks and it hardly ever becomes repetitive.  However, the same cannot be said about the enemy that will not ever stop saying “Bring me his head!”

Difficulty: Medium
As far as difficulty is concerned, The Scorpion King has its share of challenges.  Fighting requires you to use your fists and a small selection of weapons such as swords and spears, but it is not as easy as it sounds since camera angles can block you from seeing who is around you. Sometimes you can’t easily connect a punch with an enemy since there is no targeting system.  The puzzles in this game are also nonexistent. All you really have to do if find levers that open doors. 

Concept: 6.0
Many gamers might find it exciting playing a warrior that comes from a tribe of assassins and so they should be since this is the closest games will get to playing a Conan-like character aside from the one seen in The Mark of Kri.  And to make things even more appealing, both The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King films deal with the supernatural--so too does the game.

Overall: 5.6
Sadly, The Scorpion King fails to bring gamers anything unique or innovative enough to be as entertaining as the movie itself.  Unless you are a big fan of The Rock, I suggest gamers keep away from this one.