Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
European cover art
Developer(s)	Eurocom
Publisher(s)	THQ
Platform(s)	GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Mobile phone
Release	NA: November 10, 2003 PAL: February 20, 2004 Mobile August 19, 2004
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is a third person action-adventure video game inspired by the mythology of Ancient Egypt for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube consoles. The game was developed by Eurocom and published by THQ. It was released on November 10, 2003, in North America and on February 20, 2004 in the PAL region. A mobile version was released on August 19, 2004.

In Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, the player falls into the role of a demi-god, 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 fantasy land of Egypt in which the game is set is in a period of turmoil when we are introduced to Sphinx, one of the main protagonists. He and his colleague Horus are given the task of retrieving the Blade of Osiris, a legendary sword. They are taken to Uruk, "the land of darkness", by their master Imhotep where they eventually find the Blade. Horus is attacked and supposedly killed by a deadly ray that protects The Castle of Uruk, a mysterious building that houses evil. Sphinx retrieves the Blade, but while trying to escape is also attacked by the ray. He is forced to travel to an unknown location through the use of a portal system.

Meanwhile, the young Prince Tutenkhamen of Luxor celebrates his birthday. His older brother, Akhenaten, captures him and performs a bizarre ritual that turns him into an undead mummy. Sphinx arrives and interrupts the ritual, causing Tutenkhamen and Akhenaten 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. We then learn 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.