This Atlantis cheapie is definitely full of eastern promise! You're the Khazi of Kalabar, or some such, and at noon you've got to show your people the Sacred Sceptre of Somethingorother to prove your right to rule the poor souls. That's the way those oriental types used to carry on - these days no doubt they'd prove their worth by shooting a few people in the himalayas (ooh nasty!)
    Of course life is never as easy as that, and you wake up on the morning of the Sceptre Show to find that things are a little odd. An evil wizard from afar covets your throne and has cast spells galore on your palace, turning it into a huge Wally game. You wouldn't have thought they knew of such things back in 1187, but they did, right down to the way you can only carry two objects, your attributes clash when you walk past multi-coloured objects and your enemies fly up and down from the ceiling. Yes, that was the Week that was.
    Ah, but let's not carp (or even pike), 'cos the Wally games were great, and this follows the blueprint to a T. You wander around the palace, avoiding meanies and picking up objects. Carry certain objects to activate others (f'rinstance, what do you need to perform the Indian rope trick?) and try not to waste your three lives before you've completed the game. There are some nice extra features (try flying Air Bagdad). Oh, and don't go for a chat with the Medusa too readily (I'll leave you to reflect on that).
    Anyone pining for the Wal is likely to be pleasantly surprised by Sceptre Of Bagdad. It's not even vaguely original and doesn't pretend to be, but it's good fun and a bargain at two quid.

Ratings given by other magazines

7/10      8/10    Crash Review ---

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