It started several years ago with the blockbuster release of: The Mummy, then a couple years later the sequel: The Mummy Returns. This time it featured Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as the: The Scorpion King. While his part in the movie wasn't very long, the producers decided that they would make a movie based on The Scorpion King's past. This past year this movie was released and it did fairly well. It was only a matter of time before games based on the movie will be released upon the world. Enter: The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian.

After traveling the known world for many years, people began to settle down in nice regions creating their own culture. One tribe, the Akkadian's, got to be well known for being the best assassins known to the world, they are master of combat, honorable warriors who risk their very lives for the king. King Urmhet is not only the king, but he also personally watches his people train, before he sends them out on these dangerous missions.

This is where Mathayus, the Scorpion King, is first introduced. Players take over Mathayus in the village while training to become the next great assassin. This tutorial is vital and good to get players acquainted with the controls, so they will come proficient in their work. Once players finish the training missions, they will receive personal orders from the King, to go help a village, that is seeking revenge against someone who murdered one of their friends. This one mission will be the beginning of a long and arduous journey to become one of the strongest men that walked the ancient Egyptian world. Will his strength alone be enough to take vengeance upon the world, or will it let him down?

The game is a 3rd person action/adventure with some RPG elements thrown into the mix. Players will go throughout the game beating up and killing myriads of enemies being thrown at you. Players can collect strength and endurance items to increase the power of Mathayus. There are also many weapons thrown throughout each level that has many different attributes that can be utilized. There are gauntlets, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, spears, and shields. Gauntlets are gloves that enhance his hand-to-hand moves. One-handed swords have a nice speed and range. Two-handed swords are more powerful, but they are slow in execution. Spears are weaker but they are lighting-quick which a huge range. Shields will help absorb hits, without taking any of Mathayus life points away. There are many different weapons in each class, to give players a different experience, while playing through out the entire game.

Through out the game players will be afflicted by poison, wither, slow, and fire. Poison will drain Mathayus' health, wither will drain his stamina, slow will make him unable to jump for a while, and fire will drain his health and stamina. There are cures for all of these afflictions that return Mathayus to his normal condition. Each level contains a certain amount of blood rubies, collecting these can be very vital, and extremely rewarding. These unlock various bonuses, which are interesting and well worth the time it takes to obtain the rubies.

The controls for the game are very simple, and players will be able to master it within fifteen minutes. The control stick will move Mathayus around. A button is his normal attack, action, and pickup/throw items. B Button is his strong attack. X button is the jump button. Y button is a special move. The D-pad will change between different weapons that Mathayus has available to him. The C stick will rotate the camera. R button is a secret move, and the Z button will reset the camera to behind Mathayus.

The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian is rated T for Teen for violence, and requires 2 blocks of memory.

Gameplay: 6.3
The game is very easy to pick up and learn, players will have mastered the controls within fifteen minutes. The game is obviously an action/adventure game with RPG elements, but it should not be this boring. Here is a basic run down of the first real level: Walk in door, fight 5 guys, next door opens, fight eleven guys, and the cycle keeps going on until players reach a save point, or goodies through in the level that will help, not much, keep the repetitiveness away. In short the developers overcompensated the action with just throwing myriads of dumb AI characters at the players though out the whole level. The game is way too easy, and players will find that learning new combos will become futile since they can use the same one, and kill all the characters with minimal hassle.

Graphics: 6.9
The Scorpion King will not blow anyone away from a graphical standpoint. The game is not ugly, but at the same time it is not pushing the GameCube in any sense. The textures used are sparse, and at times very bland, and seemed "washed out". The character models are finely designed and the places Mathayus will visit, is nicely modeled. What is a shame is how all the characters feel like robots. The animations are way off with every character, it is something seen out of the last generation games. Some characters will be taller and weigh more than others, yet all move with the same set of animations, with no real distinction. At times it is almost funny seeing how all the characters move and fight throughout the game. Some of the heavier set NPCs seem like they are almost floating.

Sound: 7.3
The game has its high points, as some theme music from the movie, but what is really tragic is that the music that is played though out the game is really annoying and becomes tedious quickly. Every time players take three steps, they will hear that placid battle music and will roll their eyes. A variety in music would have really captivated the moment in the game and would have drawn players more into Mathayus's world. The sound effects are sub par, and could have used a little more attention too.

The score does get bumped up more so because "The Rock, Mark Hamill, and other well known voice actors" provide their talented voices. This makes the cut scenes bearable and enjoyable, compared to other games.

Difficulty: Easy
Scorpion King is tremendously easy to pick up on, play, and then conquer. The game was obviously made for a younger audience in mind, because anyone with any talent can beat the game within several hours!

Concept: 6.5
This game has what I like to call "The movie license blues." It emphasizes too much on the famous actors and the name recognition, but forgets what the game is supposed to be about: balance, fun, and playability. I am pleased to see that Point of View threw in some RPG elements to the mix, as it gave players another reason to go through the game.

Overall: 7.0
The Scorpion King: Rise Of The Akkadian is not a terrible waste of a good license. It just emphasized specific issues while forgetting some important ones, such a game play balance. Once players beat the game, they have little incentive to continue playing other than a few goodies throughout the game. Otherwise players will need to look elsewhere for their action fix.