I've been a fan of the Spyro franchise since Season of Ice in 2001. I own all of the portable games that have been released since then. I will admit that I have not finished all of them - Shadow Legacy proved difficult and I just never got around to finishing the second part of the Legend of Spyro trilogy, The Eternal Night. But I have played all of them at some point.
This is a game I've looked forward to being able to play (I've been a little behind on the games for a while - I usually start a game, lose interest for a while when I get stuck, and go back later with new resolve) since it's 2008 release.
After playing it through from start to finish, I find that I am a bit disappointed by how short the game was for me. I blew through it in record time for a Spyro game. I'm still not finished with Season of Ice (those fairies have proven difficult to find in some cases), I've finished Season of Flame and Attack of the Rhynocs multiple times, I've gotten stuck on the final boss (I think) on Shadow Legacy (last I remember, at least), I've beaten The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, and I've gotten stuck in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. I don't think I've ever blown through a Spyro game in the time it took me to beat this game. My save file clocks in at 8:41. Several of those hours had it sitting open on my bed while I did other things and I was constantly multitasking. Yet, I beat the final boss - after a great deal of frustration when he kept killing me - in under nine hours.
This is simply a short game. The developers did not put nearly as much effort into it as previous Spyro games and I find that fairly disappointing, though I would still buy a new Spyro game in a heartbeat. There are maybe six levels where you go through and use your elemental breath on the enemies, some of whom are immune to certain types of Spyro's or Cynder's breath. Admittedly, they're long levels with save points few and far between. That's another thing that frustrated me. There were certain points where I kept dying, and I would always respawn at the last checkpoint, which was AGES before where I had been. That would be why my DS spent a great deal of time sitting there on my bed while I was working on something or other for something else. Or watching a movie. The bosses - once you figure out what you're supposed to do - are also pretty easy.
The game mechanics are good overall, though I found that I was constantly switching dragons from Spyro to Cynder and vise-versa instead of switching the kind of breath I was using. The use of the bumpers was a bit irritating, but that's my only issue with the gameplay.
Graphically, this game is pretty well done. It's not as good as Season of Ice - which, as my first Spyro game, sets very high standards because it could keep me amused for hours and hours without fail - or any of the original handheld series. The drawings of Spyro and the other characters are beautiful, and the voicing in the cutscenes is somewhat night.
Overall, I wanted to love this game. I honestly enjoyed it, but it is not my favorite of the Spyro franchise. It is, unfortunately, right down there with Shadow Legacy for me. For a Spyro game, I give it two and a half stars out of five. For a game overall, I would give it three stars. It's a fun game, but I wish it was longer and more intricate than just running forward and breathing things on the enemies.
No comments:
Post a Comment