That cute little purple dragon is
back again, but this time around he’s much more serious and not as playful as
in previous games. Unlike his other adventures, A New Beginning is almost
wholly a combat game, with very minimal platforming elements. There aren’t any
locational puzzles to speak of, and hardly any collecting. About the only
jumping involves jumping high up to deliver some type of one-two punch to
enemies. Yep, Spyro has changed, but for the better? Our family doesn’t think
so, but the final verdict depends on what type of game you prefer, a platform
game or a fighting game.
In A New Beginning, Spyro learns
that he really isn’t a firefly after all, but is really a dragon from a
distant land (remember The Jerk?). He immediately sets out to discover more
about his origins and soon learns that the Dark Master has enslaved the
dragons, with the help of a very bad dragon named Cynder. In order to free the
land from these two, Spyro must free the dragons. Along the way, he will also
learn more about his true identity.
This story is unfolded by the use
of many cutscenes, which are of a high cinematic quality. They are excellently
animated and really neat to watch. This is a good thing, because they also
interrupt the gameplay to an annoying degree in the first part of the game.
The intrusiveness is almost forgotten, though, as players watch these dramatic
movies.
These movies set the tone for the
entire game, as this game is darker and much more serious than previous Spyro
games. The plot of the game is a quest, where Spyro is on a dangerous mission
to free the dragons from Cynder. His whole demeanor is serious, even his
facial expressions. The silliness of the previous games is absolutely lacking,
despite the punish names of some of the characters (manweersmalls are the
names of some small characters).
It’s not only the movies that are
beautiful; the entire game is a joy to watch, from the backgrounds and
characters to the animated fighting between Spyro and the bad guys. It’s
easily one of the prettiest games we’ve seen on the GameCube. The effort that
went into the animation and cinematics is evident. But, pretty pictures do not
a game make. Unfortunately, besides the wonderful graphics, there isn’t a
whole lot going for this game.
It’s all about the combat. Really,
there is nothing else going on here besides fighting. There are different
levels, such as a fire world, an earth world, an ice world, a space world,
etc., with a few, brief flying sequences thrown in, but that’s all that is
different, because the fighting is the same from level to level. Spyro gains
new powers in each level, but they don’t change the game any, except that he
doesn’t die as quickly in his first encounters with the current level’s
baddies. This is what happens in every location: Spyro runs into a location,
the bad guys pop out of the ground or swoop down from the air, and the player
immediately starts mashing buttons for combat combos. By killing the baddies
and smashing items, Spyro collects gems which are used to increase his powers,
essentially. While Spyro does become more powerful and harder to kill, there
isn’t anything new or special about these attacks, as we’ve seen them all
before.
Wham! Pow! Flame! Spyro is a
whirlwind of flame and ice as he battles. It’s intense action, and fun enough
the first few times, but as the enemies keep piling on, it becomes less fun,
especially for younger players. This game is much more difficult than A Hero’s
Tale, and young players will have a hard time of it. Older gamers who like a
lot of combat may enjoy the higher level of difficulty, but the sameness of it
all may pall on adults.
For starters, this is a one-pony
show, with fighting the only thing to do the entire game. There is a constant
barrage of combat directed at Spyro that he cannot avoid. Once an enemy is
defeated, a ton more appear. There is literally nowhere to hide or escape; all
enemies must be killed to advance. There are almost no collection items,
except for the gems that are used as power-ups, and there really aren’t any
locational puzzles to solve. All Spyro does the entire game is beat up the bad
guys. The combat itself isn’t badly done; in fact, much of it is well-designed
with good collision detection and good camera angles. But it is repetitive
and tedious after awhile, and there is no opportunity to rest or catch a
breath between fights, as the baddies are constantly present. The gameplay
becomes boring, and there isn’t anything else to do besides fight. No
mini-games, no collecting, no puzzles.
Whether gamers like the new Spyro
over previous interpretations really depends on the type of gaming they
prefer, platforming and collecting, or combat-oriented. Our family enjoyed A
Hero’s Tale immensely, despite it not being considered a great game by the
majority of reviewers. While not a technical marvel or a startlingly
innovative game, A Hero’s Tale was a very entertaining family game, and one
that everyone could enjoy. The variety and amount of collecting was just
right for young players, and it offered enough challenge to be interesting
without being frustrating. On the other hand, A New Beginning is much more
difficult, due to the intense combat which can’t be avoided. This higher
difficulty could be considered a plus for older players, but the
repetitiveness of the game as a whole and the utter lack of anything else to
do besides fight ultimately negates any positive from the increased challenge.
The bottom line is that this isn’t
the family friendly game that its predecessor was. It is a better-looking
game, and is harder, but the drawbacks of the lack of variety and general
sense of fun cancel out the good features.
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Gameplay: 6.0
The endless
combat palls after awhile, with no relief in sight. There is no escape or
avoiding the fighting, and there isn’t anything other than fighting to do.
There needed to be more things to do, like puzzles, mini-games, or anything
besides fighting.
Graphics: 9.0
The graphics are
absolutely wonderful!
Sound: 7.0
The sound effects
are decent, but nothing above the average.
Difficulty: Hard
The game is
difficult due to the endless combat that can’t be avoided.
Concept: 6.0
There isn’t
anything new or different about this game.
Overall: 6.0
While this is one
of the best-looking games we’ve seen and the combat, in and of itself, is
designed well enough, the gameplay just isn’t any fun after the first hour of
play. If it isn’t very fun, it isn’t very good.
