It’s been a
year since the last Spyro game on the DS, Shadow
Legacy. Shadow Legacy was a bit of a departure for the series, in that it
focused almost exclusively on combat. It also played out in a top-down view.
This time around Amaze has gone in a different direction.
Spyro The Eternal Night is in 3D and the view of the action is more of
a “run into the screen” type of camera viewpoint. There is still plenty of
combat, but the traditional gem collecting is back, as well.
Many people
were happy to not have to collect any items in Shadow Legacy and be able to
just concentrate on battles, but I like collecting things and was glad to see
this feature back in the new Spyro. However, it
soon became apparent that this feature wasn’t fleshed out very well and,
unfortunately, it’s not the only thing that has an unfinished feel.
The story
takes up where it left off in the last game, but the main essence is this:
Spyro has been having visions about the Dark
Master, and goes on a quest to find a mysterious Dragon called The Chronicler,
who can supposedly shed some light on this Dark Master. In the meantime, he
will collect Health, Fury and Spirit gems, which will help him along his way.
Spyro can only use his Fire breath in the
beginning of the game, and must earn his other powers.
The main
gameplay elements consist of running
Spyro around the levels, collecting gems by
running into mushrooms and other objects, thus releasing them. There are
various enemies scattered around, and there are also puzzles that will open doors to
other areas of the level. Collecting gems in Spyro
games is usually fun, but it’s not very involving in this game. They are very
easy to find by just smashing the mushrooms, and there isn’t any challenge to
them. Spyro can also smash up some type of
drooping plant/lantern that looks a little like a Venus
Flytrap, but nothing happens when he does, so I’m not sure what the
point is.
Spyro
has to fight several enemies in order to get the puzzle pieces that are in
each level. Combat is very simple and can usually be accomplished by his
essential melee attack, even though powerups are
available for greater battle prowess later. One odd element to this combat is
that when an enemy has been punched several times, he will fly up into the
air. By hitting the jump button, players can fight the enemy in the air by
using the stylus to match the directional arrows on the screen. This isn’t
difficult, and doesn’t add anything to the game experience. In fact, it’s
somewhat disruptive to the gameplay because
players have to fight the enemy, hit the jump button, and then grab the stylus
to play the directional arrow game.
The game
looks attractive and Spyro is his usual cute
self. The camera viewpoint is in full 3D and Spryo
runs into and out of the screen in a free style similar to his console
gameplay. However, the camera is handled very
sloppily, and way too often Spyro runs into a
corner and gets stuck. He can also sometimes run through walls. Another
annoyance is that the camera takes several seconds to adjust behind
Spyro when he changes direction, so players often
can’t see where he is going. And, while the camera viewpoint can be manually
toggled in order for players to see objects and levels in other directions,
the camera doesn’t refocus behind Spyro at the end
of the camera pan. For instance, I can place Spyro
on a rock, pan around to see a higher ledge that he needs to fly to, but
actually positioning him in a direction pointing
toward the ledge is problematic. Trying to move Spyro
to the best position is hard because the movement is usually being attempted
in a tight corner, and the camera won’t readjust behind him.
The puzzles
from Shadow Legacy are back, and players will often have to collect the
missing puzzle pieces to actually play the puzzle. These puzzles are a type of
mini-game where players will place blocks that
redirect beams of light. By placing them correctly, the beams of light will
activate the puzzle and then a door will usually open.
From time to
time, Spyro will have to fight large Dragons. This
is the most difficult part of the game, as the dragons are hard to beat. I had
a tough time fighting these guys, and just couldn’t quite get the science
down. This is particularly frustrating as the game only saves at the beginning
of each level, and so players have to play that part of the level again in
order to get back to the boss battle. After many tries, I would eventually
beat the dragon, but it all felt like pure luck.
Once the
story is played, other modes of play are available in a
mini-game style. The gladiator level can be
replayed, as well as the light-beam puzzles.
Frankly, I
haven’t enjoyed a Spyro game on the NDS as much as
the Season of Ice and Season of Flame games on the GBA. The levels were more
interesting, the collecting more involved, and I really enjoyed bowling over
the sheep. There were just more things to do. I don’t think the answer lies in
trying for a totally different type of gameplay or
even the type of gameplay itself, whether it is
platforming or combat. Whatever direction the
design team takes, it should include a variety of features and lots of things
to see and do. This is lacking here, and thus what we have is a pretty dull
game.
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Gameplay: 6.0
The
platform levels are fairly interesting to play through, but they’re not enough
to carry the entire game. The combat in the levels is boring, and the boss
battles confusing. The collecting isn’t much to speak of, and there’s not much
incentive to collect, either. The platforming is
the best aspect of the game, but the bad camera views take away some of the
enjoyment.
Graphics: 7.0
The
graphics do the job, but aren’t anything to get excited about.
Spyro is as cute as usual.
Sound: 7.0
The
music is good, but not much above average.
Difficulty: Medium
The
game isn’t too difficult and doesn’t present much of a learning curve.
However, the boss battles are rather hard to understand.
Concept: 6.0
This
is a decent concept, but it suffers from poor execution.
Overall: 6.5
This Spyro isn’t as good as last year’s entry. I
don’t believe it really has anything to do with the style of
gameplay or the gameplay
viewpoint, but rather that the overall quality of game design is lacking.
Regardless of the style implemented, the game itself will only be as engaging
as the variety of engaging things to do, whether that falls into the
categories of
combat, puzzles, collecting or platforming. There
just isn’t enough to do in this game, and the features that are present aren’t
challenging or thought-provoking. The platforms are Ok, but they, too, become
boring after a while. A slightly above-average game that
could have been better.
