Spyro the Dragon was one of the
first platforming games that become synonymous with the original PlayStation.
When the PlayStation 2 was released, the original developers of the game handed
off the franchise and started a new one (Ratchet & Clank). Over the years the
Spyro franchise has never regained its former glory. Hoping to capture
this glory once again, a new developer decided to “reboot” the franchise and
make it much darker than the original series.
The story goes like this: The Dark
Master spirit is finally free from the prison inside Convexity. It is now the
Ape King Gaul’s goal to resurrect him on the Night of Eternal Darkness, which is
when the Celestial Moons come together to form a great eclipse. Recently Spyro
has been having visions that are telling him of this great danger and how to
stop it. Spyro is now seeking the advice of an ancient dragon called the
Chronicle, who will be able to tell him what his dreams mean and how to stop
this evil from coming upon the world.
One problem that I had with the game
was the difficulty level. I know the developers are trying to get a broader
reach but at the same time they are going to alienate the younger
gaming fans. At times this game can get really difficult (and frustrating) and will
have you wanting to throw your Wii-mote through the screen; at other times the
game is mind-bogglingly simple. It is like the developers couldn’t make up their
minds who this game was going to be marketed to.
This would have been Ok if the
difficulty ramp up was consistent throughout the game. Sadly, this is not the
case as you can go from one section where you have to defeat many enemies
that gang up on you, charge at you with sheer stupidity, and even hit you when
you are down to another section that you can complete with your eyes closed.
If that wasn’t irritating enough then the hand-holding throughout the entire
game will get on your nerves. In order to replenish your health, magic, or
upgrading, you will need to collect crystals that are spread and plentiful. So, on one hand you have so much health and magic that you can
defeat anything in your way and then you are left with nothing to defeat hordes
of enemies.
One major irritation I have with
games that are part of a linked trilogy is that you go from being
an “uber powerful” character to a wimp in the introduction movie without any
real explanation. This is especially irritating in this game, which starts off directly from the end
of the last game but still forces you to go through the game reclaiming your powers
(again!). Some developers get around this by giving you
unique and different powers from the first game, or even giving you a somewhat-reasonable excuse other than “why don’t you have your powers,” or the always
classic “you used up all your energy in the last battle, so now you have to
figure out what the powers are and how to use them again.”
Another feature that is put in this
game is a take on the famous bullet-time effect, though this time around it is called Dragon Time. This allows you to
slow time to help solve various puzzles such as platforms going too fast for
you to hop on them, and even defeat some of the tougher enemies. This really
feels like a tacked-on gimmick because it really doesn’t exploit this feature
other than solving moronic puzzles thrown about throughout the game.
The controls are
really easy to get the hang of. What is disappointing is that the developers
really didn’t implement any real motion controls, which would have
added some flare to the game. Instead this game makes limited use of the Nintendo Wii
motion controls; in fact the only move that requires the use of the motion
controls is the Fury move, which unleashes a nasty gift to any enemies in your
path.
The graphics for The Legend of Spyro:
The Eternal Night are decent but I have seen better on this system. The problem
is that the characters and the environments have a very saturated and low poly
look to them. The environments at times will be lush with detail and other times
appear parched. It is like I mentioned earlier with the difficulty, it is like the
developer had a hard time coming up with a balance between everything to make it
all run smoothly together. One thing that is consistently nice is the special effects from the
Fury moves to when Spyro uses the elements.
The sound is really
good, especially in the voice acting department since the developer spared no
expense in getting some top voice talent. Gary Oldman, Elijah Wood and
Billy West (from Futurama) have lent their voices to this title. At times the dialog is lame and seems a bit forced,
but overall the actors did a good job of telling the story and keeping it moving
along. The music is also pretty good and sets a nice
atmosphere in this game. The sound effects are decent and get the
job done but don’t really try to go the extra mile.
The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal
Night is rated Everyone 10+.
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Gameplay: 6.1
The gameplay is fine but it really needs
freshening up to make it more appealing.
Graphics: 6.7
The graphics for this game are decent, but this system is capable of
much more than what is given.
Sound: 7.2
The voice actors do a good job here. The music is pretty
good and adds a nice atmosphere to the game. The sound effects on the other
hand are a tad generic.
Difficulty: Medium
Even though this game is made for a younger gaming audience, there are
times where it is really frustrating and at other times the game is
too easy. The developers had a real hard time balancing it all out.
Concept: 6.8
I really hated having to regain all the powers from the
first game. Don’t developers realize that in a trilogy you really shouldn’t make
gamers start from square one again with no solid excuse why, especially if the
game picks up immediately after the last one ended?
Overall: 6.7
Even with all of its faults, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
remains a fun game that will keep you occupied for quite some time. If you are
looking for a decent platforming game and can’t wait till Super Mario Galaxy
comes out then check this game out.
