Spyro is actually a prequel to Skyrim.
True story.
Those of you crazy gamers out there who remember my anniversary
montage back in the Undefined Gamer will remember my reviews of each
of these game's prequels (for the DS). Well, it's time to tackle this
mother, this time fir the Wii! (Sorry, DS try-hards, that little hand
held can't handle this level of epicness. Please deposit your screen
cleaners to your right).
First thing you'll notice about this game is BAM! Ain't the
graphics pretty? Although yes there is some inconsistency with
cutscenes and sometimes contrasting colors, what the game does well
adds a huge scale and epicness rarely seen in Wii games. For the most
part, the cutscenes top most Wii games I have experienced, rivaling
even Brawl and SMG (due to the fact that apparently they where
salvaged from the remnants of a failed CGI Spyro movie). Even the
contrasting colors help to give life to this world (mostly found on
the inside of Malefor's... volcano fortress).
In fact, the whole game reeks of great enemy designs and
epicness. And the scale... well have you seen Lord of the Rings? The
levels are ginormous, with one particular fortress-siege scene coming
to mind. Even Spyro, who is famed for getting his face f*cked up in
these kinds of games, looks alright (Hey, when you've got Elijah Wood
voicing him, it's the least you can do). Cynder is awesome, and
Malefor, the main villain, looks just downright demented, as he should
be.
The story I have a soft spot for, with old fan favorite characters such
as Hunter returning to the series, as well as new characters that
although do not really add much to the game, are harmless enough. The
four Legendary dragons, led by Ignitus (voiced by... Gary Oldman!),
actually hold their own in this game! Gone are the days when pathetic
gorillas can defeat 50 foot, fire spewing dragons! No! Now come the
days when a 60 foot Gollum can defeat all four! Wait... what? (Well,
at least they had a fighting chance in this game).
Plot holes are minuscule for the most part, except for some reason
the mole people (don't ask), decided it was a great idea to build a
wall around the sacred Dragon City... and mount only one cannon on it.
Is it just me, or if Spyro wasn't around, Malefor would be the least
of their problems? God, for all we know the stupid mole people built a
goddam self-destruct button into the city.
montage back in the Undefined Gamer will remember my reviews of each
of these game's prequels (for the DS). Well, it's time to tackle this
mother, this time fir the Wii! (Sorry, DS try-hards, that little hand
held can't handle this level of epicness. Please deposit your screen
cleaners to your right).
First thing you'll notice about this game is BAM! Ain't the
graphics pretty? Although yes there is some inconsistency with
cutscenes and sometimes contrasting colors, what the game does well
adds a huge scale and epicness rarely seen in Wii games. For the most
part, the cutscenes top most Wii games I have experienced, rivaling
even Brawl and SMG (due to the fact that apparently they where
salvaged from the remnants of a failed CGI Spyro movie). Even the
contrasting colors help to give life to this world (mostly found on
the inside of Malefor's... volcano fortress).
In fact, the whole game reeks of great enemy designs and
epicness. And the scale... well have you seen Lord of the Rings? The
levels are ginormous, with one particular fortress-siege scene coming
to mind. Even Spyro, who is famed for getting his face f*cked up in
these kinds of games, looks alright (Hey, when you've got Elijah Wood
voicing him, it's the least you can do). Cynder is awesome, and
Malefor, the main villain, looks just downright demented, as he should
be.
The story I have a soft spot for, with old fan favorite characters such
as Hunter returning to the series, as well as new characters that
although do not really add much to the game, are harmless enough. The
four Legendary dragons, led by Ignitus (voiced by... Gary Oldman!),
actually hold their own in this game! Gone are the days when pathetic
gorillas can defeat 50 foot, fire spewing dragons! No! Now come the
days when a 60 foot Gollum can defeat all four! Wait... what? (Well,
at least they had a fighting chance in this game).
Plot holes are minuscule for the most part, except for some reason
the mole people (don't ask), decided it was a great idea to build a
wall around the sacred Dragon City... and mount only one cannon on it.
Is it just me, or if Spyro wasn't around, Malefor would be the least
of their problems? God, for all we know the stupid mole people built a
goddam self-destruct button into the city.
 |
| PHOTOBOMB! |
Captivating at times (like the death of Ignitus), the story, for
the most part, is great. The levels are massive and creative. Yet, it
is game mechanics, my dear Watson, where this game fails.
Picking up A New Beginning's endless waves of enemies system
dropped from The Eternal Night (because you would Eternally be playing
it), fir some reason, the dumbf*cks over at Sierra thought it would be
great to bring it back. Because it worked SO well the first time.
So yes, it gets repetitive. Also, boss patterns and their
movements can be a bit stiff and robotic at times, and the game simply
has too many combos... that do roughly the same thing. The game also
fails at actions that only work at certain spots (suck as wall
climbing on mosd (I got nothing- CW) and wall dashing), partially
because the game has too many controls and because boundaries for said
areas usually are not all that well defined.
Also, it can get annoying when in the heat of battle, you Wii 'mote
slides up (get your head outta the gutter). This will activate a
pointless Bullshit Action called defend. All it does is makes your
dragon cover its face with their wings. In addition to not buffering
any damage really whatsoever, it actually should do you more damage.
Both Cynder and Spyro have horned heads. Their wings are flaps of
flesh. Do the math, you dumbf*cks at Sierra. Horn=buffering, Flaps o'
Flesh=Pain. At least there is an armor system you can equip them with,
which actually DOES buffer some damage, making the Defend action
totally and utterly pointless.
Also, it can get annoying when in the heat of battle, you Wii 'mote
slides up (get your head outta the gutter). This will activate a
pointless Bullshit Action called defend. All it does is makes your
dragon cover its face with their wings. In addition to not buffering
any damage really whatsoever, it actually should do you more damage.
Both Cynder and Spyro have horned heads. Their wings are flaps of
flesh. Do the math, you dumbf*cks at Sierra. Horn=buffering, Flaps o'
Flesh=Pain. At least there is an armor system you can equip them with,
which actually DOES buffer some damage, making the Defend action
totally and utterly pointless.
 |
| Spyro drank WAY too much last night. |
Boss battles are challenging, and this is a challenging game, but
it is completely playable, and it is very rewarding. The soundtrack
fits the game well, it has an interesting story capitalizing off the
small buildup from the previous games, and the graphics, level design,
and character designs make the game simply stunning by Wii standards.
The cutscenes are the most cinematic yet, and one of the most
cinematic for the Wii, yet gameplay kills it. Still, the sometimes
poorly designed gameplay does put the difficulty up a notch, making
the game more satisfying when beaten, I still can't ignore poor
craftsmanship. What can I say? It's surely worth a play. It's by no
means perfect or as good as SSBB or SMG, but it still deserves a
mention.
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon gets 4 stars out of 6
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