The Spyro franchise has been passed around a little: earlier versions being developed by Insomniac before being passed to Equinoxe, who added Spyro's new powers of Ice, Electric and Bubble breath to his existing flame-throwing skills. For this version Krome Studios takes to the keyboard. Krome’s previous credits include Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, which may give a clue to the direction the Spyro series has taken: a very different direction indeed to earlier Spyro games.
Gone are the bright and colourful gameworld, and the cute and apparently harmless enemies. These are replaced by a world of dark and earthy tones similar, in fact, to Ty the Tiger. But before we imply that Spyro is just Ty My Dragon Down, Sport, let's be clear: Ty 2 was a free-roaming game in the style of Jak and Daxter, or Ratchet and Clank. You had clearly defined objectives, but you could go about them in a fairly freeform way pausing to re-try parts, or to undertake side-missions. Early Spyro games were similar, in a limited way, and levels were often large and ranging. Spyro 4 is different: it feels more as if you are on rails; as if there is a track you are following where branch lines are rare. Your only choice is to go on (the right way) or back (the wrong way).
It's easy to ascribe Spyro 4's "on rails" feeling as a necessary game mechanic to assist younger players. But the game seems not to be aiming at the same pre-schoolers the Spyro series once so clearly was. In previous Spyro games tackling enemies was simply a case of jumping up and bopping them on the head or occasionally spitting fire or electricity or bubbles or whatever at them. Spyro 4 takes a turn deep into the land of a grown-up game. The battle mechanic is much more complicated. There are button combos to learn, and even a lengthy and goal-orientated instructional section, the Dragon Dojo, where Spyro must learn to fight before he can continue into the game proper.
The battle mechanic is interesting, and there are some good move combos which are very effective against enemies when used appropriately. However, because the game gives the player infinite lives, simply mashing the circle button is often all it takes to defeat an opponent. While this sounds like a failing, it means that older children can battle stylishly and efficiently using flair moves, while younger ones (and the stupid) can make slower, more mundane, progress by bash away.
One failing of the game is that it doesn't give you any idea of how you are progressing. This used to be the way with all games but more recently we’ve become used to seeing how we’re doing with either a ‘percentage complete’ meter or a simple graphical device showing number of levels completed out of the total number. Such devices have the twin purposes of making us feel good abut how well we are doing, or making us feel good about how much game we have left to play, and hence what great value it is. Spyro leaves us in the dark...
While the aim of the game is not collecting gems in a straightforward, follow-the-snail trail fashion like earlier Spyro games, gems do still play a vital role. Every defeated opponent scatters a selection of them, red ones, green ones and blue ones. The bigger the opponent, the larger the trove its death bestows. By collecting these gems, which are magnetically attracted to Spyro so he doesn't need to painstakingly track them all down, the wee-dragon can recharge his energy, fire-breathing power and his weapons upgrade meter. Because the gems are attracted to Spyro, he can easily collect energy from fallen opponents in protracted battles, enabling him to fight on often ending battles with more energy than he started with.
One nice feature is that each opponent has an energy bar that shows you how much more damage it can take before expiring; alongside the bar is their name. Each foe has a unique name, which is a nice touch. But it actually makes you feel a little guilty for attacking the ones with cute or funny names. This leads us to speculate on how Mrs Honeybeard will feel when her hideous monster husband, who's probably a bit of a hunk in the hideous monster community, fails to come home from his day at work.
angela meade 17 Jun 2007 09:50