One of the most anticipated games this years burns up the competition.
(source)
Following the awesomeness of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy the bar has been set really high so it didn't come as a surprise when Activision delayed the release of the tiny fire breathing dragon we all love..
Whatever about the delay the game is fantastic. It's one of the first games I had on my PS1 released all the way back in 1998 when I was 22. The main thing I loved about the game was the play-ability, compared to modern games, the controls were simple. Walk, charge, fly and blow things up. That's it. AND thankfully this hasn't changed.
(Although I have fond memories of banging the combination of square, square, circle, x, triangle triangle etc in Soul Calibre.)
The plot is simple ... go around to loads of different levels, collect jewels, find the dragons and release them. Fight baddies and eat fairies on the way. Throw in a bit of flying and that's it. It doesn't have to be anymore complicated than that.
This come to my next favourite thing about the game. Nothing has changed in this either. The story hasn't changed and so far the levels are the same. I've a bit of OCD - whilst it's great fun to get to as many new Worlds as quickly as possible - I love going back, finding all the jewels and catching the little FUXXXer that has stolen the eggs and keeps laughing until you catch him. It's lovely when you reach the 100% complete. But that laugh ... aaaarrggghhhhhh.
The Reignited Trilogy includes remakes of Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Revenge, and Spyro: Year of the Dragon, the only one annoying this is you have to download the last two games; unlike with Crash, all three games were on the disc but this isn't enough to lose sleep or rating points over. The graphics are amazing, whilst I recently played the first Spyro on my trusty PS2 a couple of weeks ago the graphics looked sooooo bad on the big screen. There are no problems with this newest version. I especially loved the way the burnt grass regenerates and it never gets old killing chickens and sheep. Lamb kebab anyone.
One of my favourite things is the puzzle solving element of trying to fly/glide to the hard to reach spots to find hidden gems and am constantly awed at the vibrant 3d graphics, particularly when you get to a high vantage point and are looking around to find those hard-to-reach treasures. Always look behind the pillar and to the left or right of a doorway you just charged through. Apparently the whole game had to be rebuilt from the ground up as Activision lost the original coding, which even though sounds a bit mad, the complete rebuild is just awesome. The nuances of the grass interacting as you run around (although a little bit annoying when it hides gems - this didn't happen in the original version), the sounds effects are cool and if you stand around too long Spyro gives out. I love the flying stages and can't wait to reach 100% complete in them, these were always the challenging levels and now have fab graphics.
This game has so much going for it. It suits all ages and I love the idea of Dad's finally being able to best their kids in a game. As you are flying around you suddenly remember - "hang on there's a hidden corner there with some gems" and you can surprise the yung-uns with your superior knowledge. Of course, if you can't remember where those spots are there are of course multiple walk-throughs available already. Gone are the days of buying those magazines to find the solution you spent three long nights trying to figure out.
Simply put ...
Newbies to Spyro will love it, the simplicity is it's charm and adds to the addictability, some modern games are heavy and serious. This is a fun game for all the family.
Old codgers like me will love this remake and the nostalgia factor is massive, just hearing those old sound effects transports you back to playing the games 20 years ago.
It is of course a 10 out of 10 planets for me.
John The Captain Ryan
