Some sequels can be such disappointments from the
original in the series that it ruins that one, as well.
The Hangover 2 was an example of this in movies, and unfortunately, the game I have today falls
into that category for games.
In the Legend of Spyro sub-series, A New Beginning was a flawed but still enjoyable game that
had a great sense of humor and a great combat system.
However, with a darker tone and a lot less fun, we have the final game in the series.
This is The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon for the Xbox 360.
Being the final game in the Legend of Spyro series, our favorite purple dragon has grown
quite a bit.
He’s still voice by Elijah Wood and joined by his friend Sparx, now voiced by Wayne Brady
for some reason, but the game doesn’t really hold your hand or recap any of the events
of the previous games.
If you haven’t played the first Legend of Spyro game, you’ll be completely lost, as
this series acted as a reboot for the character.
Spyro is also joined by Cynder, a darker female dragon who doesn’t seem too thrilled about
helping him.
This means that some sections of the game feature an ally, and you can switch between
both characters.
Gameplay in Dawn of the Dragon isn’t drastically different from other games in the series.
With the X and Y buttons handling melee and the right trigger assigned to special attacks,
combat should feel smooth and simple.
However, this isn’t really the case for Dawn of the Dragon.
Moves feel very laggy and unresponsive, and it can become almost impossible to have Spyro
hit the right enemy.
There’s also a fair amount of quick time events, and those are always….um…fun.
No, no one likes quick time events.
Stop putting them in games so often.
Spryo and Cynder both have 4 different elements to choose from for their attacks, and these
can be used not only for enemies, but also for solving puzzles.
These puzzles are also absolutely awful, with not so much satisfaction at the end of them
as like…relief.
Great, it’s over.
Now, the real problem with Dawn of the Dragon is the camera.
In my New Beginning review, I mentioned how the camera was a real problem.
Multiply the awfulness of that camera by about 15 and you have the camera in Dawn of the
Dragon.
Not only is it never in the right spot, but it only lets you turn it about an inch in
either direction.
It’s not exactly fun or even possible to navigate a level when I can’t tell if there’s
anything to climb up on.
Allied AI is also a real problem, with jitters and bumps often knocking you out of the way
while they try to do something.
Dawn of the Dragon was only released about 3 years ago, but it looks about the same as
the GameCube version of A New Beginning.
That’s not a good thing; character models look terrible, environments are bland, and
just like A New Beginning, fire is the best thing to look at.
Voices are still excellent, with tons of big name actors doing roles.
Dawn of the Dragon is not a good game.
I might call it an “Ok” game.
Fans of the Legend of Spyro series may get some enjoyment out of it, but for everyone
who just liked the first game, I’d stay away.