IGN Review on The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

RedDragonX · Nov 10, 2008 12:13 AM

http://rr.ps2.ign.com/rrview/ps2/the_le … 202/94917/

Not nearly as bad as I thought they would hit it. But they really did stress some elements that surprised me compared to others.

What do you think?

TornWings · Nov 10, 2008 2:08 AM

Amazing. They gave it a higher score while sounding harsher than the GS review...lol.

On the plus side, the reader score is 8.0 at the time of this post. Sweet!

RedDragonX · Nov 10, 2008 2:23 AM

It's what they do best man lol......wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be lol...

CynderRules · Nov 10, 2008 12:07 PM

I like this review, they're bashing the developer, where some other reviews I've seen bash Spyro for being to much of a 'kiddie' type character.

And it's detailed, telling exactly what went wrong or needs improvement. So if by chance ELB read this, they'd know exactly where to add improvement. Unlike other reviews. "Gameplay is bad; It's too chaotic; Flying sucks" etc, etc.

Plus, they ended with the oh so important "We won’t give up on the little dragon. He’s cute and lives in a world most fans of the series want to explore." So none of the Spyrofan boys/girls can say that they're being biased. ^^

RedDragonX · Nov 10, 2008 6:50 PM

I agree. It was a very well written review. They managed to respectfully tell the developers what went wrong...without taking away too much dignity. And yes the still managed to cater to the Spyro fans by not throwing the franchise into the toilet.....at least showing that they care somewhat for what might be coming out in the future.

I wasn't disappointed.

CynderRules · Nov 10, 2008 11:17 PM

yeah, they're saying he has a lot of potential, which is true. He just needs a developer that will make a proper game.

RedDragonX · Nov 11, 2008 12:19 AM

Exactly....I have a little bit better oppinion of IGN now...I thought they were gonna destroy it......well let's see what the rest of em say........should they actually review it lol...

Rurikredwolf · Nov 11, 2008 4:59 AM

I hope you guys know that this is a reader review. Not an offical one.

RedDragonX · Nov 11, 2008 5:12 AM

I don't really care as long as someone is saying something like that....heck it may be a reader review...but that is one heck of a good reader review...official ones really count for crap in my mind.

Rurikredwolf · Nov 11, 2008 5:18 AM

eh. Just making sure everyone knows.

RedDragonX · Nov 11, 2008 6:38 AM

Thanks for the observation Rurik...seriously.

ratchet · Nov 11, 2008 6:40 AM

This is a very nice review, apart from the part where he said that the Spyro franchise is yet to master a Good level design......

Razz · Nov 11, 2008 6:36 PM

As with TEN, I am mostly in agreement with what they're saying about DotD. I'm glad they acknowledged the story, which is the only reason anyone should play any of the LoS games because, frankly, all of them are pretty miserable to play as far as gameplay itself is concerned.

RedDragonX · Nov 11, 2008 8:02 PM

Yeah the gameplay was what did it in...as valiant as an attempt they made to fix it on DotD...it wasn't nearly enough....they story was the only thing I really loved about it....I sure hope they work on it in the future..

shade105 · Nov 12, 2008 2:34 AM

Ok... well lets cut this up into several things...

1. yes they should have perfected the gameplay a little more, and i mean its pretty good... but not as epic as they wated to call it, we can take the phrase from GH2 for this term too, which is "If you call your song a 'rock anthem' it better by darn good" so its like "If you call your game an "epic advancment" you better be darn good"

2. the game was slightly rushed, but we cant blame them, they trilogy has been just an experiment the entire way. Notice how they have changed the gaming by the game.... and well they wanted to crowd as much as they could in a small space... bad idea

3. He should have honestly recognized the plot better, telling how good it was... plotwise, this game is an epic game... especially if you have seen the trilogy... "Love triumphs even when evils take over," or "THe light will shine through no matter what, just hope and love" great great plot....

4. haha yes it is true, they took alot of ideas from other things to this game, the golem, i think was more of a god of war thing... the scenerios and the plot style in avalar, too much like world of warcraft... i swear i think there even is a place called "warfang" in WoW... so that was a little funny, i would have not been surprised if there was night and day and when it went dark a wolf howled....

BUt ok... my review... great, im all for plot, as long as the plot fills my heart, the gaming can be bad and i will still like it.... its might just be me, but whatever...

RedDragonX · Nov 12, 2008 2:54 AM

Well you have gamers who like a deep storyling as opposed to advanced gameplay...then you have the ones who just want extreme gaming and not so much storyline.

It's a little different for every person....but I personally need a juicy story to get really deep into a game. The point of the story is to drive the gamer deeper and deeper into the experience...to find out just what comes next in the story.

Overall the series did a pretty good job with that.....despite the lacks in gameplay and development......I just hope they really learn from their mistakes this time around and try to perfect the combination of both the next time around.

Kazoobie64 · Nov 12, 2008 5:16 AM

But when a game focuses way too much on a story to the point that you're only playing for the story it's like "why am I playing this? Let's just watch the cutscenes on youtube."

But I toughened it out and played it, JUST TO REVIEW IT FAIRLY FOR YOU GUYS WITHOUT BEING CALLED A HYPOCRITE. Aren't I sweet?

Razz · Nov 12, 2008 7:25 AM

I'm a terrible gamer and I honestly don't enjoy most gamine experiences, so almost all of them are centered around the story. big_smile If LoS had been any other series, I would've dropped it. The gameplay for all three games was just miserable. Granted, I've played worse (AHT, EtD...) but almost every other game in my collection is more fun to play than LoS.

The story kept me going, though. It was a good story.

CynderRules · Nov 12, 2008 12:33 PM

wow, Razz, you changed your Avvy.

anyway. I think that they can, and will improve on the balance.

ratchet · Nov 12, 2008 1:41 PM

Face it, this game was just like TEN. Not worth the hype. The Gameplay was rushed, the story was ok but was filled with cliches and plotholes.
I say ditch the combat in Spyro, cause they aren't doing Combat right, and should move back to platforming, after all that's what Spyro was meant to be in the first place.
You noticed i didn't say "Go back to the originals" cause i know that a lot of people wold make a fuss about it. But i mean what's the problem with going back to them. If you did, and still had an in-depth storyline and slightly more darker, what have we lost? The cliche characters in TLOS? Introduce some more characters i say! the originals only had 3 games to show its worth, and they showed it, and showed that it could improve...ahhhhhh...yeah.
Basicly, Chris wilson said:
"okay, Spyro's a Dragon, yets make a stereotypical, cliche dragon world, right. Now all the platforming and random minigames, that's gotta go, lets replace it with a combat system that fits the story and because all the kids these days like bashing things up, they'll like it!" and that's what they did.
Sorry, i'm a bit tired now, i spent my whole day after school getting the world record in metro speedway....

T3h0v4llu · Nov 12, 2008 3:26 PM

I think that those three games should be remade, like improve the bad aspects in each game (like add more levels to ANB and make it harder, make those frustrating parts in TEN less frustrating).

Those three games are SO different that in my opinion they shouldnt even be a trilogy (ANB is easy and linear, TEN is hard(er) and has annoying platforming, DotD seems to be buggy and glitchy). They shouldve done the first game well, and try to add new things with new games, not rush the first one, try to improve the mistakes made in the first one, and then make the third one completely different (didnt a different company make the it than the first and second one?)! Just a cash cow! Bah!

The game makers are going too greedy these days, they only sell with the name and rush the game because they will still get the same money if they'd make it good! Even worse, someone (guess who?) stole a GOOD character and sell with its name and rush the games only for the lust of money!

TornWings · Nov 12, 2008 3:43 PM

DotD is glitchy? Seriously?

I think I've seen 2 glitches the whole time I've played.

Kazoobie64 · Nov 12, 2008 4:42 PM

T3h0v4llu wrote:

The game makers are going too greedy these days, they only sell with the name and rush the game because they will still get the same money if they'd make it good! Even worse, someone (guess who?) stole a GOOD character and sell with its name and rush the games only for the lust of money!

Unfortunately, ever since ETD this is pretty much what they're after thanks to the financial success of the old Spyros. My friend in the game design department made the theory that they just can't make good gameplay out of these games, so they go for other ways to sell the game. He said the game designers probably tried to mimic the old charm (and badly they did) at first with AHT and see if it sells, but since it didn't, they headed toward a new direction instead. The fact that they spend a huge chunk of their budget on advertising and voice acting is a good example of this.

A funny thing my friend mentioned too, is that he just can't understand why they can't even deliver the slightest bit of nostalgia since it's actually a great way to at least sort of appeal to the other masses. He said it's really not that hard to do so, even if the game is completely different. For example, use the old sound effects, such as the little noises while you scrolled through the menu, or when you picked up gems. Bring back old levels but enhance them in size and purpose and stuff, just let them have the same name and concept. Have Sparx pick up the gems and eat butterflies in-game for health. Remove the glow from the gems, make them look like the old ones at least. Also, since YotD managed it, imitate Copeland's style of music since it really differentiated the series. Even a completely different game like Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts and Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wind Waker can deliver on the nostalgia.

Unfortunately, they're just too focused on their epicness to bother. It just baffles me.

Razz · Nov 12, 2008 6:42 PM

This is sort of off-topic, but not all the way.

I think the biggest reason no one really wants to see the originals brought into the modern world is this: would you really want to play the Insomniac titles with the graphics and voice actors they have today? I know I wouldn't.

I just don't see any game that's even remotely resembling the Insomniac titles having a bone of dark epicness in them. The minute that starts to happen, you get AHT, or something that isn't Insomniac-styled in the slightest. The only people who "dark/epic" with Spyro style gameplay and do it well are Insomniac themselves (play "Ratchet and Clank"; it's so similar to the original Spyro gameplay, but completely different; it gives you the weirdest sense of deja vu).

And I must give the LoS team props for this one thing: their goal was to make a set of games that was like playing through a movie. With all the complaining, no one has noticed that they succeeded in their goal. Yes, the story is cliched, but what epic story/film isn't these days?

...Blah. Lost my steam. Really, I don't care anymore. LoS was fun enough and it's okay. I look forward to future installments in the setting because it's a lot more interesting than many people have noticed, and I would like more platforming and less fighting, too.

RedDragonX · Nov 12, 2008 8:23 PM

Very well spoke Razz...I agree with you on just about all your points. I'm past the point of really caring now...the game is out and everyone has their say in on it....of course you have the haters and you have the lovers/semi-fans...and we all have our oppinions.

I specially like your statement of what story doesn't have Cliches now....I am convinced that it is impossible not to make a story without including something from another story before it.....look at all the freaking movies like The Mummy....Indiana Jones.....National Treasure....King Kong.....heck they all have cliches of each other in almost every other scene...

I admire their effort in this series...did it come up short in some areas certainly....but if they truly care about the series....then they will learn from the reviews and what fans say. In today's world it's gonna be impossible to keep everyone satisfied.

#1 Nov 10, 2008 12:13 AM

IGN Review on The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon

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