My Review Of This Game.

Morgan · Aug 15, 2015 6:36 PM

I wrote this nonsense four years ago and everything about it should be disregarded. (Renting a game in 2015? What was I thinking?)

▼Hidden text

This review is based on the PS2 version of the game.

The music, while not as pleasing to the ears as it is in the original trilogy, probably suits the levels better than ever, and there are still some standout tracks, as well.

As for the graphics, while I think that some of the models are a bit ugly, there are some nice effects here.

The gameplay, well, everyone knows about this. The frame rate can range between 15 and 30 frames per second. Surprisingly, this actually isn't too much slower than the original trilogy. However, because the developers intended to make it run at 60 frames per second, they made Spyro's movement slower than it was in the original trilogy. But because they were rushed to make the game, they couldn't deliver on the framerate that they promised, and they didn't have time to make Spyro's movement faster, meaning that he's considerably slower in this game than before. The loading times are quite long, however, I find the screens peaceful, and it's not like they're frequent, either. Spyro is extremely heavy, as well, and his turning circle while charging is so huge, that sometimes you'd be better off by just walking around. There are also random glitches in the game, however, apart from occasional soft locks, the swimming in the air glitch, and chunks of levels becoming invisible, none of them are really game-breaking. The bubble breath isn't very reliable, and sometimes it'll seem like the game's trolling you. However, despite all of these flaws, they do become tolerable eventually. There are also some lazy bits in the game, such as the dragonfly "Tetsu" being called "Testu" by Spyro. Also, the game can be completed in under 2 minutes by clipping through the floor next to the closed Ripto's Lair portal.

The levels are huge in this game, and even if you speedrun this game, they'll still take over 20 minutes to complete 100% on average. There are a lot of challenges in the game, as well, and while some of them might feel shoehorned in, some of them can be quite fun.

Overall, I can understand why people dislike this game, but it doesn't deserve as much hate as it gets. I think that if you're patient with it, and you can learn to live with the random glitches, and the slow progression, then you might start to enjoy it. In my opinion, you should rent this for a weekend, and play through the first half of it. Be careful, though, because if you complete it 100%, then there's no replay value whatsoever. The speedways are boring, in my opinion, there's no skill points, and you can't exploit the level design to get to interesting places like you could do in the original trilogy, and I don't think that this game is worth more than about a tenner under any circumstance.

My score: 7/10.

I was only a few hours away from taking half a year to notice a mistake that I'd made.

Last edited by Morgan (Jul 31, 2019 9:12 AM)

Flapjacks · Aug 15, 2015 8:45 PM

From what I can tell, the difference between the framerate of this one and the originals is that the originals were CAPPED to 30 (or 25 for PAL,) but COULD have ran at higher, technically, with some occasional drops. I do remember a few times involving a lot of enemies and high render distance where the games could go below thirty. This game, as far as I can tell, is capped at 30, but does not run at it smooth, meaning the controls are very inconsistent, as some areas you'll be getting 15 frames, but some you can get thirty just fine. Kind of like Dark Souls. The original trilogy barely ever dropped in frames to the point that it was noticeable, and, in my experience, never dropped to the point that it messed up controls. This game probably could have been a decent continuation of the series if it did not get rushed out so hard.

Another thing, slightly off-topic, this game was not developed by Insomniac, but the engine seems to be basically the same. The swimming in air glitch is still present, and the controls are very similar. Did the devs of this one steal the engine, did Insomniac loan it to them, or was Universal in possession of it the whole time?

or maybe they just re-made the entire engine exactly the same from scratch

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Aug 16, 2015 12:44 AM

it is a pretty fun game in theory, and usually in practice. it would just be so much better if Universal had given Check Six more time to make it.

Morgan · Aug 16, 2015 8:58 AM

I forgot to mention that there's not many levels in the game, but I would've said that the size of them balances it out.

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Aug 17, 2015 1:08 AM

Morgan wrote:

I forgot to mention that there's not many levels in the game, but I would've said that the size of them balances it out.

definitely. i don't remember how many levels there were supposed to be, but i can't really imagine the game having even more levels that were that big.

Bryman04 · Dec 22, 2015 6:23 PM

There should probably be a Gamecube review.
I have the Gamecube Player's Choice version, it seems to be the most stable.

Last edited by Bryman04 (Dec 22, 2015 6:40 PM)

Morgan · Dec 22, 2015 6:28 PM

Bryman04 wrote:

Is this a Gamecube or PS2 review.
I have the Gamecube Player's Choice version, it seems to be the most stable.

Morgan wrote:

This review is based on the PS2 version of the game.

Bryman04 · Dec 22, 2015 6:42 PM

^ Yeah, I just saw that so I edited my post.
Sorry for being a derp tongue

#1 Aug 15, 2015 6:36 PM

My Review Of This Game.

#2 Aug 15, 2015 8:45 PM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#3 Aug 16, 2015 12:44 AM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#4 Aug 16, 2015 8:58 AM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#5 Aug 17, 2015 1:08 AM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#6 Dec 22, 2015 6:23 PM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#7 Dec 22, 2015 6:28 PM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

#8 Dec 22, 2015 6:42 PM

Re: My Review Of This Game.

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