Did you know that the same guy who plays in Reno 911, Carlos Alazraqui, voiced the Chihuahua dog from the old Taco Bell commercials and the character that I am going to be talking about in this blog, Spyro the Dragon? That's something you either did or did not know...
Anyways, let's actually get down to the point of this blog, the Spryo the Dragon series that were the GOOD games, not this Elijah Wood version that had absolutely nothing to do with the original series when it got to the Playstaion 2. No, I'm not going to even talk about that series becuase it's totally nowhere near what Spryo was during the original Playstation
When Spyro the Dragon first came out, you played this game and enjoyed it. I haven't heard a single person to this day where I heard them say that they hated the game. Not one person yet has told me they hated it. So, what is this game about? You're a dragon who has to free all of these other dragons who were turned into crystal after Nasty Norc turned them all like that. You have to collect every singly gem in the arenas to get a perfect score as well as collect the Dragon Eggs that were stolen by what I call "Nana Boos." That's mainly about it.
My only flaws with the first Spyro is are these minor issues: The fact that Sparx, the dragonfly, AKA your health meter, doesn't point out the direction the nearest gem is. You can't swim and touching any kind of water or anything that looks like water damages you. And the boss fights are pretty lame.
Of course, sequels can either make or break the series, luckily for this series, it made it.
Ripto's Rage was the next game in the Spyro series that literally improved so much from the original. You can now swim in the water, Spyro has new moves that he can perform, there's more character interaction, better boss fights, a great story, more levels, and a bunch more of fun-filled things. To be honest, I really don't think I can complain about this game or find a flaw in it because I really didn't find any when I played this game. i mean, they improved so much with everything from the last game, I feel like this is one of those perfect games that you rarely see in video game history.
Wow, to see me actually write something like that should be outstanding.
Next, we have Year of the Dragon. This time, there's a bit more to say and I do have some minor complaints. Of course, there are improvements from the last game that are made in here, such as more levels, more interactions, and a bunch of new characters that you meet... and actually get to play as. But that's the one thing that bothered me in this game. You see, I get that it's cool to play as new characters, but some of these characters that you get to play as, aren't really that fun.
Sheila, the kangaroo character, is not really my favorite, but at least she's playable in some senses. I mean, the character nonstop jumps to get to places, and it sucks because she doesn't want to do the double jump move all the time that I ask her to do. Some times, she does the jump, but she doesn't want to move forward onto the ledge that I'm jumping up. Other times, there's an enemy that's standing right at the ledge, and if I'm not quick enough, BAM, I get hit. Her attack move is so lame, half, if not, almost most of the time I get hit first. She just does this kick that sends both of her feet into the enemy and that's really about it, she does have a ground pound move, but she has to jump in the air, flip once and then actually land on the ground. Do I really need to see that flip before? Why can't you just use your feet to smash stuff when you're trying to do a ground pound?
Sgt. Bird, in my opinion, is the worst out of the cast because you have to fly in these ridiculous areas where there's a bunch of stuff shooting at you. And it's not like flying is that easy in this game, at least for me. It sucks controlling him because the movement is so slippery, even with Sheila, if I just slightly press the directional button, they take off in a heartbeat and I can't slow them down. With Sgt. Bird, I just feel like I'm unable to move with him because he just doesn't want to do anything. I have to set him down upon a platform, adjust where I want to go next, and then take off, hoping that this time, he flies right where I want him to instead of a wall or a nearby enemy.
Bently the Yeit is surprisingly easy to play because he's got that bat you can just swing around and hit enemies easy. There's really nothing to complain about here.
Same with Agent Nine, in fact, excluding Spyro and Sparx, he's the most fun character to play as. All you get to do is shoot stuff, in first person view too, it's really fun.
Sparx is actually playable in this game, and I thought it was going to be like another Sgt. Bird issue, but actually, it isn't. You see, you're in an overhead view of him and you have to shoot at other insets to advance to the next part of the level, while also collecting gems. Yeah, each character you have to collect gems too, they're not going to slack off away from that part.
There's also a variety of bonus levels you can play with Spyro too, such as the skateboarding one. I don't feel like going too much into details there becuase really, all you do is perform a series of tasks that Hunter wants you to complete, and it's not like these challenges are hard. Maybe the one where you have to outscore him by doing a bunch of crazy stunts on the board, but really, these bonus levels are a peach.
Maybe that's why I like the Spyro series so much, is becuase it's easy to actually play and beat. I mean sure, I like a challenging game, but there comes a time and a place where I would also like an easy game be placed in my hands and get through. There's nothing wrong with asking for an easy game every once and a while, right? Games these days are certainly not what they use to be back in the past. And as of right now, I have yet to touch any new game that feels and plays like the original Spyro.
But wait a minute, Kitty, you're forgetting something... Just becuase Spyro has existed on the Playstaion 2 doesn't mean that his series has ended in that particular generation... He came back, with a bunch of new friends, in a new kind of style... that he's sort of the main character of... but realistically, he's not... Because his name rarely gets mentioned in the commercials, and he's not the first character that appears in the strategy guide book (And no, it's not because they're going alphabetical, in fact, it's not even alphabetical in the first place) I am talking about Skylanders; Spyro's Adventure.
Yeah, about this game... what the fuck is it supposed to be about Spyro? I see nothing about this game that has to do with Spyro. Why make him the star of the game when I have yet to see anything that makes him stand out more than the other characters. Ooh, he's got a silver character that you could have only obtain if you went to E3, bull, that's not making him special. Maybe if I actually played the game, I probably would get a sense that he probably does have a bigger role than what I'm thinking, but if I have yet to hear his name be announced in the commercials, do I really want to know if I'm right or wrong by playing this game? Sure, it does look like a lot of fun to actually get a hold of, but to waste so much money on it, I'll pass. I already wasted a lot of money getting the collector's edition for Diablo 3, and I haven't touched that game since I've beaten it with my Witchdoctor character back in the early summer.
I guess it's just because I'm waiting for the expansion packs that they claim they're making before I get back on the game.
But back to Skylanders. I remember seeing a mother at a Best Buy looking so stunned and freaked out that the amount of money she has to waste on the Skylanders characters was hysterical. I wanted to ask her if she knew what she got herself into, because let's be honest, this game is not cheap, the additional characters are not cheap, and I'm fairly certain with these "Giants" that they're selling out now, aren't cheap either. She almost wasted an amount as much as what the game cost, and it's $90. If I want to see what this game is like, however, I just feel that I am going to be disappointed with what I find out with the amount of times I see Spyro, how he plays, and the fact that I'm wasting so much money that doesn't need to be wasted upon.
It's best to say that I'll just have my opinions about this and move on with my life...
So, that's really all I have to say about Spyro. I just hope in the future, same goes with Naughty Dog and their creation, that I see a game about this character that actually doesn't suck and goes back to the original roots it once had. None of this new, mystical game where it's totally not like the original, and completely ignores the fun and cuteness it once held in the past. Bring back the cute, no one ever thought that being a dragon and being cute couldn't exist.
They can... they did... and it was fucking awesome.
>'-'<
No comments:
Post a Comment