Spyro A Hero’s Tail

“In the Dragon Realms, all is not well …”

It seems that the fallen dragon, Red, is using the dark gems to poison the light of the world. Its goal is a simple one, control the world. But five heroes have stepped forward to face this terrible plot – Spyro, Sparx, Hunter, Sgt. Bird and the newest addition to the team, Blink.

“ … now is the time, let the battle commence!”

Spyro: A Hero’s Tail from Eurocom and Vivendi Universal is a three-dimensional romp that is vibrant and lush, and host of other adjectives that cannot begin to describe the eye candy that this PlayStation 2 title brings to the gaming console.

The game is rather simplistic in overall feel. Spyro moves from level-to-level to find and destroy dark gems. In the way are Gnasty Gnorc and his minions, which are aiding Red. (In case you didn’t know, dark gems are a life-draining power.)

The game is full of levels and little puzzles and even some side mini-games. Of course, Spyro must run about and collect gems to use as coin to buy items he will need from Moneybags.

The other characters will show up at the appropriate times to help Spyro out.

As for save games, there is a Tinkerbelle-esque fairy that pops up along the way and explains that every time she hits him with her wand (which she demonstrates, and Spyro’s eyes cross and seem to go fuzzy) it allows the game’s progress to be saved … and Spyro loses a million brain cells.

“Wow, a million brain cells, that seems excessively destructive,” replies Spyro.

WHACK! The fairy hits him again.

“Ok, ok,” begs off our favorite purple dragon.

Actually, all you have to do is pass the fairy to save the game.

The game play in the preview build GameZone received was slightly linear in nature, but with some of the attributes that Spyro has, this did not derive from the fun. Find a gnorc with armor on to protect it from Spyro’s hot little breath blasts? No problem, run at it, ram it with the horns so the armor falls off, then heat and serve.

Graphically the preview build had a few clipping problems but generally very few. The game uses the left thumbstick to control movement direction and the right thumbstick allows players to rotate the camera. The special effects are very nice. The soundtrack features a musical score that is upbeat and light, and the voice acting is fun.

The game controls are simple and easy to use.

That actually almost sums up the whole tone of this title. Yes, Spyro does undertake multiple quests all at the same time, but not to worry, the interface does a terrific job of keeping them all sorted out. All you need to do, as the player, is to enjoy the adventure.

Spyro: A Hero’s Tail certain follows an arcade-like linear path, but this game is what those titles are all about. It has an extremely likeable character, it has a delightful little plot that is well scripted, it looks terrific and plays very well. Like the treasure chests that dot the environment, Spyro: A Hero’s Tail is a gem.

This title will be available on the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube console systems. This game will be rated for Everyone.