Spyro's getting his legend, his new beginning, and his reinvention all at the same time in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. We first learn that Spyro has been raised not by his parents, but by a family of dragonflies. Having been abandoned at birth in a way that harkens back to Superman's unforgettable tale, Spyro must seek out the secrets of his past to discover his true destiny. His destiny, as anyone who's previously dealt with the two-winged hero could guess, is to save the world.

And save it he will, from vicious thugs and countless creatures. He'll encounter four-legged spiders that look like giant mushrooms. He'll face sword-toting baddies that must be burnt to a crisp. (You could eliminate them through a series of melee attacks, but why bother? Fire is so much more rewarding.) He'll take on bosses, and take flight to fight enemies that are too powerful to reach on foot. 

When Spyro began his journey nearly 10 years ago, he didn't have the ability to breath ice. He couldn't harness the power of Earth, or gain a surge of strength via electricity. Although the series has gone back to the beginning, the game intends to re-write history. That way Spyro gets to keep his powers, and learn a few new ones while he's at it.

Spyro will learn his magic and normal attack abilities from a group of wise dragons. Ignitus, a dragon of many words, will teach him the power of fire. Technically Spyro should know this ability on his own. He is a dragon, after all. Nonetheless, every samurai warrior needs a master to guide him to victory – at least that's what movies have led us to believe. I suppose every fire-breathing dragon needs the same.

The all-powerful Volteer will teach Spyro how to wield electricity. Terrador, another key dragon, has great knowledge of the Earth and the powers that lie within our planet. Each of these dragons' names have something in common: they sound like the power they are able to teach. Terrador is the trickiest of the bunch – think "terra firma" and you should be able to figure it out.

Cyril is the least obvious of all the dragons. But I'm guessing that, through process of elimination, you can figure out the secret: Cyril teaches the power of ice.

Spyro will also learn about his combos, both on-ground and midair. He can knock enemies into the air, jump up, and strike them several times. This is quite a departure from Spyro's roots. Originally, his mission was to search and uncover. Look for specific items, locate rarities, and strive to complete the game 100%. Today the series is more of an action/brawler. He needs the air combos (and other consecutive moves) to defeat the endless stream of enemies that are now being thrown at him. 

There seems to be a dozen enemies for every five you defeat. That's not actually the case -- at least not once you reach the final battle. Until then the assessment is pretty accurate.

Around the corner of every battle is another movie sequence and/or tutorial. Tutorials not only tell you what to do -- they force you to perform the action before you can proceed. Screw up and you'll have to start over. None of the required actions are so difficult that you're likely to fail. They are timed, however. Failing to complete them within the time limit is another way to lose.

The levels look nice but aren't very big. Not unlike the latest SpongeBob game, Spyro's new beginning sends you down a clear, linear path.

Also like SpongeBob – and Spyro's previous adventures – is the controls. They're very polished, keeping the game at that pick-up-and-play level the series has always strived to achieve.

The unfortunate downside is that Spyro is no longer a wide-open, adventurous action game. It instead follows the trend of other recent action/adventure sequels, which move further away from adventure and get a whole lot closer to the once-popular arcade brawler. Expect to mash the square and circle buttons until you just can't take it anymore.

This would be unforgettably problematic as an all-new franchise. But as a sequel to a game that once rivaled Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, the fans are going to be disappointed. Hardcore gamers know how to deal with disappointment – we face it every year. But casual gamers – they just buy games that look cool. Imagine the poor 12-year-old who, having grown up with Spyro, selects this as one of his Christmas gifts. Imagine the kid who can only get one game, and this is the one he chooses. He'll be amused for the first hour or two (hopefully), but after that he'll treat it as he has any other "play-thing" that didn't turn out as cool as the last. From then on, it won’t be touched. 

The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning isn't all bad, but it isn't all that great either. Few will be enthused long enough to see it through to the end. Its highly repetitive battles, monotonous tutorials, and frequent story interruptions aren't the gameplay elements kids are going for. They aren't the kind that I – a gamer who's been with Spyro from the beginning – am intrigued by either.

Gameplay: 6.2
Spyro is back with all his original moves and more. Unfortunately, the worlds he explores in A New Beginning are much smaller than those he visited in previous adventures. His objectives have also changed. The game started in the action/adventure genre, but has slowly turned toward a button-mashing brawler style of play. Very rarely can a game sustain a high level of replayability on that style alone. I’m sad to say that A New Beginning is not one of the games that can.

Graphics: 7.9
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning has three notable elements: (1) the backgrounds look pretty nice, (2) Spyro’s facial expressions are terrific, and (3) the fire effects are an interesting mix of pieces that form together for one hearty breath. The visuals won’t make your jaw drop, but there isn’t any part of the game that particularly looks bad, which is more than I can say for most.

Sound: 8
Excellent voice-overs courtesy of Elijah Wood, David Spade, and Gary Oldman.

Difficulty: Easy
Eight years ago I considered the original Spyro to be an easy game. Not anymore. This is the easiest edition to the series, offering the least amount of depth and exploration. You’ll button-mash your way through most of the adventure.

Concept: 7
New attacks, improved visuals and an upper-tier cast take Spyro to the next level. The repetitive combat and linear world design, however, position the game well below its memorable predecessors.

Overall: 6.2
A fair rental for any kid who doesn’t mind excessive button-mashing with their adventure. That means the game excludes anyone who played the original at the time it was released. They’d be too old now, and have too many fond memories of what the series once was, to be amused by Spyro’s latest offering.