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Intro As the second Spyro for the Game Boy Advance, Season of Flame continues our hero's adventures and journeys after his trying ordeals in Season of Ice. After returning from a well-deserved vacation, Spyro finds that the Elder Dragons are no longer able to breathe fire. Through a little investigation, he finds that the dragonflies, which enable the dragons to breathe fire, have been stolen. It's time for the little purple dragon to go into action again as he seeks out the Rhynocs to take back the dragonflies. It's a solid follow-up, and is sure to please fans of the series. Gameplay: 8/10 Spyro 2: Season of Flame does a good job of sticking with traditions set by past titles. The formula really hasn't changed much this time around as Spyro continues to collect gems with his firefly buddy. Completion of levels will still require that objectives be completed, but unlike past titles, objectives are not always the same; fire, ice, lightning, and other abilities will do their part in completing the assigned tasks. Sure, there are no dramatic changes, but when the style handles the transition to handheld so well, none is really needed. There are three main worlds, each of which gives way to six or seven portals that lead to the levels themselves; accessing these portals will require fireflies that are collected throughout the levels. Each level has a varied theme, complete with similar aesthetics and music. They also tend to be pretty large, or at least large enough to get lost if you don't keep an eye on the map; complete with both objectives and sub-objectives, there's plenty to do to take advantage of those spacious areas. While completing these mini-objectives isn't necessary, they can lead to the collection of extra fairies to aid in opening more portals. To help Spyro complete his tasks are two friends of his, Sheila the Kangaroo and Agent 9, the space monkey. To track down all those dragonflies, Spyro and the gang will need a powerful arsenal of moves at their disposal, and wouldn't you know it, they have it. To protect himself, Spyro freezes his enemies and charges into them; more, such as fire and lightning, will be learned as more portals become available. Sheila's attacks include kicking and jumping, while Agent 9 has a gun which can shoot various kinds of acquirable ammo. These skills will also be magnified for a short amount of time by passing through special NPC-specific areas within the levels. One complaint I have is that the health meter is not very effective. Each character can be hit a total of four times, and when hit, your firefly, Sparx, will appear at the bottom of the screen for a short time and change colors, then leaves. His not staying on the screen makes it easy to forget how much life is left, and not only that, the color sequence chosen to display health is awkward enough so that that too makes it tough to tell how much life is left. The best and most inconvenient way to figure out health information is to go to the start menu, where Sparx doesn't budge; sure, the color scheme is still weird, but at least Sparx stays put. Another complaint is that maneuvering Spyro to run straight or glide is difficult due to his inconsistent response to commands. Despite
the presence of some control and interface problems, Spyro is still by
and large an enjoyable title. The various worlds, characters, and enemies really
keep the game fresh and interesting throughout.
Graphics: 9/10 Sound:
9/10 Control:
6/10 Overall:
8/10 [ top ] | |||
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