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Intro I had been looking forward to Reign of Fire for who knows how long. I mean, when was the last time a cool dragon movie was made? Dragonheart? Sure, it was a great movie, but we know how the games turned out. While I was slightly disappointed by Reign of Fire, I could definitely see the huge potential for a great game lurking within the midst of the backstory. An apocalyptic future where dragons rule the sky and man is reduced to hiding in rubble - what isn't to like? Unfortunately, due to some poor design decisions, the game never gets the chance to deliver on the movie's promising premise. Gameplay: 6/10 If you haven't seen the movie, don't worry, as the game explains everything that has happened up to the point where the player comes in. Thanks to FMV cutscenes from the movie itself, the game's pace and level structure are on par with the movie, for the most part. This was a nice way of tying in the material they had to work with, but I do wish the voices of the heroes had been more accurate. The beginning of the game starts off like the movie, with the struggle of human survival against endless amounts of dragons. These aren't your typical flying, fire-breathing creatures, mind you. Those are definitely there, but they also come in smaller variations that spit multiple fireballs, while the larger ones can charge their fireballs for extra impact, and there are also napalm flame units, which toss out a constant stream of fire that's dispersed over a large area. There are also two land-based dragons, one of which just rams vehicles, while another is a huge fire-breather that can be devastating if approached carelessly. The human missions generally tend to be escort, rescue, and recon missions. While some of them can drag on, there are a few clever sequences that were pleasantly surprising and a nice change of pace; one in particular was a level right from the movie where farmers go to get crops and end up being ambushed. The player is then assigned to take a water truck out to not only put out the fires within the crops, but to also put out and rescue the flaming farmers. The vehicles themselves can also catch fire, and in a weird and somewhat irritating decision, water trucks can't put themselves out. Some levels feature a water-dumping helicopter, but those are later on in the human campaign. Water tanks are dotted about the map, which isn't very helpful as most objects look the same and trying to pick the one that needs to be shot was harder than it would seem - especially since life is constantly dwindling, and these are used to put fires out that are on vehicles; having the water from the truck do no good when it's a few inches from the barrel seemed strange. This also leads to the problems with Reign of Fire, as they just seem to compound as the game continues. Due to the desolate landscape, it's extremely difficult to navigate through levels, especially since some give a pretty large range of freedom. However, the game is so dark that landmarks are extremely difficult to make out and roads are nearly impossible to see. This then brings up the futility of the map; since it has no topography to go on, simply seeing a blue dot isn't helpful at all since following it could lead to going out of the mission area and the level ending. This might not have been so bad if there were some sort of checkpoint or mid-level save feature implemented, but there wasn't. Since some of the missions can go on for a while and a lot of them are extremely difficult as one well-placed fireball from a dragon can knock out over half your health, it's very aggravating to burn up and die or go out of a mission area right at the end and have to start all over. Not all of the game is bad though, as the thrill of taking down a huge dragon is quite a thrill. Having a lumbering giant tumble to the earth, throwing up dirt and debris, and having the controller shake violently - the impact of killing such a beast was just implemented perfectly. With buggies, tanks, and water trucks, the humans have a solid arsenal on their hands. Between the heat-seeking and flack missiles, as well as cannon blasts and bombs, there's a nice array of secondary goodies each can use. One problem with all vehicles is that they are incredibly slow. Controlled using the method one uses to move the Warthog in Halo, the vehicles are quick to turn and can gain speed, but any sort of incline bring them down to a crawl. Crawling is definitely not the speed one wants to be going when there are fifteen dragons above, raining down fire. With a fairly anti-climactic
ending, the human campaign gives way to the dragon campaign. Comprised mostly
of defending nests and fending off the land from intruding humans, the dragons
will have their hands full as they are swarmed by human technologies and their
difficult controls will mean several deaths. If those looked like boats and trucks
falling from the sky in human campaigns, they were. Dragons can also pick up and
strategically drop them; this is great for halting conveys, putting a quick end
to a pesky heavily armored enemy, or to make a route more difficult to pass. The
dragon missions are fun, if a bit odd. Neither campaign seems fitting to stand
on its own as a game, so it was wise to include both. However, in doing so, the
developers shortchanged the possibilities of each.
Graphics: 7/10 Sound:
6.5/10 Control:
6/10 The learning curve
for controlling the dragon, on the other hand, will initially turn some people
off from that campaign. However, the overwhelmingly cool aspect of being a dragon
helps to ease through the process of learning the basics. It'll take a while,
but it's definitely worth sticking with; dropping a boat on a convoy is only one
of many small thrills that are tucked away in the dragons' portion. Overall: 6/10 [ top ] | |||
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