Spyro: A Hero's Tail - Review

Added December 2nd, 2004 by Dakota Grabowski

Introduction:

It seems that the 2004 holiday season is packed with new efforts by all ready established platformers for a reemergence in the console scene. Vivendi Universal all ready released Crash Bandicoot’s latest attempts to prove that there is some uniqueness left with Crash Twinsanity. Microsoft put out another Blinx game and this time it wasn’t even really about Blinx. EA gave fans of the platform genre another Ty the Tasmanian game while also THQ published another Tak 2 game. There was even room for a new platformer titled Scaler from Global Star. With all that said and all the competition all ready released, does Spyro make enough improvements for his adventure on the Xbox?

Well Spyro’s new quest is almost identical to his previous outings but this one implies the ability to play someone else besides Spyro. Included within the game are the easy difficulty, gentle natured gameplay, and similar plot outline included in other installments. Spyro will be on mission to stop Red, a rather large dragon that is red of course, from spreading the Dark Gems across the Dragon Realm. Predictable as usual the Dark Gems are turning the land into a despicable and awful place to live and it’s up to Spyro and his gang to stop Red.

New to the Spyro scene is that Eurocom has taken over development for this Spyro. Eurocom could be tagged along to their other games they have created such as Sphinx & The Cursed Mummy, Buffy the Vampire: Chaos Bleeds, James Bond: Nightfire and Duke Nukem 64. With their short history, Eurocom hasn’t disappointed yet but they also haven’t found their top notch title that stands above the competition.

Gameplay:

For Spyro’s comrades that you control, you have the chance to control Hunter the Cheetah, Blink the Mole and Sergeant Byrd. Hunter’s main aspect is his use of the bow and long distance archery. Blink is capable of burrowing into the ground and attacks the enemies with some mines that he plants or even using his arm laser. Sgt. Byrd can fly of course but there’s a catch, he’s a PENGUIN. Penguins don’t fly but in Spyro: A Hero’s Tail they soar the skies with jet packs. Sgt. Byrd will be taking his attacks to the sky with missiles that he will drop to extinguish the enemies. Some people may feel the ability to play other characters is becoming redundant and over used. Sly Cooper managed the direction of multiple characters in a platformer and Spyro actually performs quite well. The characters seem to be well rounded and have had enough time concentrated on them to create some emotion around them.

You will be gathering gems for Spyro throughout the course of A Hero’s Tail that will serve as money to buy items. Areas will be unlocked while collection enough gems that Spyro or characters will be able to access. What is a nice treat is that when you finally restore some of the land to what it originally was, it transforms before your eyes. The evil side of the realms will disappear with visual effects Eurocom applies throughout the entire game. Other new implemented gameplay features include Spyro’s breath attacks, the new power ups for Horn Dives and so much more. About the breath attacks, Eurocom has included four variations for Spyro to use. The expected fire is there but now Spyro can shoot away water, ice and even electrical breath attacks.

Graphics:

Spyro is more or less the same game with graphics when compared to Enter the Dragonfly the previous Spyro title for this generation of games. The Xbox is capable of so much more that Spyro should have taken advantage of the Xbox specs. What Spyro does well is that the framerate is relatively smooth. Animations haven’t been better but still fall behind what is currently offered with other platformers. What is missing is more detailed characters as they are a major part of the game that Eurocom put emphasis on. The game resembles what other games such as Tak 2 put out with how their environments look. Eurocom made sure to add in some new lighting effects and blurring but it’s not a major overhaul and direct step away from what previously has been offered with Spyro.

Audio:

With the audio, it should be enjoyed by those who are attracted naturally to the platforming genre. It’s simple and easy on the ears while also maintaining a theme to the music. It’s nothing too surprising but the music is solid as long as you have withstood it before and it isn’t a first time experience. Voice acting is done well to the certain extent that is doesn’t go overboard. You could base the fact that Spyro really hasn’t let down too many with the voice acting so it was expected that Eurocom would follow the path that has been lead before and continue with generally well voice acting. To shorten it up a bit, Spyro doesn’t fail in the audio department but it doesn’t excel above the rest or improve upon what has been established before.

Controls:

Spyro plays like other platformers currently available on the Xbox but like I stated earlier, you have the ability to play other characters. Sgt. Byrd, Hunter, Blink and even Sparx play quite different from each other while also maintaining a familiarity with the controls.

Playing as Spyro:
L Thumbstick: Walk/Run
A Button: Jump (tap to Double Jump); Paddle Underwater
B Button: Charge or Dive; Swimming Underwater (holding it)
X Button: Main Breath Attack
Y Button: Wing Sheild
R Trigger: Secondary Attack
L Trigger: First Person View
D-Pad: Breath Select

Playing as Sgt. Byrd:
L Thumbstick: Walk/Run
A Button: Fly
A + X Button: Turbo Boost
R Trigger: Fire Missiles
L Trigger: Drop Bombs

Playing as Blink:
L Thumbstick: Walk/Run
A Button: Jump (tap to Double Jump); Butt Stomp (Double Jump then tap B)
Y Button: Crouch
B Button: Claw Attack (near walls to Dig)
X Button: Shooter Lasers
R Trigger: Throw Bombs
L Trigger: First Person View

Playing as Hunter:
L Thumbstick: Walk/Run
A Button: Jump (tap to Double Jump); Stomp (Double Jump then tap B); Bow Swat (tap A then tap X); Slide Attack (A Button then tap B)
Y Button: Bow Spin
B Button: Punch
X Button: Shoot Arrows
R Trigger: Shoot Fire Arrows
L Trigger: First Person View

Replay:

Players who love Spyro may find tons of replay value beyond the 20 plus levels. It has the standard amount of time found within action and platformers with around 10 hours that will be needed to complete the game. The game will be more of an attachment to the series than the last one as the new playable characters bring a whole new draw to the game that hasn’t been experience Spyro that often. With it’s simple nature and easy gameplay, kids will find Spyro: A Hero’s Tail as a nice addition to the library while the adults may have all ready grown weary of the title back before Vivendi finally picked it up.

Summary:

When it seemed like Spyro lost all his drawing power, Vivendi brought Eurocom on board to spice up the game with the numerous characters playable. While it may be not as fresh or original as it once was, it’s definitely an improvement over Spyro: Enter the Dragon. I’d suggest you buy this for your child for the holidays if you are looking for a platformer on the Xbox. It has a more mature tone to it but it could easily be a rental if you are wore out on the Spyro franchise all ready.