Spyro: A Hero's Tail

Spyro is back, and has recovered admirably from his game faux pas in the forgettable Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly. In his latest adventure, Spyro: A Hero's Tail, developer Eurocom has designed a simple platformer that, while not bringing anything new or overly exciting to the genre, does deliver a good example of what a fun game for the younger crowd should exemplify.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Spyro: A Hero's Tail exemplifies the philosophy behind that old saying, to generally good effect. The game is bigger, prettier and generally more fine-tuned than any of its predecessors. It just isn't really all that different from any of them.

Finally, while I would like to have scored Spyro higher overall, it still isn’t quite the total experience we come to expect from platformers these days. It’s a great second-introduction to the 128bit era for Eurocom and Vivendi; they have built a solid foundation with A Hero’s Tale. Now they need to either make some significant progress or put the series to rest for good.

This is not the most complex of games, but there are a variety of things to do and the entertainment factor leans toward the cute side. The game has an arcade quality, and the musical score is a little on the elevator side, but the graphics are lush and the game plays well. This is not a game that will challenge experienced gamers, but younger players or those looking for a light entertaining game, which is mostly reflexive, may find this quite delightful. Don’t bring high expectations into this game and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Spyro: A Heroes Tail delivers a decent amount of fun. While lacking innovation in style and play mechanics, the game controls well and offers enough challenge and length to warrant a hard look by parents looking to buy a game for their kids. Also, the inclusion of new characters, new attacks and a ton of collectibles will keep collector-nuts playing for at least 15 hours. In the end, A Heroe’s Tail is a definite improvement over Enter the Dragonfly. It’s a solid, albeit simple and slightly unimaginative platformer.

Overall, Spyro: A Hero's Tail is a pleasant surprise. The game itself doesn't break any new ground in the realm of 3D platforming, but it is fun and an entertaining chapter in the Spyro series. While not the best 3D platformer on the market, it is definitely a massive improvement from Enter the Dragonfly and will provide gamers with some good fun.

After the lackluster release of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, fans of the series had reason to fear the coming of the latest installment, Spyro: A Hero's Tail. Thankfully, it seems as though Vivendi learned a lesson from the slight debacle that was Enter the Dragonfly. And while A Heroes Tail fails to break new ground in terms of style and game mechanics, the game packs enough entertainment to warrant a look from platform fans, regardless of age.

Spyro: A Hero’s Tail marks the latest title in the long-running Spyro franchise to hit the current generation of consoles. A Hero’s Tail once again puts you in the role of the little purple dragon as well as some of his comrades. However, even though this represents a shift in the gameplay dynamics, A Hero’s Tale plays almost just like its predecessors. Experienced gamers may be slightly turned off by the game’s simplistic nature and low level of difficulty, but the younger audience towards which the game is geared should enjoy Spyro’s latest quest.

After the lackluster release of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, fans of the series had reason to fear the coming of the latest installment, Spyro: A Hero's Tail. Thankfully, it seems as though Vivendi learned a lesson from the slight debacle that was Enter the Dragonfly. And while A Hero's Tail fails to break new ground in terms of style and game mechanics, the game packs enough entertainment to warrant a look from platform fans, regardless of age.

What we have, in all, is a game that doesn't really try to push the boundaries very much. However, Spyro does succeed at what it sets out to do – provide a fun platforming adventure with some light humor that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's not very difficult, it controls great, and the graphics and sound – while not majestic in any way – are fine. Adding multiple characters helps keep tedious missions feel a little less tedious, even though most missions are based around collecting something with the occasional fight. It's a great game for kids, a solid rental for platforming fans, and a great step up from the previous entry in the series. If you want a family-friendly title to ease out the heaviness in the living room this holiday season from M-rated games like Halo 2, San Andreas and Metal Gear Solid, skip over painful-to-watch-or-play children's titles and pick up this one instead. You'll probably find yourself enjoying it quite a bit.

In all fairness, Eurocom did create a decent game. The controls are spot on, the worlds (albeit lacking in detail) are colorful and sharp, and most of the minigames are pretty cool. It's just a slow play. The action never really hits a fevered pitch, there is nothing difficult about it, and the quest is about as exciting as static on a T.V. It's a better attempt than Enter the Dragonfly was, but still a long ways from the glorious Insomniac Games trilogy.

In all fairness, Eurocom did create a decent game. The controls are spot on, the worlds (albeit lacking in detail) are colorful and sharp, and most of the minigames are pretty cool. It's just a slow play. The action never really hits a fevered pitch, there is nothing difficult about it, and the quest is about as exciting as static on a T.V. It's a better attempt than Enter the Dragonfly was, but still a long ways from the glorious Insomniac Games trilogy.

I know many of you have faced a tough decision recently. Standing in your local video game retailer, you didn’t know which game to reserve on November 9…Spyro: A Hero’s Tail or Halo 2. It’s moments like these that make life so damn tricky. Having played Spyro, which is essentially the video game equivalent of sleeping with your eyes open, I can safely say that Halo 2 is the way to go. In all fairness, Eurocom did create a decent game. The controls are spot on, the worlds (albeit lacking in detail) are colorful and sharp, and most of the minigames are pretty cool. It’s just a slow play. The action never really hits a fevered pitch, there is nothing difficult about it, and the quest is about as exciting as static on a TV. It’s a better attempt than Enter the Dragonfly was, but still a long ways from the glorious Insomniac Games trilogy.

Spyro: A Hero's Tail isn’t necessarily an awful game. It certainly has its ups and downs, but overall it plays like a mediocre platformer. There are a lot of better platformer titles out there.

Few can refute Spyro’s appeal, but the time has come to take the series in new directions before it falls too far behind the times. A Hero’s Tail does a good job at starting to expand Spyro’s world in a few new directions with additional playable characters, but it’s just a start. As it stands today, Spyro: A Hero’s Tail succeeds at reincorporating all the elements of the game that have kept us playing. Younger players looking for a solid platformer that is challenging enough for them while providing a few laughs to the older audience should consider Spyro: A Hero’s Tail, as it’s 20 plus levels of action will provide long time fans with the type of attractive gameplay we’ve come to appreciate.

It's truly sad to watch the Spyro series head off like this, knowing that years ago the cute lil' guy set standards within genre. VU Games hasn't made any effort to bring the games into the next-generation though, sticking with the same formulas that the games used back in 1998. Let's all hope that Spyro makes a comeback next time another installment is put out, and VU Games doesn't leave gamers everywhere serenading another dead horse.

It's truly sad to watch the Spyro series head off like this, knowing that years ago the cute lil' guy set standards within genre. VU Games hasn't made any effort to bring the games into the next-generation though, sticking with the same formulas that the games used back in 1998. Let's all hope that Spyro makes a comeback next time another installment is put out, and VU Games doesn't leave gamers everywhere serenading another dead horse.

Although Spyro's production values have shot up, its gameplay has remained more or less the same since the series' 1998 debut. Back then, players lacking Nintendo 64s didn't have too many good 3D platformers to choose from, so Spyro's gameplay foibles were acceptable, in light of its uniqueness. The novelty has worn off. Today, modest improvements on this tired formula, like giving Spryo's once-vestigial, T-rex-like arms the ability to grip ledges, just aren't enough to make the game feel innovative. Filling the title with disruptive and boring minigames to artificially increase play time apparently wasn't a good move, either. Despite all the new window dressing, Spyro: A Hero's Tail is the same game you played six years ago, and you probably remember it being better.

Although Spyro's production values have shot up, its gameplay has remained more or less the same since the series' 1998 debut. Back then, players lacking Nintendo 64s didn't have too many good 3D platformers to choose from, so Spyro's gameplay foibles were acceptable, in light of its uniqueness. The novelty has worn off. Today, modest improvements on this tired formula, like giving Spryo's once-vestigial, T-rex-like arms the ability to grip ledges, just aren't enough to make the game feel innovative. Filling the title with disruptive and boring minigames to artificially increase play time apparently wasn't a good move, either. Despite all the new window dressing, Spyro: A Hero's Tail is the same game you played six years ago, and you probably remember it as being better.

Spyro, the purple pygmy dragon, made his fiery debut on the original PlayStation, among the surfeit of 3D platformers populating the 32- and 64-bit eras. Aside from its unique protagonist, who hailed from the opposite side of most fantasy-setting confrontations, Spyro the Dragon strictly adhered to its genre's formula, managing to be very successful in the process. Spyro's 2002 outing failed to re-create that success. Those who endured the horrid Enter the Dragonfly will be pleased to learn that VU Games has, this time around, endeavored to bring its rambunctious reptile up to something resembling modern technological standards.

Après l'épisode précédent en demi-teinte, on pensait que le dragon se réveillerait et nous présenterait ce qu'il sait faire de mieux. A l'inverse, il choisit de s'affranchir de quelques règles qui faisaient son charme (rubis, portail spacio-temporel) pour se fondre docilement dans la masse des jeux de plates-formes dit classiques.

Après l'épisode précédent en demi-teinte, on pensait que le dragon se réveillerait et nous présenterait ce qu'il sait faire de mieux. A l'inverse, il choisit de s'affranchir de quelques règles qui faisaient son charme (rubis, portail spacio-temporel) pour se fondre docilement dans la masse des jeux de plates-formes dit classiques.

Après l'épisode précédent en demi-teinte, on pensait que le dragon se réveillerait et nous présenterait ce qu'il sait faire de mieux. A l'inverse, il choisit de s'affranchir de quelques règles qui faisaient son charme (rubis, portail spacio-temporel) pour se fondre docilement dans la masse des jeux de plates-formes dit classiques.

Maybe I'm being too tough on the little guy. No wait...no, I'm not. It's the other way around. Spyro is tough on me! Think about it. We have here a sucky new Spyro game with idiot enemies and challenges that are many times really a walk in the park. The only way to look at it is this is a poor excuse for a game. Whatever made the Insomniac-developed Spyro titles so great obviously has vanished from the game's inner fray forever. With an entire platform world that seems to have been designed by and for moronic people, and all the unbelievably ridiculous characters that reside within it, Spyro: A Hero's Tail is nothing more than a sick joke to play on friends or family. And here's the tag line: Have a bratty sinbling ruining your life? Then even the score by buying them the gift of Spyro: A Hero's Tail today!