Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon
Ages: Everyone +10

It opens with a voice over an eagle soaring high in the clouds and mentions courage - an inspirational beginning. Soon monsters in the dark with flashes of brilliant psychedelic colors approach the giant yellow crystal and smash it - freeing Spyro and Cynder. But immediately they are roped together - a device to allow for the single player to control both.

Control starts with the duo tethered to a platform - fighting a mass of indistinct monsters - and the in-game tutorial flashing the button to releasing them from the tether and freeing them to fly. Immediately they are faced with a humongous, fire breathing monster. First game I've played that starts with a boss fight. Have I accidentally wandered into God of War? The monster fills the screen slamming his arm against Spyro who is about the size of his eye. And tho the duo flies - their speed is more suited to a fly over a park . Their fire-breathing ability, at game beginning, appears to be more like a sneeze. This is no way to begin a game.

The tutorial consists of too-quickly flashed instructions on the screen - which are irretrievable. Would be no problem if the manual gave sufficient instruction. The goal is, to fight the evil forces of the Dark Master. Yeah.

The background landscapes are fabulous - worthy of an epic production. The music is almost worth a special disk. The Hollywood voice talent seems wasted on two tiny toy dragons - even if they can fly. The game feels like five blind men designing an elephant, some pieces wonderful and accurate - others completely miss the mark.

Fun Factor: Maybe for someone
Female Factor: Well -Cynder is a female
Player Friendly: Not at all

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/08