The Legend of Spyro™: Dawn of the Dragon

Poor little Spyro … the lovable purple dragon has certainly had his ups and downs as a video-game icon. Spyro made his debut on the PlayStation back in 1998, suffered through some less-than-stellar titles and some that were well received. His latest adventure, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, is actually the third part of a trilogy. 

Sierra showed off the game during a spring media event in San Francisco in mid-April and the dragon has never looked so good or played so well. In Dawn of the Dragon, Spyro has teamed up with Cynder (who was redeemed in the second title in the series, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night) and the duo are out to stop the Dark Master’s evil from enveloping the world.

It may sound like an ambitious adventure, but with new gameplay mechanics, Spyro should be able to pull it off. Spyro and Cynder are always together, each with different abilities and players will be able to switch between the dragons. There is a prominent new mechanic that should please players in that both Spyro and Cynder can fly – as in all the time, not just in spurts. The game also features unique drops, like pieces of armor that are scattered throughout environments and compiling the entire set will give players a buff bonus, just like in a role-playing game. The puzzles are set up in such a way as to involve both Spyro and Cynder in their solution.

The world is bigger and more varied with 10 different environments and the game – while it does have moments akin to God of War where you have to trigger certain hot buttons – aims to take a more strategic approach to the gameplay.

“It’s our 10^th anniversary,” said representatives for the title during the event, “and we’re trying to come out in a big way.”

That means a storyline with more layers to it (a la a Pixar film) and a more varied experience.

The game looks gorgeous and features top voice talent. Spyro is voiced by Elijah Wood, while Gary Oldman does the voice of Ignitus (Spyro’s mentor). Mark Hamill is the voice of the Dark Master while Wayne Brady voices Sparx. Other actors joining the cast include Christina Ricci and Blair Underwood.

The game will also feature drop-in/drop-out co-op play, another dynamic new to a Spyro title.

The developer behind the title on next-gen consoles is Etranges Libellules (360, PS3, PS2 and Wii), while Tantalus is behind the DS version.

The game demo revealed a world that was an amazing visual treat. The lighting and texturing were vibrant and brought the world to glorious life, and the new gameplay dynamics really gave the series a fresh feel.

The game is slated to release in the fall.