Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly [GC]

When you think of some of the big name platform titles that established themselves in the last generation on Sony's competing PlayStation console you probably think of two: Crash and Spyro, both published by Sony. However, with the onset of the PlayStation 2, Sony has opted to sell off the franchises in favor of creating something new. Universal Interactive was quick to take control of the licenses and has focused on broadening their reach, but at the expense of putting them in the hands of new developers. In the case of the Spyro franchise, Insomiac is now busy working on Ratchet and Clank, a brand new platformer for Sony, so Universal Interactive has Equinoxe heading up development on the fourth installment in the series called Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly. However, while the original team isn't there pushing the envelope, Enter the Dragonfly will have the same producer that has worked on all the previous titles. Good news indeed and it should yield good results. Enter the Dragonfly comes with a brand new storyline, drastically improved visuals, new moves, new characters, and much more. It remains to be seen whether or not the game will be enough of an evolution to appeal to veteran Spyro fans, but for GameCube owners new to the series it should definitely be worth a look.

Features

• Spyro's first appearance on a Nintendo home console
• Dynamic dragon-breath lets you spray foes with fire, ice, electricity, and even bubbles
• Over 25 huge 3D levels for Spyro to explore
• Unique weather effects such as tornadoes, monsoons, snow, and rainbows diversify environments
• Classic Spyro gameplay offers up platform jumping, numerous obstacles, item collection, and more
• Search for over 100 dragonflies and gems
• Foil the evil Ripto's plans by saving the dragonflies and restoring order to the Dragon Realms
• Soar through worlds number of vehicles including tanks, UFOs, and planes
• Planned Q4 2002 release

Gameplay
Spyro is very much inspired by the groundwork that Super Mario 64 laid for 3D platformers. It's got huge, vivid worlds, a cute, but edgy, lead character, and enough varied gameplay to keep gamers wanting more. It's not a million-selling franchise, after all. Like in previous Spyros, Enter the Dragonly is all about setting out on a big adventure to crush the evil Ripto's plans. In this case, he's trying to steal all the dragonflies of Dragon Realms. So, as Spyro you set out on a quest to collect all the dragonflies and defeat Ripto. With the previous Spyros story was never really that deep, but it never intended to be. It was a lighthearted vessel to give the designers plenty of flexibility to put Spyro in a number of different situations. So, on a very simple level, you'll be spending a lot of time exploring large 3D worlds collecting gems and dragonflies. That's hardly all there is to it, though.

As you adventure through these 3D worlds you'll encounter some difficult obstacles that will require you to draw upon new skills, vehicles, and even your friends in Dragon Realms. Your main skill is breathing fire -- you are a dragon, after all -- but Spyro has the ability to breath more than just flames. Now he'll be able to use ice, electricity, and even bubble-breath. These are useful against different enemies. An enemy that is hardly affected by fire my very well be vulnerable to ice, so you'll have to do some experimenting. In addition to this the elemental breath is tied to different Metroid-style puzzles. For instance, enemies can be frozen into blocks of ice and used as platforms. Spyro can then use them as steps to hop up a cliff side. However, his bubble breathing abilities will probably be used most, as you'll need it to corral and bring home the lost dragonflies, which are scattered in some tricky places around all the levels. Remember searching for the fairies in the temples of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask? You'll definitely have to keep an eye out in the same way when you're exploring the worlds of Enter the Dragonfly.

Beyond that the title is filled with the usual extras including the ability to take command of a number of vehicles including a tank, UFO, and a plane. At one point Spyro must round-up a lost herd of cows with a UFO's tractor beam. There's definitely some entertaining, and even comical ideas to be experienced. As a whole, there Enter the Dragonfly seems to be a smaller evolution of gameplay ideas than the previous titles, but the series has always been a fun ride in one way or another. The biggest changes we're likely to see will come in the form of more lavish visuals, sound design, and production values.

Graphics and Technology
By previous Spyro standards, the series is taking a big leap in terms of visuals on next-generation platforms. The engine is being geared towards the PlayStation 2, it's not likely Enter the Dragonfly will be one of the most visually impressive GameCube titles, but it should hold its own, as the series has always been visually impressive. Our lead dragon Spyro is packed full of about 5,000 polygons, which is more than some of the characters featured in Nintendo's own Eternal Darkness. That's not to say it's looking more impressive, but it's no visual slouch either, and Equinoxe is aiming for a clean 60 frames per second. In addition to all this there will be plenty of special effects, including particles for snowfall and rain, as well as reflection mapping and plenty of other eye candy. One of the neater effects is called displacement. This shows up in cornfields, for example, where Spyro runs through the stalks and they bend to the ground. As he passes them the bend back up, covering the path he stomped out on the way in. Additionally, the water effects seem to be on par with most next-generation attempts, where the waves react dynamically to your movement and reflect and refract light on the surface.

As a whole, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly's strongest visual attributes are its vivid, ultra-colorful worlds. Everywhere you turn you'll see vibrant texture design complimented by colorful lighting and particle effects. The first screenshots seem to indicate it won't look very different from the PlayStation 2 version, but it should hold its own overall.

Outlook
It's great to see that a potentially solid platformer is on its way to GameCube. The console is surprisingly lacking in this genre at the moment, and Enter the Dragonfly should be a strong addition to the lineup when it launches later this year. It's likely it will be far more appealing for the GameCube owners that have never played Spyro, but the visual upgrade, new moves, and 25 massive worlds could be enough to convince hardcore Spyro fans this fourth installment is worth a look.

Check out the first screens of it running on GameCube attached below. Look for more info and media in the coming months, as Enter the Dragonfly is scheduled for a year-end release.

©2002, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved