How to Train Your Dragon

Based on the DreamWorks movie of the same, How to Train Your Dragon, was released to all platforms of seventh generation consoles in 2010. The game is an action-adventure that was clearly designed for a younger demographic, much like the movie itself. Clocking in at seven hours of content for the casual players, the title doesn’t invite a lot of replayability.

DRAGON TRAINER

The story takes place one year after the events that unfolded in the movie. After their triumph over the villainous “Red Death”, the viking society starts a new tradition called “Thorsday Thursday”. Players are taken to the event as either Hiccup, or Astrid and there they are encouraged to battle other teenagers and their dragons, in a very pokemon-like style.

Progression here is based on - as the title states - training your dragon by repeatedly submitting him to different fights. During fights players start to learn new combos, and attacks by pressing the buttons in the sequence they are displayed on the screen. And that is basically it, the sequences are extremely easy, and soon enough you realize that the tedious process serves only to level up your dragon.

As you play the game, and level up your dragon, customizations start to become a part of the game. Players are introduced to a talent tree, that provides different paths, and styles of combat to better suit your preferences better. Leveling up also provides new types of foods, potions, and types of attack. On top of that, every time your dragon enters combat he needs to rest afterward for some reason, this unnecessary mechanic just slows down the pace of the game even more.

NO MORE TRAINING

Once players have gone through the grind of learning combos, upgrading attacks, and customizing their own dragons they have to face a final battle with Snotlout Jorgenson for a chance to be named dragon-taming champion. Here players have to use everything they learned to overcome the final boss. But, the combat itself is unable to differentiate itself from the rest of the battles, it's only different because the game tells you so.

In general the game published by Activision becomes a weird mixture of Pokemon with fighting games. Never fully committing to either aspects of the game, or providing more in-depth experiences just makes the game feel flat. There really isn’t enough to keep players engaged and returning to the title. Sadly, unlike the movie How To Train Your Dragon as a game fails to capture the charm and excitement of the superb universe we see on screen.

VERDICT

I completely understand that this game was designed to entertain, and appeal to young kids, or extreme fans of the movies. For that reason it is hard to completely disregard Activision’s creation, I’m sure that anyone experiencing the game with a young kid would find it enjoyable if not for the game, for the sense of wonder and joy the kid would express.

Overall, there’s not much to this game; combats are extremely repetitive, and simple. The story is a generic one designed to justify dragons fighting, and it is also a short-one. Developers miss the mark by never committing, or giving players more credit by providing some challenge. Even the marvelous characters and universe from DreamWorks, isn’t enough to make this game above average.

PROS:

• Good Concepts

CONS:

• Poorly Executed Concepts
• Superficial Mechanics
• Repetitive and Tedious Training
• Unnecessary Mechanics
• Low Replayability
• Long Loading Times
• Lacks The Film’s Charm