Spyro 2

Spyro 2 is definitely geared more toward the hardcore gamer compared to the first game--it gives you tons of stuff to do above and beyond the regular old stuff. Ah, but even with this, the game's still on the easy side at times. Luckily, the entire experience--even when the difficulty gauge is low--is extremely enjoyable. There are some 10,000 gems to find in the entire game, and dozens of orbs and a variety of talisman to collect (so don't worry about beating the game in a couple of days). You get all of this stuff by completing tasks, some more challenging than others--alt of which are really fun to play through. And the game is incredibly well-made. There are no parts of this game that will annoy you--no graphical glitch-ery to pound your fist about, no crap control to cry about and no crummy camera to curse about. Sure, you might get a little peeved at a particularly tricky jump or task, but that's OK. It's really just a beautiful game. The level-design is incredible, the colors brilliant, character models--everything. All of this said, you're probably wondering if the game has a fatal flaw. Not really. I like the character, the concept and the feel of the game. The only questionable part is the convoluted story (like the in-game cinema explaining the story early on that seems tacked on). Like I said, it's a solid 3D action/adventure.

Our Creative Director Mike summed this up best with two comments as he watched over my shoulder. "Is that Crash? Oh...no, it isn't" and "My tittle girl would love this." Spyro 2 is charming, harmless, simple and even more like playing a Saturday morning cartoon than the first game. It looks great and has the most harmless story you'll ever find. It's enjoyable, has a slow and gradual learning curve and will have kids everywhere loving it. Harmless.

Spyro may be aimed at kids, but it's one of those games that older action-platform fans are going to find just as entertaining. Graphically, Spyro 2 is even more like a cartoon than the first game. Plenty of speech moves the game's story along and you feel like you're immersed in this whimsical world. But even as impressive as the visuals are, there's never any loading time to speak of. If you enjoyed the first like I did, you're going to dig the sequel.

The first Spyro game was a technical masterpiece but it was a little on the easy side. Spyro 2 is full of the same tranquil aesthetic: a fantasy world, flourishing with pastoral shades of pastel and mauve, populated by rotund Disney look-alikes. It's a beautiful game that's got both charm and polish, no matter how you look at it. This time around, the game is a bit more challenging, but still a cakewalk for veteran 3D platform freaks. Still, a more than worthy sequel.