Review by mozwazherez

"The dragon with attitude is back!"

After I had finished reading the manual for CTR: Crash Team Racing, I looked at the bottom of the page, and saw instructions for playing a demo level of Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. As I played it, I was not totally thrilled with it, but I could not stop playing it. It was so addictive, and after finishing ''Magma Cove'', I knew I had to get it. With a price of $20, how could I not?!? Well, I did get it, and here’s my review...

Plot: 10/10

This plot is very easy to understand, and goes along great with the gameplay. You see, in the worlds of Avalar, a dude named Ripto is making everyone's life a living hell, and they are tired of it, so they decide that a dragon is what they need to stop him. Soon, a local professor, who has created magical orbs, which can be used to transport Spyro, starts to heat them up, and our little dragon goes to Avalar.

To fight Ripto and his gang, you, playing the role of Spyro, must go to different worlds and places, collecting gems, and doing favors which will give you orbs and talismans (which help you go to other worlds). You can also play games to collect gems and orbs, but some games are very hard, while others are easy.

Sound: 10/10

The sounds in this game are pretty good, but I find them very forgettable. Each tune matches each world, from peaceful to rainy to fiery.
As for the game sounds, these are excellent. When Spyro goes underwater, you can hear everything, from the fish, to the air bubbles. When Spyro is on a volcano, you can hear the lava flowing. When Spyro charges into a sheep or frog, you can hear the ''baaa'' or ''ribbit''. It’s really awesome.

Graphics: 10/10

The graphics are AMAZING. Everything looks like it should, and there are no edges sticking out. Even when Spyro gets right up next to a wall, you do not see the other side, as with some games. You also have choices of different camera views, which come very much in handy during gameplay.
Did I mention the graphics are stunning? Every picture is crystal clear, just beautiful, and the details on the objects, people, and surrounding areas are stunning. Crystals sparkle and gleam, mountains look life like.... just wonderful.

Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay is also great. Spyro 2 has many more powerups and choices than the original, all which are easy to use. You can go head-to-head with an enemy, or you can just roast them with fire. Special powerups, such as ''Supercharge'', make it easy to crush objects and people, and ''Superfreeze'' enables you to freeze your enemies, instead of roasting them.

When you start to play this game, you will be taken to a ''Home World'', where you can regain your health, practice flying, etc., and enter other worlds. When you enter these worlds, a villager will come to you and tell you your mission. You go on your mission, meanwhile, collecting any gems on the way, and stomping out enemies. If you complete your mission, you get a Talisman, which helps you access other worlds.

You can also play games or puzzles in that world, which can help you gain gems, magical orbs, and other cool stuff, which will come in handy later. Some games are very hard, while others are very easy. When a game or puzzle is presented to you, it will show a difficulty rating at the bottom, which will show up as 5 stars; 1 star being the easiest, to 5 being the hardest. Usually, the average difficulty is from 3-4 stars. The games and puzzles get harder as you progress in the game.

Controls: 8/10

The controls in this game are the factors that annoyed me the most. I find it most annoying that Spyro cannot walk backwards, which makes it kind of harder to move around. Other than that, the controls are pretty ok. Swimming takes time to get used to, but after about 5 minutes, you get used to it. Flying and gliding took some practice, but I also learned that within 5 minutes. I would recommend that when you first start out, you take heed of the advice given to you, because it will be useful when you need to glide, swim, climb, etc.

Re-play? 10/10

If you do finish this game, you will still want to re-play it. There are always races to win, puzzles to solve, etc. Anyways, it is pretty lengthy, so I doubt you will be finishing this quickly, unless you are really good at solving games like ''Super Mario'', etc., etc.

Buy vs. Rent

If you enjoy games such as Super Mario, Super Mario World, Crash Bandicoot, or the original ''Spyro'' I would definitely recommend that you just go out and buy this game. Its only 20 dollars, and it also contains a demo of Crash Team Racing, another great game :-).

If you have never tried one of those games, or you do not like those kinds of games, then I would recommend that you test it out first, and if you like it, then buy it.

Overall: 10/10

Overall, I give this game a 10. While the controls are somewhat annoying, the plot, graphics, audio, gameplay, and replay value are excellent.

-Great graphics and audio.
-Very fun to play.
-Easy on the Memory Card - only 1 block.

-Controls can get annoying.
-Very addictive.
-Sometimes townspeople talk too much, but that can be stopped with a button.


Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 11/23/01, Updated 11/23/01


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