Well folks, I got it… Yep, Disney Infinity. Instead of doing a sort of complete review or "overall thoughts" thing, I thought I'd review it as I get through it. So far, I have completed the Monsters University adventure. I did quite a few of The Incredibles levels, and just began working on Pirates of the Caribbean. Suffice to say, I'm well enough into it.
Before I get started, I got this for PlayStation 3 and of course the starter pack comes with Mr. Incredible, Sulley and Jack Sparrow. I haven't bought any other characters or play sets yet, though I plan to very soon. Right now, I'm thinking of getting Mike Wazowski, Wreck-It Ralph and Lightning McQueen.
So what do I think of it?
I love it.
When Disney Infinity was announced, I saw a lot of potential in it because it was going to bring multiple Disney characters and their worlds together. Crossovers are always fun and all, but this is actually a great opportunity for Disney to popularize some characters from their more "obscure" (or "lesser", as they would apparently think) films and shows. So far, they seem to be doing that little by little. For example, in a promo image, The Lone Ranger's Tonto is riding the goofy elephant Tantor from Tarzan. While Tarzan was a popular hit for Disney back in the day, for some reason they treat it like the rest of the post-Lion King Renaissance films. Unfair, but Disney could boost that film through this game.
In fact, Tarzan should be a play set soon given the jungle setting and tree-surfing action. It made for a solid movie-based video game back when the film came out (I had the PlayStation version), and a decade before this game was released, Disney gave us the underrated Disney Extreme Skate Adventure. Sure it was pretty much a family-friendly Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with Disney characters, but Tarzan was one of the three films they chose for settings. The other two were the Toy Story films and The Lion King. Imagine that, Disney actually giving something like Tarzan something of a popularity boost…
But enough babble about Tarzan and the way Disney treats their not-Lion King films, the point is, Disney Infinity could help popularize some of the Disney films that Disney tends to push aside. I would certainly love to see worlds or toy box items based on Treasure Planet or Atlantis, or maybe even 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Infinite possibilities, they say…
To start off, what I like about Disney Infinity is how open-ended it is. For the remainder of the review, I'll be focusing on the Monsters University adventure since I beat it. Next review will focus on The Incredibles…
Monsters University's adventure of course lets the player go around the campus itself, and you can also climb buildings and whatnot, getting a good look at everything. Like any good sandbox-style game, there's missions you have to take and there are also side challenges, and they're pretty damn fun! The story here is enjoyable too, basically you have to help Monsters University beat Fear Tech. Fear Tech is mentioned a few times in the film itself, though the rivalry between the two universities is ultimately minor: Sulley steals their freakish pig mascot, we see MU take them on in a football game and young Mike sees a Fear Tech graduate tell Frightening Frank McCay (the monster who Mike watched scare when he was little) monster that Fear Tech is better.
Anyways, you actually get to go to Fear Tech in this game and I must say, the designers did quite well with bringing it to life. It makes me want to see it in Pixar form, so I'm hoping the studio makes a Monsters University special or short film where we actually visit this competing campus. Will Party Central, whenever that comes out, take us there? Maybe. At Fear Tech, you have outsmart their students with pranks, get the message across that MU rules and for a grand finale… Steal Archie the Scare Pig!
In the mean time, you got to get the frat houses up, compete in a paintball tournament with Fear Tech students, undo the messes they brought to MU and many other things. It keeps you busy, and the story is surprisingly a little short. I'm hoping they expand it in some ways, because the setting alone is good-sized. Maybe we'll get more levels set in the Monster World outside of the university, maybe even Monsters, Inc. itself! One can dream, right?
The missions bring a lot of variety to the table, as they should. They test your abilities, too, from sneaking to climbing to bike riding. I admit it was pretty cool to run around roaring at things, and it's neat how you can ride across campus. (Surprised there's no skateboard for someone like Mike. That's a no-brainer, methinks!) If there's one complaint I have, it's that the missions are at times a bit too easy. I understand this is a family-friendly game, but I think it could've been a little more challenging. Some missions are just that, particularly some of the Fear Tech ones where you have to avoid the tough guy security guards. Non-mission activities such as challenges consist of timed puzzles and whatnot, making for some extra fun. You can also have a field day pranking your rivals with various objects that end up knocking the opponents across campus or something. Not to mention the ongoing search for Toy Box pieces and whatnot!
The graphics? They are impressive, and I think by making everything into toys, they were able to pull off a decidedly simplistic and cartoonish look. It's nice to look at, and of course, it's bursting with color and great art direction. The music at times can be repetitive, but what they have is a treat to the ears. Monsters University's backdrop recalls the jazzy tone of the first film's opening credits, rather than the bombastic score that Randy Newman did for the prequel. When you hit frat row, you get some rock while you get 80s synths when you visit Fear Tech (after all, Monsters University takes place in the mid-to-late 80s), other times… It's silent. This happens in Toy Box Mode too, the music just goes away for a while. But you know what? I kind of like that, a little breather and some silence, ya know?
Overall, while the Monsters University adventure was mostly a breeze in terms of the difficulty, it was undeniably fun. It was great to explore the campus, frat row and Fear Tech. The story was cool enough, and I'm hoping Pixar does some kind of special or something about MU vs. Fear Tech. I think that would be pretty cool.
As for Toy Box Mode, I'm already a huge fan.
I grew up playing games like Sim City, Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo Tycoon, so this is my kind of thing. Yes, I began building a world, though it is in its very early stages. I need to wait until I get even more toys and whatnot, but here it is so far… (If you are interested…)
What are your thoughts on Disney Infinity? Sound off below!
Here we are again, PSone Nostalgia! In the last part of this three-part review, I took a look at the 1998 PlayStation classic, Spyro the Dragon... Now, I'll be taking a look at the sequel to the impressive PlayStation game... Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!
In part one, I took a look at Insomniac Games’ Spyro the Dragon. The fantasy adventure about the young purple dragon was the developer’s breakthrough title and functioned as a sort of brother series to Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot series. Both companies were close friends. For example, in the first Spyro, there’s a playable demo of Crash Bandicoot: Warped. In Warped, there’s a playable demo of Spyro. Even when both developers moved onto other projects, there would be some crossovers and references would be made. (In 2004’s Crash Twinsanity, Spyro makes an amusing cameo appearance.)
All of this aside, Spyro the Dragon was a massive hit and a bestseller. It immediately put Insomniac on the map and everyone loved the purple dragon. The game was no cheap attempt to one-up Mario or Sonic, much like Crash Bandicoot. That orange marsupial immediately caught on with gamers, and so did the purple dragon. So of course, a sequel was on its way for release in fall of 1999 – just one year after the first game was released. Again, this was no different from Crash Bandicoot and its sequel. (I know, the Crash comparisons are getting irritating!)
Like Naughty Dog’s 1996 game, Spyro the Dragon did have its fair share of problems. In the first Crash Bandicoot game, it was the controls, the save system and a few other things that plagued what was otherwise a good game. In Spyro the Dragon, it was the easy difficulty level, the short length and the lack of mini-games and different challenges. When Naughty Dog created Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, they took the flaws from the first game into consideration and made lots of improvements. The controls were far better, you could save anytime and more variety was added: Crash could use jet-pack in some levels while other times he could ride a jet-board on the river levels. They did the same for the third and final installment in their series, adding even more ways to play. Insomniac did just that for Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage.
One of the first noticeable improvements is the story. What’s the story?
He's not convincing... Until he stands on top of Gulp's head.
Outside of the Dragon World is a world called Avalar. It has been taken over by the evil Ripto, a puny little villain who has quite the temper. He doesn’t have much depth, but he’s certainly a far more interesting villain than Gnasty Gnorc. Why is that? Because there are cutscenes and he is present in a lot of them, plus he seems to have more a personality than the first game’s big brute. He’s the typical ridiculously foppish villain with his size, his big horn on his head and his flashy cape. His temper also makes him a pretty comical villain, especially when he deals with his dimwitted brutish beasts – Crush and Gulp.
Who lives in Avalar? Not dragons, but rather fairies, animals, fauns and all kinds of things. It’s certainly a lot more diverse than the Dragon World, that’s for sure. In the opening cutscenes, we are introduced to the other main characters: The Professor, Hunter and Elora. The Professor is a little mole who is of course the brains of the cast. Hunter is an athletic but often dim-witted cheetah, but he’s a lot of fun. Elora is a quiet faun who is no damsel-in-distress; she’ll help you along the way alongside Hunter. She kind of lacks a good personality; first she has something of an attitude but is generally a lot nicer later on in the game. There’s also a fairy named Zoe who will remind you of certain things like the dragons did in the first game; she also saves your progress when you complete a level, a mission or whenever you walk through an area that she’s in. Oh, and as for the voice acting... Well it’s nothing special. Some of it is very reminiscent of the cheesy kids shows you saw on TV in the 90s. Let’s just leave it at that, but there are some genuinely amusing and funny moments sprinkled in the writing.
"Uh, Hunter... The Professor's trippin' again."
So where does Spyro come in? Ripto drops the fact that he despises dragons, which leads the Professor to seek out a dragon. With his wits, he goes to a world called Glimmer and tools a portal. In the Dragon World, Spyro tells Sparx that he can’t stand the miserable weather. He decides to take a vacation to the sunny Dragon Shores (a level that just seemed to come out of nowhere), but due to the work of the Professor, he ends up in Glimmer instead. Little by little, he learns what he needs to do before he can get to his paradise.
Already, the story is stronger than the nonexistent one in the first game. Spyro now has characters he can interact with, ones that don’t stand a chance against our villains. In the first game, all you had was dragons and fairies... The dragons could easily torch Gnasty, so the developers had them disappear when you released them. The fairies? What can they do? Spyro 2’s team made the right decision with having a cast of animals that are not much bigger than Spyro, but they aren’t entirely weak. The story just makes more sense because of this.
Ummm... Lizard... I wouldn't laugh if I were you...
So Spyro 2 has a better story than its predecessor. It’s not perfect, but it’s serviceable. It’s on par with the storylines in the Crash Bandicoot games. But this story works because now, every level and home world doesn’t feel as lonely as the levels in Spyro. Free a dragon, torch some enemies... That world is now empty. But in the various levels of Spyro 2, there are locals. In the first level in the Summer Forest home world, Glimmer, there are kanga rats in the different areas. Zoe will be there to save your progress and you’ll occasionally run into Hunter or Moneybags in other levels.
Who is Moneybags? If anything, he was the character that you wanted to torch. He’s a plump bear in a black waistcoat (nice little jab at fat cats there, Insomniac!) that only cares about one thing: Gems! Precious gems! You have to pay up when it comes to certain things. Moneybags will teach you things such as swimming, ladder climbing and head bashing. These new abilities add more to the gameplay, Spyro the Dragon could’ve used something like that. At other times, you have to pay him to unlock levels or activate something like an elevator or a bridge. Yes, he’s a pain.
So now onto the gameplay... What an improvement...
You have all your basic abilities from the first game, and the two power ups (supercharge and superflame) also reappear. The developers also added the “hover”, where you can pick yourself up in the air after gliding in order to reach a tricky height. It makes things a little less frustrating, especially if you had problems reaching certain areas in the first game.
In Spyro the Dragon, the objectives were simple: Go into a level, free dragons, get all the treasure and occasionally catch a thief with a dragon’s egg. Those basic tasks are back, minus the egg bits since you’re not in the Dragon World. It’s not that simple though.
This time around, gems don’t come from defeated enemies. Instead, you get shiny star-like orbs. Get enough and you can unlock a power up: Supercharge and superflame from the first game return. Then you also have flight and invincibility. A timer will appear each time you collect the power up, which you have to obtain by going between two spires that show your power up. What’s great about this is that you can now fly on certain levels, rather than just the Flight levels. It also adds even more variety to the game.
Summer Forest.
Now the objective of each level (up until the third home world) is to obtain a talisman. You’ll get it once you get to a certain point in the level, then the portal that’ll take you home appears. Each level has its own little storyline, and cutscenes play when you enter and exit for the first time. Usually the objective is to solve a problem that the locals are having, and then they’ll give you the talisman. You need to collect them all, of course!
But that’s not the end of it. There are also other things you have to do. The first of which is collecting orbs, emerald green spheres with golden rings, which are very powerful and are the reason why the Professor was able to get Spyro to Avalar. The orbs were scattered after Ripto invaded so he couldn’t find them, so now it’s up to Spyro to get them all. Orbs are given to you when you complete tasks for others.
There are many different tasks that add to the fun. In some tasks, you have save one or more locals. In others tasks, you will have to do something for them or the town. You get a good taste of this in the first level alone (Glimmer), whether it’s helping kanga rats advance to a certain location or helping them do something, such as lighting up lamps or shooting pesky lizards... Things they can’t do.
As you progress through the game, the different tasks get more challenging and fun. Others can be frustrating, but at least that makes a game a bit longer and less easy. Some frustrating missions involve escorting characters to areas without accidentally letting them get hurt... This can get annoying because the creatures you have to protect walk in erratic directions... Almost is if they want to get hurt. But I still welcome these kinds of missions because they make the game longer.
Again, that’s the problem I had with the first Spyro. Without missions like that, it just felt a little too easy and not as challenging. At other times, you can find orbs in hidden locations in different areas. This addition to the game really makes for an improvement, because it gives you more to do than just defeating enemies and collecting treasure.
The gameplay, in short, is a big improvement.
The individual levels are fun, big and loaded with different passages and secret areas. The design is great, but what’s different about this game is that none of the levels are based on the home worlds they are located in. Instead, each level takes on a totally different theme. In the first home world, Summer Forest, you’ll already see how different each level is. The dark and mechanic Hurricos is certainly nothing like the bright and colorful Sunny Beach, nor is the underwater techno-Atlantean Aquaria Tower anything like the Himalayas-inspired Colossus. But some levels do share some similarities: The inhabitants of Idol Springs and Colossus are very similar in design. In Autumn Plains, Skelo’s Badlands and Crystal Glaciers have locals that are pretty much the same humanoid species.
The goat is probably thinking, "... The hell is he doing?"
Once you get to Autumn Plains, the quality of the level design and gameplay improves vastly. You’ll even see that two realms are at war with each other! That’s right, the developers really tried to add some interesting backstories to the different levels you go to. In Autumn Plains’ case, it’s Zephyr and Breeze Harbor. Zephyr’s blob-like land blubber creatures are at odd ends with the avian “breeze builders” from Breeze Harbor. It’s interesting how you take both sides in each level.
And some of the characters in the levels make for some comedic moments in cutscenes. In Shady Oasis, the hippos become huge when they consume berries. You need this to break through doors and gates. In the level’s closing cutscene, there’s a humorous bit where the hippos look for missing berries – cut to the big one trying to hide the berry that he’s eating while tons of others are around him. It’s actually kind of amusing. Sometimes the humor borders on a darker side... In a way. It’s kind of weird, really.
Take Magma Cone for instance. The little faun creatures are partying, and one just nonchalantly pushes another one into the boiling lava below... They continue partying. That’s kind of dark, don’t you think? Well, I still get a kick out of it because it’s in a family-oriented game. Other cutscenes are unexpectedly funny. At the end of Idol Springs, we see the locals roasting things at a campfire. An evil idol shows up, you think it’s going to eat everyone... Nope, it just happily roasts a sausage with them!
I guess that idol just simply gave up being evil...
At least the writers tried to punch these things up a bit. It’s certainly more interesting than seeing dragons being freed and hearing “Thank you for releasing me!” for the umpteenth time. (Though I will admit, some dragons have, sometimes unintentionally, funny moments) Good stuff. Sometimes the creatures you meet in different levels have something funny to say. They at least have some sort of personality and it only makes the worlds they live in much more interesting. Again, all good...
Once you get the third home world – Winter Tundra – things get a little different. Collecting a talisman in each level is out of the question, now you just have to muster up enough orbs to get into Ripto’s Arena and fight him.
What’s also different is that you have to backtrack this time around. In the first game, you could just collect everything in each level you went to. But since there are abilities that you can only learn later on in the game, there are some things you can’t do nor can you complete in a level. A good example is Glimmer, which has a section you can only reach by climbing a ladder. Moneybags teaches you how to climb ladders when you get to Autumn Plains, so... You have to go back.
It makes it more fun in a way, because you can revisit those worlds even if you completed a good portion of them. If you’re the kind to just get every talisman and just fight the bosses, then you have a lot of work to do. That could also be more fun, because if you get 100% on almost every other level... Then there are only a few to revisit.
Canyon Speedway. Just like the Grand Canyon, but... With lava!
Flight levels are back, but this time they are called “Speedways”. I will say, they are much more fun than the Flight levels in the first game, which to me were the only downfall of the entire game. The timed challenges are essentially the same, but you don’t have to just fly in these levels. You can also run around and destroy land-based things in the challenges. You can still fly through things like rings and arches, but you can run around and charge things like racecars and snowmobiles. Oh, and it’s supercharge too! But that’s not the only thing you can do. There are also other challenges that Hunter has prepared for you, such as trying to keep with him while he flies around or paragliding through rings.
Boss battles are more fun and challenging too. Instead of simply finding your rival and doing a few things to take him down, you take them on like you do in the Crash Bandicoot games. All three of them (Ripto and his two beasts) have health bars and have some sort of pattern that you have to memorize in order to outwit them. Oh, and the final battle with Ripto? Far more exciting than the showdown with Gnasty Gnorc...
One letdown is the final level, Dragon Shores. It’s nothing like Gnasty’s Loot where you could collect tons of treasure or the final level in the next game. Here, you basically participate in some old-fashioned carnival challenges to win tokens. Win ten and you basically have beaten the game, you can unlock the Dragon Shores movie theater and watch cutscenes... Okay... I will admit, the rollercoaster is fun. Also, why are gnorcs of all things running this place? Were they survivors who happened to bury the hatchet? Or did the dragons simply punish them for everything that happened in the first game? I’m looking too much into this...
"He's gonna whack me with that cane! I'm sure of it!"
So yes, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage is big improvement over the original in terms of gameplay... I actually think that this is the best game of the series on those terms; it’s not only an upgrade from the original but it’s also a lot of fun. Some of the different challenges really add a lot and bring more to these different worlds then ever.
The level design? Great as usual, since the first game boasted great level design. The first game mostly had fairy tale-like settings with big castles, bright green grasslands and mountains. Sometimes there would be a surprise like the swampy Beast Makers world or the more ugly seaport-like Gnorc Gnexus, in addition to some deserts and icy worlds.
Here, there are all different kinds of places. All the levels are different and unique; they all have colorful inhabitants and enemies, and then some. A few levels hark back to the style of the first game, which is welcome. Something like Breeze Harbor or Hurricos reminded me of some levels. But then you have something like Zephyr, Skelo’s Badlands or Scorch that are certainly different. There’s a diverse selection of themes for the levels: Deserts, grasslands, mountains, temples, bogs, beaches and many other things. Towards the end of the game, you’ll come across some pretty creative levels such as Robotica Farms and Metropolis, two levels who are in a feud. While we did have a robot for a boss in the first game (Metalhead), we actually have a whole farm run by robots! Then there’s Metropolis, a futuristic inside a huge dome-like structure. Cool stuff! Since the two are at war, there are some surprises thrown in such as sheep in flying saucers hell-bent on wreaking havoc! How is that not awesome?
Now with great level design, you need fitting music. Spyro 2, like its predecessor, has ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland on board. His music once again fits the atmosphere of each level, but retains a classic Spyro feel. He tries out new styles, but some levels do have the instruments and sound that defined a lot of the first game’s levels. Almost all of the tracks are great, some of them do get a bit repetitive. (Magma Cone’s music kind of annoys me, particularly that “Aum nuau!” sound effect that sounds like a grumbly “Aw no!”) I still put the soundtrack on par with the original; it combines the first game with an all-new sound and feel that just works so well. I can’t praise it enough.
~
So all in all, you have a game that is longer and more challenging than its predecessor. You get some new abilities, the design of the game is a lot different, and there's more to do. The design is also creative much like the first game, and there music goes perfectly with all of it. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage is still fun to this day because of all this. The variety of missions, the main gameplay and several other things make it more than a classic. It's one of the quintessential PlayStation platformer games.
In part three, I'll finish things off with the third installment in the series - Spyro: Year of the Dragon!
All gameplay images are courtesy of the uploaders on the Spyro Wiki and GameFAQs!
Looks like PSone Nostalgia (tentative title, mind you) is back! Last December, I kicked off the series with a review of the three Test Drive games for the PlayStation - now I'll look at a trilogy that was one of the best in the console's history... My favorite genre of gaming growing up was fantasy-based platformers. The likes of Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot appealed to me. I loved point A to point B games where you had to take on a villain on at the end or follow a linear plot. To me, they were like super-long films but in interactive form. Not to mention, I preferred films with fantasy settings, mainly animated ones. Games like that were my thing.
Like many 90s kids, I grew up with the great PlayStation trilogy that was Insomniac’s Spyro the Dragon. A great blend of fantasy, action-adventure and some comedy; it was a great example of what a family-friendly adventure game should be. Its gameplay is dotted with puzzles and challenges, while also trying to mix other things in. Sometimes successfully, sometimes not so successfully...
As a kid, I always favored the first game while still loving its sequels: Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (known as Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer in Europe) and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Something about the first game really struck a chord with me; I think it was the overall atmosphere and the music... The sequels are very different in those two departments, and looking back on it, it’s for the better. Crash Bandicoot, the sort of “older brother series”, was no different. The first game differs significantly from its sequel, and that sequel is pretty different from the third one.
Spyro the Dragon’s plot is pretty simple: An evil villain named Gnasty Gnorc used to be a threat to the Dragon Kingdom, but now he’s isolated on a remote island. After a dragon mentions that he is ugly, he uses his club-like scepter to trap them all in a crystal. He misses Spyro, which means that the young dragon must free all of his older brethren. It does raise a few questions... Why is Spyro the only young dragon? Why are all the dragons male? Why are the dragons being interviewed by what seem to be people? Is this serious? Or is this some kind of irreverent game that gladly breaks the fourth wall? Was it just the developers poking fun at the game itself similar to the outtakes on some of the earlier Pixar films? Who knows; that shtick was cut for the sequels though.
Gnasty also turns all of the treasure of the Dragon World into minions, mostly the “gnorcs”, which are really humanoid troll-like things. There isn’t much depth to the story, Gnasty is the stock evil villain with not much background. Spyro doesn’t have much of a personality either, aside from the occasional sarcasm and whininess. He’s a little upstart that’s too interested in toasting Gnasty Gnorc, instead of focusing on what lies ahead on his long journey through the different realms of the dragon’s world. He doesn’t seem to show much development, it also doesn’t help that there aren’t many cutscenes. Whenever Spyro frees a dragon, there will be a brief conversation, but it’s either hints, jokes or a rather redundant “Thank you for releasing me!”
Yes, the game’s story is very minimal. It’s way too basic, and I’m fairly certain that Insomniac realized this. As result, they tried harder with the story and characters in the next two games. So if the story isn’t all that great, what is so good about this game?
Well the gameplay is very solid, the graphics were marvelous for their time... But best of all, it’s a very pretty game to look at. All of the different worlds have a distinct look and feel, but what I like about the design is that it perfectly captures a sort of fairy tale-esque atmosphere. From floating castles to colorful rooms built into hills and mountains, it’s just great to look at. Even today. A lot of imagination was breathed into the game. It’s just a bit of a shame that the story is so non-existent, this could’ve had a very compelling story.
However, it’s hard to pick at the game because of this since it is the first installment in the trilogy. After all, the first Crash Bandicoot game’s story is minimal, it’s very point A to point B. The two sequels don’t have much of a story either, since the titular character is a mute and the rarely seen sister speaks or has a prominent role.
The Artisan home world.
The game takes place in six different worlds that have at least four individual levels and a boss level. The first world is the Artisan World, which is essentially bright green grass and pretty castles. Even a level like Dark Hollow is lighthearted, it’s all kinds of nice. Stone Hill and Sunny Flight stick with the theme, but Town Square goes for an old world Spain atmosphere with its cobblestone paths, enemy bulls and gnorc bullfighters. Then you get to Toasty, the stage that’s the home of the titular boss. It looks like a hellish version of the Artisan Home, with its darker red/orange color scheme.
Cliff Town.
The second world is much tougher, the Peace Keepers World. It’s very militaristic, and it’s mostly deserts, save for the cold and barren Icy Cavern. In the home level, gnorcs carry weapons, only to run from you. They use canons, and you can use them too. Dry Canyon and Cliff Town repeat this theme, Night Flight is far removed from the theme. The boss here is Doctor Shemp, whose level is not desert-like but more like a combination between a canyon and grasslands.
Wizard Peak.
The Magic Crafter’s World, the third world, is closer in style to the Artisan Home with its lighthearted aura and heavy focus on... You guessed it, magic. Witchcraft, druids making things move, villainous wizards. All that good stuff. Lots of nice-looking castles and architecture define this world, but unlike the Artisan World, there are lots and lots of heights. Alpine Ridge and High Cliffs take the cake here.
Beast Makers home world.
My favorite of the worlds is the fourth one, the Beast Makers world. A very mucky, muted swamp-like world that’s far removed from the whimsical nature of the Artisan and Magic Crafter’s Worlds, the Beast Makers world is the darkest of the worlds. Some levels here have ominous low-key music and a rather creepy atmosphere, while most are loaded with bizarre enemies.
Lofty Castle.
The fifth world is the Dream Weaver’s World, which is once again similar to the Artisan and Magic Crafters worlds, but with unpredictable enemies and lots of new challenges. Design-wise, it isn’t too different from a lot of the previous levels we go through up until this point. Like its name implies, it's suitably dreamy and mostly airy. Look no further than Lofty Castle and Haunted Towers.
Twilight Harbor.
Gnasty’s World is the final world. Called the “Gnorc Gnexus” in the game, it’s ugly, metallic and cold. Gnorcs use explosives and machine guns instead of regular weapons. These guys mean business now that you’re in the final stretch.
To wrap it up, the design is great and it still looks wonderful to this day. So, the gameplay...
Spyro is no different from platformers of the time: You collect things and finish open-ended levels. Spyro’s objective is to free the dragons that have been trapped in crystal and to collect all the treasure. Treasure can be found scattered around, many times in chests, boxes of explosives (flame them and stand clear!), strange fan-like propeller pods, or enemies. You also have to collect stolen dragon eggs, which are in the possession of pesky thieves dressed in blue that don’t attack you; you just have to chase them down. To move onto the next home world, you have to have a certain amount of treasure or you have to have freed a certain amount of dragons in order to be granted permission to pass. In every home world, a balloonist lets you go from world to world when you have met his requirements...
What's wrong with your eye there, Spyro?
By the way, what are the balloonists? Are they humans? Or some humanoid kind of thing? What else exists in this world besides dragons? Well you see fairies here and there, and you’ve got your protector dragonfly Sparx. His color indicates your health, and the more you get hit, the weaker he gets. Sparx collects the gems, but when he’s blue or green rather than gold, he doesn’t get the gems until you move closer to the treasure. You’re in trouble when you’re without him. How do you get him back? Fodder!
Every level has little creatures like sheep, hopping mushrooms, chickens, frogs, and rats... All kinds of small things that are harmless. Take them down and you’ll get butterflies, which Sparx eats to get stronger. You are always reminded of this thanks to certain dragons that you free, as they remind you of other little things in case you forget anything.
You have some moves, of course. When you were a kid in the 90s, chances are you were excited to see what you could do with a dragon as opposed to Mario, Sonic and Crash Bandicoot. You can charge your enemies with your horns, or toast them with your fire breathing. Some enemies can’t be charged, while others can’t be toasted (mostly due to armor or something). You can also glide to other areas, but you can’t fly except in the Flight levels. Each world, save for Gnasty’s World, has one. In these levels, you have to complete timed challenges by flying through things and flaming objects. For instance, in the Night Flight level, you fly through swirling rings, arches and then you flame treasure chests and lighthouses. Just watch out for the water.
That’s right, you can’t swim in this game. The sequels allow you to swim, so Spyro the Dragon is essentially the Grand Theft Auto III/Grand Theft Auto: Vice City of the original trilogy, and you are a bit limited here since many worlds are loaded with water or some kind of killer liquid that function like bottomless pits.
The Flight levels are simply the low point of the game; not because they are bad, but because they don’t really add much. Being able to fly does sound like fun, but since it’s only used for timed tasks, it’s a letdown. How come other levels couldn't have brief challenges where you had to fly in order to get something? Why did the developers opt for the same thing for each flight level instead of a different challenge where you didn't have to fly through things or flame objects?
Supercharge.
Aside from all the basic gameplay, what else can you do? There are power ups like supercharge and superflame. In order to do a supercharge, you have to find a path with arrows that light up. That way, you run so fast that your feet move like wheels; points for the chugging noise when you do so. Superflame is given to you (in certain levels, of course) by red fairies when they give you a kiss, and then your flame can take out anything. It’s very useful in levels like High Caves and Haunted Towers where there’s enemies that you can’t charge or flame.
You have a nice variety of abilities, but not too much. It’s a decent amount for a platformer, especially for the first game, but there could be a bit more. Luckily the sequels expanded upon this, much like how Crash Bandicoot’s sequels tried new things.
But with a limited amount of things to do, why does this game work so well? Collecting treasure is satisfying, I mean, what’s better looking than multi-colored gems? Seriously, I loved collecting them. When you hit the jackpot, it’s also a lot of fun. It gives you that satisfied feeling, but then all that fun is gone once you’ve already gotten the gems. When you defeat enemies that you’ve defeated before, you get clear orbs. Collect enough and you’ll get another life. Lives are normally hidden in clamshells, and there are a good amount of them.
Dark Hollow.
Each level’s layout is fun to try out, and each has a set of challenges. For example, one level might have an area that you can only reach when you use the supercharge. Others have enemies that change, such as Dark Passage, where the darkness turns the small enemies into bigger ones. Dark Passage, along with some other levels, contain hidden areas that are fun to find and explore. Sometimes you’ll come across tricky heights, and at other times you’ll have to find way to destroy an armored treasure chest. It provides enough challenge for a game that’s this short.
If you want to simply be like Spyro and quickly get to the end of the game more than anything, you'll have to backtrack and collect gems that you have missed or free dragons that haven't been released. After you defeat Gnasty Gnorc, you need to have 100% completion in order to access the final level - Gnasty's Loot. However, I just collect everything before advancing to the next world; that way you can get to the loot after defeating the dastardly villain.
The only other problem with this game’s gameplay is that it’s a little too easy. The levels usually follow the same formula without mini-games, you simply free dragons, collect treasure and retrieve stolen dragon eggs. That can get a bit monotonous once you starting getting towards the end of the game. Boss battles aren’t much to write home about either. The boss battles are essential levels with a big enemy at the end. The only one I’d call a bit challenging is Metalhead. The rest are way too easy. Doctor Shemp is essentially a bigger and stupider Papu Papu from Crash Bandicoot, though his frantic running after you flame him is hilarious. Toasty? Flame him three times and you’re good. Blowhard? More of the same; just avoid his rather pitiful attacks. Jacques? Just chase him without falling and getting hit by his boxes. Gnasty Gnorc? Again, chase him and flame him. There’s not much of a challenge, here.
If there’s one more thing to praise, it’s the soundtrack. Stewart Copeland, the drummer from The Police, provided the music for the whole trilogy. Spyro the Dragon’s music is a mix of pure fantasy and rock music elements. The two styles mix perfectly. Each level has a great track; whether it’s the soaring, magical tone of the Dream Weaver’s levels to the murky and spooky vibe of the Beast Maker’s levels. Copeland often mixes rock guitars into the songs, without having them seem out of place. Other levels even hint at jazz and world music... It’s just the perfect mix, and if you ask me, this game boasts the best soundtrack out of the whole trilogy.
That’s not to say the other two games have highly inferior soundtracks, but this one is very special. It nails the setting completely, even if the story and gameplay may not add up in the long run. I could probably dedicate a whole blog post to this soundtrack, but to be to blunt – it’s just all-around wonderful. It’s all kinds of good, and each track just works so well its respective level.
Going after Gnasty Gnorc.
I used to favor this game over the two sequels mostly because of the design and the music. They certainly are the game’s strongest points and they really make the game stand out, but looking back on it, a much stronger story would’ve gone perfectly with these visuals. The game has a sort of lonely feel because of the minimal dialogue. There’s not much else in this world outside of the dragons... The fairies don’t speak to you, and when your enemies have been defeated, all you have left is the fodder creatures. Nothing lives inside of the smaller buildings and castles that the dragons obviously can’t fit into, there’s no sense of... Community. Unless Gnasty has a lot of innocent beings locked up, we don’t see anything else besides dragons. Also, the dragons simply disappear after you have freed them.
That brings up another question. Why do the dragons disappear after you free them? They can’t help Spyro because that would be too easy. However, when you get to Gnasty’s World, you’ll free some dragons that you’ve already released. Did they attempt to stop him only for Gnasty to crystallize them again? How come Gnasty didn’t freeze Spyro? Did he simply miss him or does he want to mess with him? I know I might be dissecting what is essentially a harmless family-friendly game, but the sequels seemed a lot more logical when it came to this kind of thing.
I may seem a bit harsh on this game, but I actually love it. Despite its flaws, I can’t resist it. Easy as it is, I still enjoy playing the whole game from start to finish. It’s a fun experience, and it may not provide too much of a challenge, but these worlds are great to explore and the music is a treat. Some of the more challenging parts of the game are certainly fun to try, such as using supercharge on levels like Tree Tops and Haunted Towers; or finding hidden areas in other levels.
This also may sound a bit crazy, but I’d love to see Insomniac revisit the first game and remake it with a bigger story, more interactions with different characters and perhaps bosses that are far more challenging. Maybe they can also expand the levels and make them bigger, but still keeping the overall design and feel. Oh, and keep the original music and try to stay true to the feel of the original. I'd actually like to see that happen one day.
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Spyro the Dragon was a fabulous game for its time and it’s still good fun today. If its gameplay and story don’t hold up too well in some areas, then it’s the great look and sound of it that does. It’s a true PlayStation classic.
In part two, I’ll look at its sequel - Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!
All gameplay images are courtesy of the uploaders on the Spyro Wiki!
There's going to be a change of pace here, with the new year coming up and all. This post won't focus on animation, or film in particular (this place is "mostly" about animation, but it's nice to branch out and all), but video games. But... There is animation in video games, so it isn't too out of place. Anyways, I've been revisiting some PlayStation classics that I played growing up and will also discover others that I've never really played before. Part review, part reminiscing. Yes, there will lots of nostalgic tangents here... This won't be a consecutive series, but one that'll come around once in a blue moon.
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Anyways, today's review will focus on three games in the long-running Test Drive racing game series that were released for the PlayStation and the PC: Test Drive 4 (1997), Test Drive 5 (1998) and Test Drive 6 (1999).
The Test Drive series began in 1987, five years before I was born. It was essentially a computer racing game with a selection of then-hot real-licensed vehicles such as the Lamborghini Countach and the Chevrolet Corvette C4, developed by Distinctive Software and published by Accolade. It was followed by two sequels, The Duel: Test Drive II in 1989 which would be the first title in the series to be released on consoles (Super NES in 1992, and Sega Master System) rather than just computers. Then in 1990, Test Drive III: The Passion was released, but for computers only. It boasted more open-ended gameplay, a first. Accolade took a six-year hiatus until returning to the series.
Between the release of the third game and Test Drive 4, the home console world had changed. Racing games had changed, with titles like Namco's Ridge Racer and Sega's Virtua Racer. Accolade's return to the series would result in a racing game that was similar in style to the latest titles. One that would be close to games like the Need for Speed games and the then-upcoming Gran Turismo. Enter Pitbull Syndicate, a brand new British video game developer. They were called in to develop the game and ensure a fresh new start for this franchise.
Accolade's fourth entry in the series would boast the graphics that most of the racers were using at the time, plus it would sport a soundtrack with some licensed artists. The car selection would be all licensed vehicles, and five courses based on actual locations. It had the makings of being successful, and it was fairly popular when released in the fall of 1997. The game's reception was mixed, with some praising the title and others calling it mediocre.
Test Drive 4 is at best a mixed bag, but one that seems to be addicting. Test Drive 4 starts you off with ten cars and five locations to race, fair enough. You'll unlock vehicles over the course of the game, that is, if you're lucky to actually win any cups or races. So what are the cars? Well, there's the five beauties and the five beasts. This game, and its successor, would run with that sort of theme to define their rosters.
The "beauty" cars are the vehicles that were, back then, 1997's more well-known sports cars. You have the 1998 Dodge Viper GTS, which is the series' main attraction. A Viper appears on the cover of this and the next two games. Then you have two British beauties, the 1998 TVR Cerbera and the 1994 Jaguar XJ220. You also have the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette, and the 1995 Nissan 300ZX. Pretty solid line-up. What about the beasts?
Crooked stripes... Wonderful...
The "beast" cars are classic muscle cars, ones that aren't sleek or pretty, but pack a punch under the hood... Well, maybe not in this game given the gameplay, but we'll get to that later. Anyways, there's a 1969 Corvette that is oddly far more powerful than the '98 one. There's also a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, which has a wicked top speed like the '69 Corvette. The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle appears, and it's a solid beast at best. The 1966 Shelby Cobra is also one of the beasts, but has poor acceleration and top speed. Some beast that is. The PC version of the game has an extra vehicle, a 1967 Pontiac GTO. Why it isn't in the PlayStation version, I don't know. Perhaps there wasn't enough space? Last but not least is the 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda, another slow-as-molasses car like the Cobra.
There's already a problem with the cars in this game. Some do fine (such as the Viper and the Cerbera), others are extremely fast (the XJ220), but some are unusable. The Cobra and Hemi Cuda are legendary vehicles, but in this game, they are made slow. What's the deal with that?
Hidden cars? There are a few, and they expectedly perform better than the default cars. The Dodge Viper GTS-R and TVR 12/7 (the prototype for the TVR Cerbera Speed 12) are monstrous, along with the Dodge Charger Daytona. The last of the hidden cars is the Pitbull Special (pictured below), of course, being a reference to the developers of the game. The Pitbull Special was made up by the crew, and you can tell. It's a Mini Rover clone on steroids with a tongue coming out of the grill. It has the acceleration of a rocket, but a very low top speed. Way to provide a challenge!
The screenshot is from Test Drive 5.
Okay, so the car selection is impressive but the cars themselves don't behave as expected. You can race in five locations (six in the PC version). The first of which is Keswick, England, a track that pretty much takes you across an overcast region of the British countryside. There's multiple turns in this level, plus there's an abundance of grass on both sides of the road that'll slow you down. There's also two very dark tunnels with sides that'll also slow you down. It's a tricky stage.
Then you have San Francisco, which is notable for the long straight roads and the trolley hills. Fun stuff. Otherwise, it's a pretty basic course. Bern, Switzerland is the most challenging with slippery snowy roads and tons of turns. Kyoto, Japan is the easiest of the courses. The roads are mostly long without any major turns, and you also get to race through a marketplace. Washington, DC is turn-heavy, but mostly straight and simple. There's two long, straight roads that bookend the course. Munich, Germany is one giant straight course, but with occasional turns. You can also go the opposite direction on these courses at nighttime, but you have to unlock those. You can play them in the Masters Cup if you don't have them yet. This would be a series staple in the PlayStation era.
So with the variety the game has (for its time), you'd think this would be a solid racer, right? Well it is at times, but it's gameplay is a real problem. The cars have the physics of toys and the handling is downright wretched. Winning a race is no easy task in this game, unless you have one of those aforementioned invincible locked cars. Your opponents tap you from behind and can make you veer off course, as if someone popped your tires. Traffic and cops are everywhere, adding to the confusion. Cops simply race right in front of you (how they can do that in their not-so-mighty sedans is beyond me) and pull you over, just like that. The cops don't even go after the other racers, they are always after you. You also don't get a good idea of what's ahead or where traffic is, as the game uses an odd, crude mapping system. It's simply a bar on the top of the screen with various dots representing the vehicles, the checkpoints and the start/finish lines.
Yes, the game is tough. I like a challenge, but Test Drive 4 is often a little too difficult for its own good. The game gives you a hard time, but why did seven-year-old me keep going back to it? Maybe it was for the cars? I believe so, it's the one thing that always I liked about these three games. Test Drive 4 is still fun at times, but its gameplay severely limits it.
Another problem with the gameplay is that there is very little here. Aside from cup races and a drag race, there's a duel mode where you race and then a ghost car doing what you did is your competitor. The link game is a like a two-player mode before two-player mode was introduced in the second game. Other than that, you can watch the credits (see video below) and see humorous pictures of the developers. (Interesting Trivia: The image for the developer Michael Troughton would appear in the 2002 entry, Test Drive, on a billboard in San Francisco.)
Not sure why the frame rate is slower here...
Sounds? Well all the vehicles have their own distinct sound effects, though they can get on your nerves depending on who you are. The music is bizarre at best, with selections from real bands (such as The Younger Younger 28 and Orbital, as the game's cover touts) and others that are just custom-made. It's all basically electronic beats with some weirdness thrown in. Kyoto's track has this sort of "sp-r-r-reee!" sound effect going against the heavy, booming background. Washington D.C.'s song adds a little rock kick to it, but all the stuff here is electronic. Catchy, but beyond that, it'll do nothing for others. Nostalgic me loves the music overall.
Test Drive 4 ultimately feels bare bones for a racing game, despite a good car selection and some nice real-world locations to race in. The graphics were okay for their time, despite some questionably blocky car designs. Most of the background objects are flat and awkward-looking. In 1997, it simply looked okay. But does the gameplay make it a worthwhile experience despite the graphics? It does, but it's a little too basic and even too hard to make it a good game. It's an average racing game that needed work.
Now if Test Drive 5, released in 1998, isn't a good example of "bigger and badder", I don't know what is. Test Drive 5 sold itself as a bigger game: More cars, more locations, a more complete soundtrack, cop chase mode, and other additions like more shortcuts and jumps. Did it all add up to a better game and a good game in general?
Now that's an intro!
Test Drive 5 is often called the best game in the PSone series, and for a good reason, it seems to gel better than its predecessor and its successor.
From left to right: TVR Cerbera, Plymouth Hemi Cuda and Jaguar XKR.
Test Drive 5 has a massive car roster. It may not exactly rival Gran Turismo's, but there's a lot to love. Like Test Drive 4, the available cars are beauties and beasts. This also applies to a good portion of the locked vehicles as well. Returning from Test Drive 4 are the Dodge Viper, the TVR Cerbera, the 1998 and 1969 Corvette, the 1969 Camaro, the 1970 Chevelle, the 1971 Cuda, the 1966 Cobra and the Pontiac GTO. The Jaugar XJ220 comes back, but as a locked car. In its place for available vehicles is the 1998 Jaguar XKR, which is obviously less than spectacular in the game.
New additions? Plenty. Gone is the Nissan 300ZX, replacing it with the 1998 Nissan Skyline GTR. Unlike the 300ZX, it's treated as a bastard and is one of the weakest cars in the game. The then-new Camaro (Z28) is added to the roster, but is pretty much a pale imitation of its 1969 granddaddy. A Saleen Mustang is added to the mix, alongside a 1968 Ford Mustang 428CJ. The 1969 Dodge Charger also debuts here, but is given a poor acceleration rate. What a disgrace to a classic. Aston Martin makes its series debut here with the V8 Vantage.
Dodge Viper GTS-R.
So the early selection is impressive, what's locked? A ton of vehicles. Like Test Drive 4, a lot of the vehicles are, gameplay-wise, essentially upgrades of what's already available. The Viper GTS-R returns, and it's a speed demon like it was in the last game. The TVR Cerbera Speed 12 replaces the 12/7 Concept, and has monstrous acceleration and speed (the game states "235+ MPH").
The Aston Martin Project Vantage is also a speed demon, along with the super-fast Nissan R390 GT-1. This car could easily be the game's best, as it has everything from great handling to an incredibly high top speed. The classic Mustang and Camaro are given big updates. The hot rod versions boast great top speed (the Camaro Hot Rod is the fastest car in the game with a 237 MPH top speed) and quick acceleration. The four police cars you use in Cop Chase are also playable cars during races, and are super fast. Too bad you can't pull over your competitors and make the race harder for them!
Other locked vehicles aren't as spectacular as you'd hope. TheCaterham Super 7 has excellent acceleration, but has very low top speed. The Caterham 21 just isn't any good, nothing special about it. 140 MPH... Pfft. Not "locked car" material in any way. The Ford Mustang GT is a joke, why it's a locked car, I don't know. It has a top speed of 157 MPH, which is much less than a lot of the already available vehicles, and it's just slow, slow, slow. The least disappointing would have to be the Shelby Series 1, which has nothing on the Cobra. The Dodge Charger Daytona is downgraded from the Test Drive 4 version, with painfully slow acceleration. Sheesh, poor Chargers. Did Pitbull Syndicate have something against them?
Mixed in with these vehicles are weird machines that the developer's created, including the Pitbull Special, which returns in full force. This time, it has a top speed of 229 MPH (though the game misleads you by stating it goes 260 MPH!) to go with that lightning fast acceleration. But it's prone to roll and tip over all too often. So I guess a winning car comes with a price.
The other made up vehicles are a mixed bag. One of the strangest ones is called "Behold The Mighty Maul!" (Pictured above) Why is it called a "Maul"? It certainly is mighty, with killer top speed and acceleration but with the handling of a brick. I believe this car is a parody of the McLaren F1, which was then the world's fastest production car. Why its top speed doesn't equal that of the real deal is beyond me. Then you have Chris' Beast, a hatchback with two cartoonish exhaust pipes that takes off like a bullet. The Fear Factory Wagon, named after the band whose music is featured in the game, is not worth picking. It's just a station wagon. The Hot Dog is a green jeep that says "Hot Dog" on it, and accelerates like a bullet, but has such a low top speed. Good luck winning with this one.
So the car selection is pretty big. 28 cars in total, nearly double the amount of vehicles in the last game. This game made sure it came on with a lot to offer. The amount of tracks are big too. The six tracks from Test Drive 4 return, but as locked courses. There's reverse, nighttime versions of each course as well (sans the Test Drive 4 courses, their "forward" versions are at night/dusk/evening).
What are the new locations? Moscow, Russia of all places, a level with two long straight roads in the middle but numerous turns, twists and shortcuts elsewhere. Shortcuts were no option in the last game, so the addition of them in this game only makes things better. Edinburg, Scotland takes cues from San Francisco with gigantic hills to speed off of. Otherwise, it's a boring level. Sydney, Australia is almost turn-free until the last section which does come off as a surprise after you hit your top speed throughout the bulk of the level. Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina is loaded with turns and twists. It's a very tricky level.
In addition to your linear courses, Test Drive 5 includes circuit courses. The first of the available lap race tracks is Jarash, Jordan. Now they're going exotic! A desert level is nice, but the level is a pain with its twisty design and slippery environment. It feels like it belongs in a Test Drive Off-Road game rather than this. Newcastle, England also has jumps and a fast track layout. Maui, Hawaii is mostly two paths. It's a scaled down version of the locked Honolulu linear track. Courmayeur, Italy takes you up to the cold mountains, feeling like a small version of the Bern level.
There's also a ton of locked courses too. The six levels from Test Drive 4 are out of reach, plus two new tracks: Honolulu and Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo feels like a punched up version of Kyoto, with more shortcuts but a little too many sharp turns. There are three locked circuit courses as well. The first of which is Cheddar Gorge, England, a mostly dirt-based track but with roads mixed in. Not anything to write home about, though. Montego Bay, Jamaica is mostly all sand. It's a nice course to look at. The last and most interesting of the three is Bez's Flat. The developers must've created this one as well, it's a level made out of playing cards, beer cans, VHS tapes and other objects. It's essentially a Hot Wheels race course.
Again, lots of variety here. Lots and lots of it. With all of that, plus the different modes and cup races, does this game surpass its predecessor? Is it overall a good racing game?
Yes, but with a slight no. Yes, it does top its predecessor in terms of everything from content to gameplay. It achieves what Test Drive 4 didn't and is overall a stylish racer with its own thing going. What's the slight no you may ask? Well, the gameplay is problematic. It isn't as rough as Test Drive 4's sloppy gameplay, but it's nothing great either.
For starters, the game is determined to make you lose. Let's say you pick a car that goes 0 to 60 in roughly 4 seconds. Competent enough, but your opponents' cars are super powered. They go from 0 to 60 in a second, they are much faster than you. As a kid, this always bothered me. I remember very well when my sister and I would play the game back in 1998 and 1999, one of us would complain, "They are going too fast!" or "They make them speed!"
Speaking of which, this was actually one of my first PlayStation games. We got a console for Christmas in 1998, and Test Drive 5 happened one of our first titles because it was one of the hot racing games on the market. Methinks we had it early on was because my stepdad, a classic car (particularly Corvette) enthusiast, saw the cover with the Viper dueling with the Camaro hotrod and picked it up.
My PlayStation also came with a demo disc (can't remember which edition it was for the life of me, I remember it just being "Volume 8" or "Demo Disc 8"), and that disc contained a demo for Test Drive 5. This contained an early, unfinished version of the game where your rivals were Test Drive 4 cars and Moscow was the only place you could race. A majority of the sound effects also come from Test Drive 4 as well. Two cars were available in my version, the Dodge Viper and the 1968 Mustang. Other versions had different cars, which can be seen on YouTube.
Of course, at the time, I didn't know the competitor cars were Test Drive 4 models. That's right, I didn't play Test Drive 4 until October 1999 when I got it as a birthday gift. I remember seeing an advertisement for it in the Test Drive Off-Road 2 instructions manual, so of course I'd ask for it. It was also interesting to be able to play the five courses that would be locked in Test Drive 5, so that was another great thing about my first time playing the game. That, and being able to use the Jaguar XJ220!
Anyways, back to the gameplay. Yes, it's a tough one. Like Test Drive 4, your opponents can make you wipe out with a single touch. Cops pull you over easily, and traffic can be a pain if you don't know exactly what you are doing. At other times, you can be in the lead at your highest speed, and then all of a sudden your opponent catches up to you! And quite quickly too!
But when you do get the hang of it, it becomes addicting. Really addicting. Not only are there more cars, but there are four paint jobs for almost all of them. (The exceptions being the developer-made cars and the police cars) You can unlock some cars and tracks by beating certain levels at a certain difficulty, and you can compete in the cup races like Test Drive 4. This time, they take you on levels that are locked if you haven't gotten them yet. The drag race from Test Drive 4 also returns, but you can only choose the available cars, even after you've unlocked a few of the hidden ones.
What else? The game adds time trial mode where you can take a car and drive alone on a selected course and attempt to set a record. To be honest, I always used this to take a break from racing the tough AI. That, and you could screw around with the game and try cool things. One of the neat little easter eggs hidden in the game is in the reverse Washington D.C. level. Go the wrong way at the start, and let's just say you'll get a weird surprise.
Cop chase mode on the PC version.
Cop chase mode allows you get in a cop version of four cars from the game, but they're more powerful than their normal counterparts (the Dodge Charger police car is a good example). But it's frustrating in its own ways. The rules are simple, arrest all five cars before one of them crosses the finish line. Sounds simple, but you have to ram the cars constantly so their meter goes down. It's harder than it sounds, because of the gameplay. Ramming into an opponent car will most likely make you wipe out, and again, they have ridiculous super speed so they can outrun you. That said, it's still very fun to try. Oh, and you also have to have the siren blaring when hitting them in order to lower their meter.
Two-player mode is split screen racing, though it has its limitations. I admit I didn't really play the two-player mode as much when I was young. It just wasn't much to write home about, since a lot of the action was scrunched in both players' frames. Or at least from what I could remember. Still, the amount of things you can do really worked in this game's favor. Even you have all the cars and courses, it's still worth playing just to test out all of the cars' abilities.
The graphics were a step up from Test Drive 4, though it was no Gran Turismo. The environments are nicely designed, regardless of how accurate they are and the cars looks really good too. There are a few little problems. One example being the white stripes on a few of the Shelby Cobra's paint schemes, they can be a bit crooked. Your rivals' models are noticeably less good-looking, one good example being a rival Viper. The PC version corrects this, and your rivals often have different color schemes. In this game, it's the same set of rivals (there's three sets for three difficulties) with the same colors. For the most part, though, the cars look just like their real-life counterparts. All the different courses are distinct, but a lot of the buildings seem more like painted cardboard boxes then anything. But hey, it's what they had at the time and it looked decent!
Last but not least is the sound, a massive leap forward from the previous game. All the songs on here are real songs, as opposed to the custom-made electronic songs mixed with real songs in Test Drive 4. The "killer" (as the back of the case accurately describes it) soundtrack is provided by Fear Factory, Junkie XL, KMFDM, Gravity Kills and Pitchshifter. And yes, I have all of the songs on my iPod, I'm that much of a fan of this game's soundtrack. However, instrumental versions of sections of the tracks are used in the actual races. They are repetitive and they do get irritating. The PC version uses the full tracks, lyrics and all (with the exception of KMFDM's "Anarchy"'s one explicit verse).
So all in all, Test Drive 5 was a step up from Test Drive 4 and the best game out of the PlayStation trilogy. It's the best-looking, the gameplay is solid and the challenges are there. Lots of variety made this a winner, and as such, it was a big seller and got considerably better reception than its predecessor.
Test Drive 6 came a year later in the fall of 1999, and would also be released for the Sega Dreamcast and GameBoy Color. This would be the biggest game in the series with its expanded car roster, the amount of tracks and even more variety. This time, it would be released by Infogrames, since they purchased Accolade in 1999.
Yet another badass intro...
Test Drive 6 took cues from Gran Turismo and gave players a career mode, where they can purchase cars and win from races. They also added little things into the mix. You can make bets, cops can fine you when they pull you over, and you do time trial challenges. You can also try Cop Chase mode and do to the racers what you did to them in Test Drive 5. You can get good amounts of moolah off of that alone.
Outside of career is your typical arcade mode, where you can pick a car, choose a level and race. However, you can't see what you're picking before you race. This is tedious because in the previous game, you got to see what you were racing plus you could change the color. Here, it just picks it for you. It's kind of annoying.
Cars? Well, they are divided by four classes. Each class goes by the top speed and performance of each vehicle.
Notice something strange about this line-up? No Chevrolet vehicles at all. Corvettes were staples in Test Drive games, but they are nowhere to be found in this game. No Camaros or anything else, either. Kind of a strange decision, you can't just get rid of Corvettes. Sure, the addition of vehicles from Venturi, Panoz, Subaru, Toyota and Lotus are great, but... No Chevy? Also, why a Ford F-150 Lightning? Trucks in a "car" racing game? It should've been in one of the Test Drive Off-Road games, not this. I don't mind it being in the game, but that and no Corvettes and Camaros? Inexcusable if you ask me.
Also, if you notice, more Japanese makes are here than ever before. Again, methinks the developers wanted to include lots of makes from around the world in order to compete with Gran Turismo. By the way, the Gran Turismo comparisons will keep coming. I do think that series is superior to this series, but I will admit, I always played the Test Drive games more than I played most of the Gran Turismo games. So no hard feelings...
Anyhoo, this class system is better because you know what you're racing, and you're put against cars from your class when you do race. It's not like selecting a car in Test Drive 5 that goes roughly 160 MPH and being pitted against something like a Corvette that goes 202 MPH. The game's much more fair, but we'll get to the gameplay and difficulty later!
Courses? Oh there are plenty. All the circuit tracks from Test Drive 5 return (with the exception of Bez's Flat), though the different graphic style makes them feel a bit different. The circuit tracks are now given simple names. For instance, Cheddar Gorge is now just "England". Courmayeur is now just "Italy", and so on. It's kind of boring, but hey.
The new linear tracks are Paris, New York, Rome, Hong Kong and London. Like the last two games, there are reverse versions that take place at a different time of day (sans New York, the reverse version is daytime). Pelton Raceway, Ireland, Lake Tahoe, Egypt and Switzerland are new circuit track additions. Some tracks like Egypt are interesting additions, but most of the environments oddly feel half-hearted compared what we saw in the previous game. The details are there, but the level design just isn't as impressive to me. It never really was. I always liked looking at the environments in Test Drive 5 as a kid. I'd often stop and look at what wasn't there, but in Test Drive 6, I never really found myself doing that.
Everything in the course design seems to be a blur, and I think this is due to the overall gameplay. During a race, it's all about speed. No gawking, no carefulness or slowing down. It just feels insanely fast, even when you are slowing down to turn. When you stop, it feels fast. Something about the whole entirely just feels like it's on speed. Test Drive 4 and Test Drive 5 felt more realistic when you stop the car or slow dow for a turn or tricky area. Here, it's like a total adrenaline rush.
The physics certainly add to the overall super-fast feel. It's a complete 180 from Test Drive 5's physics. You and every other vehicle in this game have the weight of a Hot Wheels car. This game is literally Hot Wheels super sized. Even the sound effects add to it. When you hit traffic, it sounds like something hollow being bashed. When I hit something in Test Drive 5, I felt the weight of the vehicle and what I was hitting, even some background objects (like guardrails) were paper-thin. In this game, I feel as if the car has nothing heavy inside of it. Again, like a Hot Wheels or Matchbox car.
A few positives: Opponents can't make you veer out of control when they hit you, cops can only pull you over if you stop next them, and your opponents don't go to 0 to 60 in a second. It's definitely a lot less challenging, but sometimes I feel it's a little too easy. Career mode can be fun as you advance and get better cars, much like in Gran Turismo. Cop chase mode is a lot more fun. Since the cars in this game don't have the physics of a whale, it's not as hard to actually arrest the damn racers. Races are brisk and fun enough, too.
I didn't mind it as a kid and I still don't. As a Hot Wheels collector at a young age, all this game needed to have was great cars, nice locations and decent gameplay. Not gameplay where I felt like throwing the controller. Something tells me that the success of the PlayStation-era Test Drive games were successful because of this. Kids my age at the time probably didn't care about any visual shortcomings or the generic features, they just got what they wanted: Awesome cars, pulse-pounding music and lots of fast action and mayhem.
All of that aside, Test Drive 6's core gameplay (as in the objectives) adds nothing new to the table. It's basically Test Drive 5 all over again, but much less difficult. It's fun but it's just there. Not bad, not good. Just there. Looking back on it, the whole feel of the game is too fast, and that's odd saying that about a racing game. Maybe it's because Test Drive 5 was fast enough, but restrained. Test Drive 6 is just slippery fast, as if you don't have much time to plan. You just go.
Graphics? Those were heavily criticized, unlike its predecessor. Test Drive 6 is very slick, but a lot of car designs are a little too blocky and the textures aren't as good. So it looks and feels like a toy, brilliant. Some of the vehicles don't even resemble their real-life counterparts, such as the Nissan Skyline (which looks like a bunch of cardboard boxes with wheels and a spoiler!) and the Dodge Concept, which has distractingly oversized headlights. (That is, if you're very familiar with the actual design of the vehicle.) The locations are detailed, but they're not as interesting this time around. Pretty basic, especially the night driving and weather effects. It's basically Test Drive 5's graphical scheme, been there, done that.
That all being said, I loved this game when I was young. While I was a PlayStation kid growing up, I actually owned the Sega Dreamcast version first.
It must've been late 1999 or maybe early 2000... The Dreamcast was at my father's house, as he had bought it when the console was new. The poor Dreamcast, it was actually a really good system. I had many good memories of the console and its games, and Test Drive 6 actually wasn't one of the first games we got for it. That came later. I knew it was out, and I kept thinking in my head, "There's a Test Drive 6?! I gotta get that!" Then boom, my father surprises me with it and a copy of Sonic Adventure, another game I played religiously growing up.
Dreamcast version.
Later on, I got the PlayStation version. The Dreamcast version got the most negative reception, while the PlayStation and PC versions got mixed reviews at best. The Dreamcast version, to me, has a better framerate and the load times aren't as long (from what I can remember, my PSone copy sadly went missing). The night driving stages are weird, because they are lit differently and the cars don't sport their headlights graphics! The rain and weather effects around there either, also strange! The PlayStation version is superior in terms of sound, with varied sound effects for the cars. In the Dreamcast version, they all have the same sound, which tempts me to turn down the SFX volume while playing.
Speaking of sound, Test Drive 6 is basic. Nothing crazy or anything, just the typical engine sounds, cops siren and crashing effects that sound like fragile objects being destroyed. Test Drive 4 had fairly good wrecking sounds, ditto Test Drive 5. This feels like I'm racing through a china shop. The soundtrack itself is once again good, and the songs match the game's tone. This time, we get more electronic music rather than the heavy industrial tunes from the last game. Among the artists are Lunatic Calm, Empirion, Fear Factory, Gearwhore, Kottonmouth Kings, Qburns and Cirrus. Stuff you probably never heard of (sans Lunatic Calm), but these games introduce you to those kinds of artists and bands out there. I always liked the tracks growing up, and I have a few of them on my iPod. Finding the rest weren't so easy. The full tracks with lyrics and all play during the races, unlike the looped instrumentals used in the last game.
In the end, Test Drive 6 is a less challenging Test Drive 5 with some touches of Gran Turismo in the game's career mode. It's a fun, harmless racer that didn't bring anything new to the table when it was released. Video game critics certainly felt mixed about it, but for me, it's a guilty pleasure.
On the whole, I think the PlayStation-era Test Drive games appealed because of what they had, rather than the gameplay. I mean, what kid couldn't resist all those cars, those features, those tracks and that music? Before YouTube came about, I remember looking up the old IGN and Gamespot reviews for these games, and was astounded by the low scores most of them got (particularly Gamespot). Of course, this was back in 2004. I thought I was alone, until people uploaded videos of all three games. I was happy to see that other 90s kids loved these games as well, even Test Drive 6, the one the reviewers really seemed to trash.
I guess if I was a 20-year-old video game critic back in 1999 who was enjoying Gran Turismo and Need for Speed, I'd probably be critical of the Test Drive entries. Or maybe not, they have a lot in them that warranted some praise. I'm sure a lot of critics picked up on that, but the gameplay issues didn't hold us kids back from playing. No matter how many times I failed at Test Drive 4, I continued to play it just for the cars, music and tracks. I'd always play the Masters Cup just to try out the reverse courses that I hadn't unlocked at the time.
Test Drive 4, Test Drive 5 and Test Drive 6 all have their faults. At best, they are solid racing titles that boast impressive vehicles and a good atmosphere. They may not have reached the heights of the biggest racing games of the era (again, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed), but they had enough in them to warrant a purchase back in the late 1990s. All three games have a sizable fanbase, and that's good to see.
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Did you play any of these three games growing up? What do you think of them? Sound off in the comments, and let me know what you liked or disliked about these games.
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