Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage

Overall: B-
Violence: B-
Sexual Content: A
Language: A-
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: Sony Playstation
Publisher: Universal Interactive
ESRB rating: E

Just when Spyro, a feisty little purple dragon, is ready to leave on vacation, he is pulled into the land of Avalar by a dragon-attracting device. He has been summoned by a professor in need of his help to defeat a bad guy named Ripto.

Once on Avalar however, the main goal for Spyro (you) is to pick up little gems. Using your head-butting abilities to crash urns into pieces allows you to find even more. This treasure may be used to buy information (like underwater swimming lessons, or access to a bridge) from a character named Moneybags. With this knowledge you can navigate through several realms on three different worlds, collecting the talismans and orbs needed to win the game.

Some aggressive characters, such as purple ape-like beasts or giant buffaloes that roll you down, inhabit each of these worlds. Kill them to score "sprit particles" which you can trade for bonuses. If you don't use your flaming breath or head-butt fast enough, you will become a dragon pancake. Each time this happens, you lose "health" (as indicated by the color of Spyro's friend, Sprax the dragonfly). Because a healthy Sprax means a healthy dragon, feed him well on the butterflies that appear when you fire blast little bugs, frogs, snakes and sheep.

Compared to many other role-playing games, Spyro's violence is mild. As a meat-eater myself, I should be careful how I criticize, but why must you kill every living thing you see? Aren't we learning to kill for gain when we slaughter the aggressive creatures just for their sprit particles?

The music for this second Spyro game for the Playstation was scored by Stewart Copeland, (the drummer from the band Sting), and although many of the tunes are good, the music can be adjusted (ie: turned off) if it becomes annoying. The inclusion of talking characters, able to explain how to make Spyro move or change levels, make this game accessible to all ages - even to youngsters who can't read the instructions.

In the couple of hours I used the game, I explored only a mere fraction of what's available. The game can drag-on long enough that Spyro (you) may not even notice he has spent his whole vacation in Avalar.

Rod Gustafson

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