Reign of Fire (PlayStation 2)

Reviewed by

Tyler Winegarner

on 10/23/2002

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Page 2

Toward the end of the human campaign, the game splits in two--you can opt to finish the missions allied with the humans, or you can choose to play as a dragon. While this initially sounds like a good twist that might breathe some replay value into the game, the control for the dragon is so stiff and awkward that it robs the dragon campaign of whatever fun it might have offered. You don't end up feeling like the extremely intelligent and agile terror of the sky that the dragons are made out to be, but rather a flying, fire-breathing brick. The most complex gameplay component of the dragon's control is its ability to swoop down and pick up certain vehicles in its talons and then drop them like bombs. In practice, however, performing the move while swooping down toward a vehicle does nothing most of the time. Roughly one in five attempts will yield an alternate camera angle showing the dragon flying in but coming up empty-handed, and the odds that you'll actually pick up the vehicle are even longer. Considering the fact that you'll need to execute this maneuver to pass certain missions, the awkwardness and difficulty involved in doing so gets tiresome and frustrating quickly.

To its credit, Reign of Fire looks pretty good for a PlayStation 2 game. The whole world has a great postapocalyptic feel to it, and the detailed levels are filled with scorched trees, burned-out cars, and deteriorating buildings. The vehicles kick up dust and ash when you accelerate quickly or make sharp turns, and the shadows of the dragons as they pass overhead adds an ominous feeling to the proceedings. The game's color palette borrows heavily from the one used in the film, resulting in a dark, drab, and washed-out look throughout. It bears mentioning that, as a multiplatform title, the game's graphics seem to have originally been tuned to the Xbox's superior graphics-rendering capability and then toned down for the PlayStation 2 version. Unfortunately, they weren't toned down enough, as the game occasionally suffers from some pretty severe slowdown. Additionally, the game uses motion-blur and camera-shaking effects whenever you sustain severe damage, fire a powerful weapon, or use the dragon's speed rush maneuver. The effect is so overused that it quickly becomes tiresome and gratuitous.

The dragon campaign adds little to the replay value of the game.

The game's audio is mediocre. Each vehicle has a unique sound to it, and while the various firearms sound pretty good, there isn't much variety in the weapon sound effects, so you'll be pretty tired of them by the end. When in a convoy, the rumbling sounds of vehicles are reminiscent of the tanks from Saving Private Ryan, which is a decent touch. The voice acting is delivered with a lack of conviction, however. Reign of Fire's orchestral score adds a feeling of purpose to the game, but most of the tracks are set on short loops and get rather grating by the end of each mission.

In the end, Reign of Fire is a fairly thin gaming experience. There is some occasional fun to be had, as some of the action sequences are exciting to take part in, and watching a dead dragon fall from the sky is an exciting sight. Unfortunately, this excitement quickly fades, leaving you with a game with unresponsive controls and lackluster action.