Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly is the first Spyro game to be released on next generation consoles. It’s also worth noting it’s the first one of the series to not be released by Sony. Now, Universal Interactive has the rights for the game and has released it on the PlayStation 2 as well as the GameCube. The previous Spyro entries on PSone were acclaimed platform games, all that changes with the latest release. It all happens when Spyro decides to set out on yet another quest because his dragonfly comrades have been kidnapped. The reason they are being kidnapped is because they were supposed to guide the dragonfly youngsters, as they are the source of Spyro’s dragon magic. So you, being Spyro, and Sparx, your long time companion, must venture out into the world unknown in hopes of returning the dragonflies to their home and stopping the evil villains.

The first stage in Enter the Dragonfly gives a great overview of all the moves available from Spyro’s repertoire. You’ll learn how to double jump, hover, and glide. He also has other techniques that you’ll learn like head bashing, charging, and deflecting attacks. But the response time to perform these moves is way off and can make the easiest of tasks seem impossible. Spyro still has his same set of Breaths, which are Ice, Fire, and Electric; however, this iteration introduces Bubble Breath, which is used to capture dragonflies. Even though they were your friends, the dragonflies run away from you because Ripto’s spell has made them afraid of damn near everything. Another big problem is the collision detection. When Spyro needs to hover onto certain areas and it appears that he cleared a landing by a long shot, Spyro will magically vanish off the landing point into the ocean, ravine, or some other life-losing chasm. Then again, sometimes it’ll work to his advantage such as when it appears his flame breath missed a foe by a mile, yet it still awkwardly connects. There are also killer load times. Even on Nintendo’s great fast loading Optical Disc it sometimes takes over 60 seconds to load. Don’t really expect a challenge besides the cheesy near obstacles that happens every so often. Because Sparx tells you how to do practically everything. You are no longer allowed to guess, not that you would ever get it anyway, as the camera angles swerve crazily throughout the game.

On the graphics side I have to say Spyro himself looks as young and clean as ever, but everything around just looks to bland, with no detail. In the sky, sometimes you can see the line separating one texture from another. Also the bugs... I am luckier than the rest, my game only crashed twice. But in between the long load times and crashes. Sometimes you can’t even tell them apart. Gladly it runs at a almost solid 30fps At least the voice acting and sound quality are first-rate, although we could do without ever again hearing Spyro's annoying voice announcing the capture of each dragonfly by name.

Most of all, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly seems like a game better suited for the original PSOne than the PS2. Gameplay just hasn't changed enough. You feel like you're playing a throwback, not a new release. I could recommend a rental first but there are much better GCN games to rent these days. With nine stages and one boss. I suggest you pass on this one. The game seemed too much like a rushed job. Vivendi Universal has two choices A) Dump developer “Check Six Games” and try to get guys like Sucker Punch to develop the next Spyro installment. Or B) Follow the advice of choice one.