I of The Dragon Review

[SALvation]

Out of all the mythical monsters and beasts, there is one that stands out above all others. This creature is large enough to cast shadows over entire villages, strong enough to crush a fully-grown tree’s trunk, and fast enough to catch an arrow in mid-flight. Its claws are sharp enough to pierce cave walls and its breath is hot enough to vaporize ponds of water. But for all its physical features, the most frightening thing about a dragon is its intelligence. Dragons have a personality in addition to their outstanding strength, and for this reason they are the most revered and feared monsters to ever grace the pages of fantasy.
In I of the Dragon, the new Action-RPG developed by Primal Software and published by Strategy First, the player is able to combine their own personality with the physical characteristics of a typical Western dragon, which was described in the opening paragraph. The player starts out as a baby dragon, and in the beginning of their life they are told that they are not only the last dragon in Nimoan (the land where the story takes place), but also the last hope of mankind. The monsters and armies of Scharborr threaten to destroy humanity, and with their primitive weaponry and defenses the human inhabitants have suffered massive defeats. Now there is but one town left in Nimoan and the human’s fate lies in the dragon’s hands. As a dragon, the main objectives are to destroy monsters of Scharborr’s armies and the lairs that they spawn from, to complete special quests that speed along progress, and to rebuild human towns so that they may aid your mission to defeat Scharborr.
If there is one thing that I of the Dragon has, it’s choices. This may not seem to be the case at first, considering there are only three dragons that the player can play as – a red, blue, or black dragon. However, as the player gains experience by killing monsters, destroying their lairs, and completing quests, the dragon will “level up”, as per traditional RPGs. At the level up screen, the player is allocated 25 points, and these points may be distributed however the player wishes. The points can be used to buy new spells, or to add to the dragon’s natural abilities, which include regeneration, breath power and capacity, life points, flying speed, and mana inflow (inflow determines the rate at which spells are replenished after they are cast).
The system of leveling is very satisfying and is one of the major highlights of the game. In addition to better abilities and more spells, as the dragon gains experience his actual appearance changes. The dragon moves from being smooth and innocent looking to scaly and menacing looking, almost to the point of being frightening. Torn wings, scars, red eyes, and longer and sharper teeth are just some of the details that are changed to the dragon’s body as he grows.
Because I of the Dragon is an Action-RPG, the gameplay is exactly that, action packed. As a dragon, the player can attack using three general methods: by breathing fire, acid, or ice onto their enemies, by casting a spell, or by “catching” an enemy and eating it. Using the breath weapon is fairly straightforward, but enjoyable to use. There are two types of breath: a blast and a breath. The blast is like a single projectile, and the breath is similar to a very long exhale. The blast attack is very useful at range and the player will find himself using it quite often, whereas the breath is only used in rare circumstances and usually against the lairs of the monsters. Both types of breath require them to be “charged up”, which is similar to inhaling. The longer the player charges the breath, the more damage it will do.
Since dragons are magical creatures, they have access to magic in I of the Dragon. There are over 60 unique spells, and only six of those are common to all three dragons. They each have unique casting and effect animations, and they are very entertaining to use. The spells range from summoning effects such as “Summon Swarm” (imagine a swarm of insects the size of a house at your command), to terra-morphing spells like “Big Crater” (creates a crater in the ground that is particularly devastating to buildings), to self-aiding spells like “Rage”, and to damaging spells such as “Fire Rain”. In general, the spells require timing and cannot be used aimlessly because once cast, a spell will not be able to be cast again until it has fully regenerated, which can be relatively quick or long depending on how many other spells are regenerating at the same time. The player also can only cast spells from a selected “pool” of spells, and as the player gains experience they are able to put more spells into this pool.
Because dragons are so big, they tend to expend quite a large amount of energy from simply moving around. As a result, the player must take the time to eat creatures. A hungry dragon will not regenerate its health or spell power quickly, and a very hungry dragon will not be able to fly fast. This is why it is imperative to provide a near-steady stream of food to the dragon’s metabolism. Typically one may have to eat every 10-15 minutes real time in I of the Dragon. The actual grabbing of prey expends stamina (which regenerates over time) and is usually successful because it is handled by the game in an auto-pilot-like manner; the chewing itself of the creature is done by the player and can be fairly gruesome.

But even more exhilarating then attacking the enemies is actually dodging their attacks. Because the dragon is flying all the time, the player must take into account not only where they are from a two-dimensional perspective, but also from a three-dimensional perspective. The flight of the dragon is comparable to flight of a hawk or eagle; it is smooth and unable to radically change directions. Altitude is critical to success, especially because the closer the dragon is to the ground, the more accurate their breaths will be (and the more likely they are going to be hit by enemy projectiles). There is something uniquely captivating about swooping down from a mountainside, dodging magical projectiles, and igniting the enemies into flames. Dodging is also very important because sometimes the player will find themselves in desperate need of a spell which is currently regenerating, or find themselves needing a strong breath to blast a particularly formidable enemy. Another very nice feature is the ability to slow or speed up the gameplay at any time, so if the player feels the game is moving too slowly or too quickly, it is not a major concern.
Here is a brief summary of the three playable dragons in I of the Dragon:
“Annoth” the Red Dragon – Annoth is the most physically centered of the three dragons. Annoth breathes fire and starts off with the best physical statistics, but with the lowest magical abilities. In addition, gaining a new spell with cost Annoth all 25 points at the level up screen, which leaves him with the option to either gain a new spell or increase abilities, but not both.
“Barroth” the Magician – Barroth is a blue dragon and has the best magical powers out of the three dragons. He complements his vast repertoire of spells with an icy breath (presumably from first expelling water and then freezing it just as it is about to leave his mouth). Not only does his spells cost the least amount of points during level up, he starts out with the greatest amount of mana capability and has the easiest time adding to it during the level up screen. In addition, his spells are clearly the most effective, especially when it comes to damaging others and in defense. He has spells that allow him to teleport and even reflect enemy projectiles that bounce back at their source. However, Barroth is also the physically weakest of the three dragons.
“Morrogh” the Necromancer - Morrogh is a black dragon who breathes acid and is intermediate with respect to physical and magical attributes in comparison with the other two dragons. His spells cost an average amount of points to learn and he starts out with an unexceptional amount of physical abilities. He specializes in summoning and also has an effective array of damaging and terra-morphing spells.
These unique characteristics of the three dragons provide the player with an adequate amount of choices and do not make them conform to particular style of fighting with their dragon. The player can use mostly breath attacks, spells, or a combination of the two as most players will find themselves doing; the game allows for specialization, or if the player prefers, non-specialization.
Unfortunately, for all of these strong points, I of the Dragon has an equal amount of flaws. The most immediately noticeable is the graphics of the game, which would have been cutting edge about two or three years ago. While it’s true that graphics do not make the game, the fact of the matter is that they will turn off many players who are comparing it to other games released in late 2004. This is not to say that the environments are horrendous and the dragon and enemy models are ill refined; such a statement would be an affront to the reality of the game. But the graphics are certainly below par for its date of release.
With some exceptions, the sounds in the game are either not original or not exciting. The battle music is too repetitive and in some respects stale. In contrast, the passive “traveling” music is very well done and is really the best part about the sounds of the game. The player may find themselves almost left in a trance after listening to a minute or two of the traveling music – that is how relaxing it is. The combat sounds are basic but appropriate for the arcade-action style of the game. There are two major flaws with the sound that really detract from its overall impact. The first is that during conversations with humans, the actual words that they speak do not match the dialogue boxes that pop up in the game. They are so different than one becomes confused if they should listen or read their next instructions. While it is true that the general message is the same, it is a really noticeable and unpolished aspect of the game. The second major flaw with the sound is the lack of originality, which manifests itself when the player picks up certain enemies to eat. For example, when picked up, the “Yackurd” makes the sound of a dolphin, and the “Chikus” makes the sound of a chimpanzee. Their cries are so distinct and obvious that they stand out as being unoriginal and detract from the effectiveness of the combat sounds.
Above all else, the most disappointing thing about I of the Dragon is the lack of an invigorating storyline. Because the game has no multiplayer and mediocre graphics, one would expect that the story would be enticing and exciting, but such is not the case. Without giving away too many details, one may wonder why exactly the dragon is fighting to help the humans. It seems somewhat far-fetched that a dragon would risk his own life numerous times and undertake an incredibly difficult mission for the sake of the humans out of good faith. If someone were born on an alien planet and left there by humanity, is it likely that this person would be willing to fight against thousands of alien enemies on a planet that he or she knows nothing about single-handedly just so the aliens that found him or her first would survive? It seems more likely that this person would stay out of it altogether or join the forces of the larger and more powerful enemy to insure his or her own survival.
There is a reason why great games have great storylines. They help keep the player in the right mindset and reinforce why the player is killing the monsters or completing the quests. Killing enemies and being in battle is fun, but tends to lose its appeal and becomes repetitive in the absence of motivation via a good storyline. I of the Dragon is a game that desperately needed a great story, but fell short.
In the final analysis, Primal Software successfully completed a very difficult task: making the player feel as if they are the most powerful and awe-inspiring creature to ever grace the pages of fiction. I of the Dragon is a good game that with a few months more work could have been an excellent game. Although the gameplay and leveling system are exciting and nicely designed, the graphics, sound, and storyline all leave something to be desired. Given ample resources and time, Primal Software seems capable of producing a very top-notch game, and hopefully they will do exactly that in their next project.