by Vinson Chen

Created on: July 21, 2010

Spyro: Season of Ice was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance by Universal Interactive Studios and developed by Digital Eclipse. Surprisingly it was not developed by Insomniac Games because the rest of the series had been made by Insomniac. However, it was the first of the Spyro series to be made for the Game Boy Advance and the graphics are very surprisingly good. That is when it is compared to other three dimensional adventure games for the Game Boy Advance game. When Spyro: Season of Ice is compared to the rest of the Spyro series made for the Playstation One, the graphics dwindle a lot.

However, the camera view is much more stable and preferable. For the Playstation One version, the camera was stuck right behind Spyro, so if the gamer decided to do lots of sharp turns or run in circles, he would easily become dizzy. Spyro: Season of Ice has a top down view that is very comfortable for the eyes. The only complaint for the game's graphic design would be that the screen is a little bit too small and does not show enough of the surroundings throughout the game. But still, as a whole, the game is wonderfully made and provides very solid entertainment for children due to its E rating.

The story behind Season of Ice is about how Spyro's vacation with Bianca and Hunter goes drastically wrong. As the three lounge about on the beach, Hunter thinks he sees a flying saucer that is being flown by sheep. Spyro investigates to find that it is actually a balloon with a message calling for help. It turns out that Grendor is kidnapping fairies and Zoe desperately needs Spyro's help. Bianca and Hunter go off to retrieve a spellbook that Bianca left behind in the library. But as the game progresses, the gamer discovers that Grendor had found the spellbook and was trying to become a powerful magician. Unfortunately for him, he was reading the spellbook upside down and had accidentally turned himself into a rhynoc. He captured the fairies in order to try to cure himself, but it is Spyro's duty to stop Grendor from taking more innocent fairies.

The gameplay itself is standard of the Spyro series. Spyro runs through multiple portals to try to uncover fairies and dig out treasure. Interestingly enough, the controls are actually well placed and great for use. Spyro: Season of Ice is a must buy for all Game Boy Advance users.

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