Reign of Fire

"I actually thought the game was pretty good..."

Hello, I am Cool mario 6446, writing an FAQ for a game, based on the movie, Reign of Fire. I thought it was a pretty decent game. It was made by BAM entertainment so you are probably thinking, ''Oh great, yet another cheaply made game based on a show or movie by BAM'', but surprisingly, this is different. Here's why:

Story: 7/10 (Taken from the instruction booklet)

''Reign of Fire is based on the scorching blockbuster movie of the same name.

In present day London, twelve-year old Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer inadvertently awakens an enormous fire-breathing beast, from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, the world has been scarred and overrun by this massive beast and it's many offspring...

The year is now 2024. In just a few decades the human race has found itself on the verge of extinction. Now only a small number of human outposts remain scattered around the globe, and they must defend themselves from constant attacks from Earth's new dominant species: Dragons.

Now Quinn, and a few heavily armed soldiers under the command of the dangerous, Denton Van Zan, decide to fight back against the beasts. It's time to fight fire with fire...''

It is basically the opposite when you are playing as the dragons.

Gameplay: 8/10

As the humans, you have to drive around, and shoot dragons, escort convoys, put out fires, protect a base, collect ammo, just about anything. You will be given orders at the beginning of the mission.

There are many different vehicles to drive: military vehicle, buggy, fire truck, and a tank. Each has their own pros and cons. You can only use the vehicle that is given to you in the beginning of the mission.

Something annoying about being human though is, dragons are constantly following you, and when you catch on fire (Temperature gauge reaches red) you must drive around and find a water tank, shoot it, and drive into the water to put the fire out. Unfortunately, a few seconds later, you might catch on fire again, and have to find a DIFFERENT tank. I guess this is supposed to add realism to the game.

The Dragons are more fun to use actually. You can't use them right in the beginning, but when you can, they are fun. You fly around, spit fire out, pick up vehicles or people, and drop them like bombs, burn everything in sight!

Controls 6/10

The controls are confusing and can get very frustrating at times. Once you get used to them, they become quite easy to use. The control stick, which moves the gun on your vehicle, also turns your vehicle, so you basically have to stop when you want to shoot something, or you might find yourself driving in circles. When your vehicle gets badly damaged, the controls will get 10x worse. It becomes very hard to turn, without crashing into a wall, and when you hit a wall, you bounce like 10 feet away. Your vehicle will also go slower.

The controls for the Dragons are simple to learn to use. It's basically, hold R to charge up fire, L to spit napalm, A to speed up, B to slow down, hold X to pick up a vehicle (fun!) and let go of it to drop it, and C stick down to do a 180 turn.

Graphics: 7/10

The graphics are pretty good. Everything is nicely detailed, except for trees. You can drive right through them without them falling down or anything. The camera can get a little annoying because every time a dragon spits fire near you, the camera will start shaking, and you won't be able to see straight. Smoke, and fire will also get annoying, and you might not be able to see.

Sound and Music: 7/10

The sound is good, there are lots of explosions, and it sounds great on a surround sound TV. You won't be hearing TOO MUCH music, seeing how something will be exploding every 5 seconds, but the music sounds all right, nothing too special.

Challenge: 9/10 (NO! I LOST AGAIN!!)

This game is VERY HARD, and can be very frustrating at times. Some levels take up to 20 minutes, and if you die, or mess up, you have to start ALL OVER, which can be very annoying at times. On top of that, if you aren't good with controls, you will mess up easily. Putting out fires, when you are on fire, can get annoying too, and if you don't put out the fire, you will die. Some dragons are very hard to bring down, and can kill you pretty easily, so you have to be careful, and hide behind walls whenever you can.

Overall: 7.333333~/10 (Rounded to 7)

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good game, that might be worth checking out if you a bored, or like a challenging game. I think you should Rent it, just to see if you like it, so just in case you don't you can still take it back.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/03