Reign of Fire

"Here there be dragons..."

This game is apparently based on a movie. I haven't seen the movie, and so cannot vouch for how good it is; but I can say that this game is pretty good.

The story is about dragons who have awoken from a centuries long sleep, and they're apparently not too keen on the idea of sharing the planet with their human neighbors. In a matter of years, the dragons have multiplied dramatically and devastated the earth with their unstoppable reign of fire from the skies. Humans are on the verge of extinction, and only a few pockets of civilization remain, struggling for survival.

Quinn was there when the first dragon woke up. He and a small group of people have camped out in a fort and are having a hard time surviving. Then the Kentucky Irregulars show up. Led by Denton Van Zan, they're a small group of military types who've scrounged together some equipment and weapons to form a resistance movement against the dragons. After joining forces with Quinn's group, the Irregulars have to defend their base against dragon attacks and then find a way to take the fight to the dragons and stop their rampage of destruction.

This game is two games in one. The first half puts you in the role of a Kentucky Irregular under Van Zan's command, and you have to fight the dragons. The second half is the antithesis; you're a dragon and you get to wipe out the humans.

For the human missions, you get to operate a variety of vehicles and weapons. There's the four by four truck with a machine gun and rocket launcher mounted in back, a tank, a makeshift fire truck, and a buggy. Your weapons include machine guns, rockets, heat-seeking missiles, tank shells, and a couple others. In some of the missions, you use a makeshift fire truck with a water turret, and you have to put out fires created by the ever-present dragons. Getting set on fire is a constant threat that will drain away your vehicle's health, and you have to find various types of water towers to put out the fire before you die.

The missions are packed full of objectives you have to achieve, from defending a weak side of your fort to rescuing allies who are in trouble. Most of the dragon missions are seek-and-destroy. You're given primary targets to take out, and there are plenty of targets of opportunity along the way. In addition, you're given a medal at the end of a level based on how well you performed. Accuracy, number of kills, health remaining, and a few other factors determine what medal you get.

The view is third person from behind the vehicle, and the controls are good. The left analog stick aims your weapon, and you have a convenient targeting reticle for aiming. A set of buttons accelerates the vehicle and backs up, and the vehicle moves in the direction of your target reticle. All of the vehicles make fluent turns, even when doing a 180, so just point in the direction you want to go and hit the accelerator. The shoulder buttons are used for firing weapons. Each vehicle has a machine gun with unlimited ammo and two other weapons with limited ammo.

When playing as a dragon, you can fly in any direction, speed up, slow down, hover, and breathe fireballs or napalm breath. All of the controls work well, and there's an alternate set of controls in the options menu.

This game is very post-apocalyptic. Dark skies, scorched earth, ruined buildings and vehicles, remnants of demolished cities... The whole nine yards. Post-apoc fans will like it. The graphics and scenery are all very good, and details abound. The environments look very realistic, as do the vehicles and dragons. The weapon fire, fireballs from dragons, and explosions also look good. There are a variety of different dragons, all from the same brood. The young dragons who haven't grown wings yet run along the ground and try to ram your vehicle. Adolescent dragons breathe fireballs as they approach, swoop overhead, and then circle around for another pass. There are also larger gray dragons. Then there are the huge females who will hover nearby and blanket the entire area with natural napalm.

The sound is mostly good. The weapon fire sounds good enough, and the explosions and growls from the dragons are excellent. The dragons have some very menacing growls. Van Zan has the best voice acting. He's with you throughout the whole thing, and his dialogue guides you from one objective to the next. The rest of the voice acting is decent at best. The music has a Hollywood feel to it, and does a great job of setting the mood for each mission.

The camera work is good, for the most part. The camera is always with you, although if you back up against a building, your view might be a bit obstructed by the building.

The vibration function is pretty intense. You'll feel the impact of fireballs as they pelt the ground all around you, and there are some powerful shakes as a wounded dragon crashes into the earth with a resounding thud! It all adds to the intensity of the experience.

This game is hard. The missions are long, and it's easy to get messed up half way through, then you have to replay the mission from the beginning. The dragons are fierce enemies, and it's often a challenge just to stay alive. If you don't mind working your way through some challenging missions, it's all good.

You know how movies have exciting chase scenes where the hero is on the run from the bad guys (or beasties), they're right on his heels, and he's barely escaping getting hit? This game does a masterful job of capturing that feel. There are times when there are fireballs hitting the ground right at my heels and all around me, and I'm barely scraping by without getting majorly torched. The game also does a great job of capturing the feel of a massive, chaotic battle with lots of participants, both human and dragon. Just try not to hit your allies... too much.

All said and done, I found this game to be pretty entertaining. My only big complaint is that it's too short. There are nine human missions, and seven dragon missions. It's a good game; it just left me wishing that there could've been more to it. Regardless, one thing that Reign Of Fire proves is that whether you're fighting against them or playing as them, dragons are way cool!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/05