Copters and Dragons

There was a film out a while back called Reign of Fire. It starred Matthew MCConaughey and Christian Bale. This film pitted humans against dragons in the near future. Now there is a console video game based on the film. The title of the game is the same as the film, Reign of Fire. It was developed by Kuju and released by Bam! Entertainment. This game is for the PlayStation 2 gaming platform.

I never saw the film, but heard that it was great visually but had a plot that tanked. The game is somewhat better. The visuals are great and, although it could have been better, the storyline wasn’t half bad. You will be playing as a human in the beginning, trying to battle with the dragons that are ravaging the Earth.

The game has four types of vehicles that a human will have to drive. There is a 4x4 fire truck with both a water cannon and a machine gun. There is a dune buggy that has a machine gun turret. The 4x4 Jeep has a machine gun turret and a missile turret. Each can be aimed independently. There is also a tank, for the heavy work.

The control of the vehicles and their weapons can be a little tough sometimes. You will use the left analog stick to control the vehicle movement. This is also the control for aiming the weapon being used. This can make for some tight shots being missed and the dragon destroying you because you can’t swivel the gun around to get at it while driving in a different direction. There is a mapping convention that can be used, but I couldn’t get it to do what I wanted.

Starting out the game, you will be acting as one of the humans, killing as many dragons as possible in a mission. Later on in the game, missions will be unlocked that will allow you to play on the dragon’s side of the house. The dragons have special weapons like a fireball and napalm breath. They can also pick up things like jeeps and drop them on humans.

The graphics for the game are really good. As this is supposed to be an Earth that has suffered a near apocalypse, the landscape looks extremely desolate. The dragons and the vehicles are sharp and well defined. The explosions and fires are vibrant, making for some striking visual effects. The effects, like the shadow of a dragon passing overhead, make this game a lot better than it could have been.

Reign of Fire isn’t going to be for everybody. It is pretty violent, although not as gory as some games done in this vein. It carries a Mature rating, but I’ve seen Teen rated games that were worse than this. The game also is a little short on the storyline. It isn’t bad, but I was hoping for a little more substance. Could we have had a certain dragon that switched sides and helped out the Humans? Maybe not.

If you are into dragons and battle games, then Reign of Fire is just for you. It is a game that has a lot of both. The action is intense but limited in its scope. With more flexibility in vehicle movement, and a plot that was flushed out better, this could have been a game that everybody would love. As it is, the folks who crave interaction and a heavy plot will be disappointed. Me? I liked the game, but I’m one of those players whose abilities are extremely limited. I would probably get motion sickness if I was able to swing a machine gun turret in a 360 degree swipe to follow a dragon.

For other information about Reign of Fire, visit the Bam! Entertainment web site at www.bam4fun.com.

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