Walmart Banner
Review: Far Cry 2
Review: Fallout 3
Review: Fifa 09
Review: Gears Of War 2
Review: Crash Bandicoot-MOM
Review: Monopoly
Review: Guitar Hero World Tour
Review: Blitz: The League 2
Review: Tales of Vesperia
Review: Fable 2
Don’t Install Halo 3, Bungie Warns
New GTA IV DLC Details
Sonic Not Yet Unleashed
Top 10 things to do wit the New Xbox Experience
Codemasters keeps McRae name for new DIRT title
Microsoft launches New Xbox Experience
Koei and Tecmo merger worth $207 million
New Call of Duty Outsells CoD4 by More Than 2 to 1
Live suffers connection issues days before NXE
Epic Scoops Tech Award
Saints Row 2 Multiplayer Event
Interview with Blackrock Studios: PURE
Geo Wars Returns in a New Form
Lets Play Dodgeball..... 2D Style?
Sneak Peek at Star Wars; The Force Unleashed
XboxAddict Database Launch and WALL-E Giveaway
Interview with 2XL Games : BAJA
XBLA Review: Assault Heroes 2
Guinness Book Of World Records
XboxAddicts' Most Anticipated Games of 2008
Fallout 3
Gears of War 2
Far Cry 2
Monopoly
FIFA Soccer 09
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant
Blitz: The League 2
Tales of Vesperia
Fable 2
Saints Row 2
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
LEGO Batman the Videogame
Fracture
Pure
BAJA: Edge of Control
Rock Band 2
FaceBreaker
TNA iMPACT!
NHL 09
Call of Duty: World At War
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Saints Row 2
Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm
Ghostbusters
MX vs. ATV: Untamed
Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception
Vampire Rain
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Tenchu Z
Shaun White Snowboarding (47)
You're In The Movies (43)
Left 4 Dead (50)
Mirrors Edge (44)
PES 2009: Pro Evolution Soccer (50)
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (50)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (49)
Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon (50)
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 (18)
James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace (50)
Rock Revolution (50)
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 (40)
Gears of War 2 (50)
Far Cry 2 (48)
Call of Duty: World At War (46)
Saints Row 2 (50)
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (45)
Scene It? Box Office Smash (50)
Disney Sing It (25)
Fallout 3 (50)
Thursday, December 14, 2006.
by Tony Ingrassia


The book Eragon from author Christopher Paolini that inspired the movie, which opens in theatres today, also inspired the action adventure game now available on the Xbox 360. Take the roll of Eragon, a simple farm boy, who’s destiny as a Dragon Rider and discovery of a dragon egg begin his adventure. Once hatched, Saphira the dragon and Eragons destinies are united. Movie based games seem to be as common as breakfast cereal these days, the problem being that they sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Developers and studios alike hoping to cash in on the popularity of a franchise also sometimes leave the creative juices needed to deliver a quality game at the door.

Eragon, which I can’t wait to see, has the makings of a good game. All the ingredients are there for the taking, action, sword play, magic, adventure, and even a dragon at your fingertips. There are 3 main characters in the game, Eragon of course, Brom, and Saphira which work together in an interesting control scheme. You play as Eragon through most of the early levels with Brom as your constant sidekick, he follows and lends a hand with not only the enemies you encounter but also helps guide and train Eragon as he progresses with helpful hints and direction. Bows and swords are the standard weapons for your heroes but as Eragon “Learns” his craft as a Dragon Rider from Brom he is able to cast magical forces of energy and manipulation to aid in the quests at hand.


Our third character is Saphira the dragon, she communicates with Eragon through his thoughts. In early stages Eragon can summon her to help get through barricades or even dispose of an evil enemy. The game does offer up some dragon flight levels where you actually take control of Saphira, including breathing fire and a speed burst to evade enemies. Even though Saphira is relegated to cameo appearances in the early going the dragon flight levels are a nice touch. So there you have your band of adventurers, now lets see how the stay alive and combat the evil forces.


Eragons game play will be very familiar to many gamers, levels are designed for completion, and a point system for enemy’s vanquished, and hidden secrets to round off your “Grade” for the level. Obviously levels are replayable to obtain missed hidden objects and raising your score for the level. The path is a bit linear, and littered with obstacles forcing you to do a little searching for the pathway through, making the game a bit too scripted for my liking. Your health is maintained by “Health” orbs which can be found in crates and boxes throughout the levels and are released by fallen enemies. Magic Energy is another weapon at Eragons disposal, much like his Health, Orbs will increase his energy meter. A third attack involves both Eragon and Brom, the Fury Meter, this builds up as power orbs are absorbed and once “Connected” Eragon can use the Fury Attack.

The level design and objectives very from simple “Fight your way through” scenarios to protecting villagers as they try to extinguish the fires set to their village. As I mentioned earlier there will be times when you will need to summon Saphira to open up large blocked passages, but what good is a dragon if she can’t take care of a few minor speed bumps. The battle system itself is again very familiar, combat combos deliver everything from basic attacks, to “Special” moves, which the camera slows down and zooms in for. Visually the game is above par, not fantastic, but acceptable. The areas are very detailed and vibrant, some nice lighting effects set the mood at times, and the “look” of a vast world is pulled off quite well. The audio department is, again, above par. The soundtrack is perfectly written to match the adventure and phantasy mood this game is set in, and sound effects are well balanced and accurately matched to the action at hand. The voice acting is fine, although the cast of the movie is not reprising its roles for the video game.


As an adventure game Eragon doesn’t really break any new ground, but is an entertaining experience. It’s well balanced and offers just enough diversity to the levels to keep it interesting. The inclusion of Dragon Flight levels were a must in my opinion and are one of the best parts of the game. The addition of a co-op mode were a second player can control Brom should extend the self life of this title. The Xbox 360 version of the game also includes an exclusive Kull boss battle and two additional levels to the game. I think fans of phantasy adventure games like Lord of the Rings will enjoy Eragon, again, its nothing over the top, but a fun play. My only true problem with the game, as is with most games of this type, is the linear game play.


Suggestions: My suggestion is a bit repetitive, I seem to find myself repeating the same thing or most games based on movies. Expand the world a bit, and find a new wrinkle in the development or strength and talents of your characters.

Overall: 7.0 / 10
Gameplay: 7.0 / 10
Visuals: 7.6 / 10
Sound: 7.0 / 10
Write your own review of Eragon. Click Here.
(Sign Up)
Released Xbox 360 Titles: 352
Released Xbox Titles: 814
Registered Members: 56,520
Forum Posts: 759,118
Staff Reviews: 767
Member Reviews: 10,299
News Articles: 8,931
Screenshots: 18,763
Xbox 360 Achievements: 12,013
Xbox 360 Faceplates: 1,091
Cheat Codes: 1,706
1. OBL infad3ll - 82,085
2. Unreal - 80,255
3. CrazyCougar-XBA - 72,439
4. JakofallAces - 61,340
5. moltenluv - 54,435
6. Symmetric - 44,853
7. Ninja Scroll - 42,230
8. BEATNGU - 41,620
9. hellonearth159 - 41,047
10. Nato King-XBA - 39,369
11. tacohead - 39,031
12. PLAYMKR - 33,724
13. Ranzo - 32,528
14. y2kash_14 - 31,021
15. ali rock 110 - 30,505
16. UNV Meeks - 29,739
17. goldeneyez9 - 29,728
18. Moparwill - 28,660
19. Omen28 - 28,190
20. MosleyTank - 27,657
21. Enamelized420-XBA - 26,555
22. Chris W - 26,155
23. Bertnell - 26,049
24. UNV Superkid - 24,954
25. Silent-XBA - 23,115
(Top 150)
Wal Mart banner 2
Who loves NETFLIX on...
Post by MXracer721
6 Replies, 22 Views
DO NOT Upload Halo3 on...
Post by Ninja Scroll
9 Replies, 73 Views
Faceplate Database Update
Post by SpaceGhost2K-XBA
1 Replies, 46 Views
Alright, who got the...
Post by SpaceGhost2K-XBA
16 Replies, 105 Views
User Created Xbox 360...
Post by Feeta
1 Replies, 55 Views
HORAY FOR NXE.... or not
Post by ainokeatoo
29 Replies, 236 Views
Gears of War 2...
Post by Not Yellow
1 Replies, 182 Views
NXE Download Launch Time?
Post by Ninja Scroll
28 Replies, 310 Views
Blockbuster and...
Post by Snake Eyez
7 Replies, 83 Views
Xbox.com Update
Post by Silent-XBA
1 Replies, 61 Views
1. l Maximus l - 17,433
2. mattgame - 14,879
3. laughs - 14,672
4. Casper - 14,150
5. Whisper - 13,694
6. Reclaimer - 11,812
7. Snake Eyez - 11,320
8. Variation-XBA - 10,559
9. JJaX - 10,207
10. No Fear 23 - 8,867
11. MerimacHamwich - 8,367
12. LynxFX - 8,076
13. Conchord - 7,939
14. Slowride - 7,792
15. Ford Mustang - 7,690
16. Snoopy7548 - 7,657
17. Chaotic - 7,266
18. Yankeez - 6,764
19. Ninja Scroll - 6,689
20. ll Mista GT ll - 6,652
21. DZNUTZ - 6,369
22. Xbox Owner - 6,357
23. RudedogX - 6,268
24. Sheeyt - 6,128
25. Duke - 5,898
1. Yellowlab - 121
2. mattgame - 94
3. Highlite23-XBA - 83
4. Young_Fledgling - 82
5. Sam-XBA - 80
6. The Jackal - 74
7. Megaherz *RAGE* - 74
8. xj74 - 73
9. Shadow20002 - 66
10. mrmp3 - 65
11. xdragon - 62
12. oddworld20-3000 - 59
13. Silent-XBA - 59
14. natewebb - 56
15. (ScArab) - 56
16. BlindSniper - 54
17. Jo35 - 53
18. Marc - 53
19. Whisper - 47
20. Kamshaft-XBA - 47
21. CrazyCougar-XBA - 46
22. Xbox Masta 4 - 43
23. Sharky53 - 42
24. Y2D - 42
25. Lord Vivic - 41
26. JediMasterChief - 40
27. thunder0810 - 39
28. adzmullz1 - 39
29. MixMasta - 38
30. Ninjermy - 38
31. Blind-RazoR - 38
32. kenji - 37
33. JayMan36 - 36
34. DaGameBoy - 36
35. Liquid Gears - 35
36. murken - 33
37. mentat - 33
38. RichVGS - 32
39. asammw - 31
40. wweomaniac - 31
41. J Deezie1311 - 30
42. BillyDKid - 30
43. George89 - 30
44. pvsurfer03 - 29
45. CrazyKane - 28
46. super_ryu - 28
47. colosso - 28
48. BIGHARV - 28
49. BunnyRabbit - 28
50. DocHoliday78 - 27


 
© 2000-2008 XboxAddict.com - All rights reserved. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft. XboxAddict.com is not affiliated with Microsoft.