Combat Of Giants: Dragons (Nintendo DS)

Product Information

Regardless of our disappointment with both the story and gameplay, it’s hard to ignore the pretty visuals in Battle of Giants. The dragon models are attractive, and watching their flight animations is often enjoyable. Environments exhibit a surprising level of smooth detail, though there isn’t a whole lot of variety on offer here. Battle animations will surely be entertaining for anyone who is able to figure out the machinations of the game, though they can also be quite tedious to watch after the 100th time.

If you enjoy being abused by games, Ubisoft has a real treasure in mind for you. Riffing on last year’s Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs, dragons are now tossed into the mix to create an onslaught of beastly battles. Though these mythological creatures dabble in magic, this game’s anything but legendary. Gold gems are automatically boosted by your respective dragon and are really strong But note the only gold dragon isn't playable he is your mentor. Combat of Giants: Dinosaur Strike, also known as Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike in North America, is a video game developed by Ubisoft, released for the Wii on November 2, 2010.Combat of Giants is a series of video games published by Ubisoft, exclusively for Nintendo systems. It was called Battle of Giants in North America until 2011 when Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D was released using the original name. If there’s any value to be found here, it has to be in the single-card, multiplayer options. You can hook up with a friend for a duel, or play with up to four players in Tournament. It’s strictly battles – no exploration – but it’s a nice feature that’s virtually lag-free. After a short introduction sequence in which you are taught the basics of combat, you can alter the appearance of your dragon and give him a name. At first, the customization seems completely pointless - the only thing you can really change is how thin or fat your dragon is. It has a bit more use later, as throughout the game you can find body parts which you can use instead (sounds a bit gruesome to us). There are no associated stats or anything, so it's a purely cosmetic feature. The game world is divided into various regions, which you'll visit one by one. Each has 2 to 3 gems to recover, with 25 to collect in all. Of course, that doesn't mean there are just 25 opponents, because there's also a bunch of gem-less rogue dragons wandering around which might get in your way.

Aside from the opening cutscene, you’re barely made privy to the reason for pushing through the story. There are orbs scattered throughout levels, as well as a few destructible elements. Once again, though, it’s up to the player to figure out what their purpose is, if any. Though landscapes look very similar to one another, the game sports a lot of visual polish. 2.5 Control The single-player component could perhaps be appreciated as a means to learning the ropes, if the game actually saw fit to teach you anything. The multiplayer is a nice addition, but it’s hardly enough to justify the price of admission. Navigating environments mostly works just fine, even if the tasks at hand are the epitome of dull. Input recognition is very spotty during battles. 3.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting In the game, an extensive war between dragons and humans caused the Lord of all Dragons, Ninnurtu, to gather the noble Ebebu dragons and the foul Salmu dragons and combine their powers to create Tammabuku, their own world in which they could have peace. However, Ninnurtu, weakened by the immense undertaking, was left in a weak and powerless state, of which the Salmu dragons capitalized on. They stole the gems, the source of all dragons powers, and led the newly created world into chaos. Now, as the last Ebebu dragons left standing, you must retrieve all of the gems from the Salmu dragons and restore peace to the land of Tammabuku.

Deviation Actions

Unlike the last game, Dragons actually has a story. There are a lot of made up dragon language words like "Dirga" and "Tamabukku" and uh... "elemental." The gist is this: King Dragon invented a Dragon World so that humans wouldn't get all up in their Dragon Business. But Evil Dragons took over. So now you have to collect Dragon Energy to use your Dragon Moves and save Dragon Town. It all sounds a lot more mystical when explained in big fake words by characters who have random apostrophes in their names, like Ka'Izi. Battle of Giants: Dragons is broken up into four different worlds of play, each world consisting of a handful of areas you must conquer. Levels are relatively small, and you’ll control your dragon with only the stylus. You can traverse areas by land, or you can tap on your dragon to begin flying. Drawing near to other dragons on the map causes you to enter a separate battle screen where combat begins.