A popular little chap born into the PlayStation generation, Spyro the Dragon is an established, well known and much-loved franchise in the world of video games. Now a multi-platform super-hero owned by Vivendi, the friendly fire-breather is ready for his second 128-bit outing, A Hero’s Tail. With a brand new story, A Hero’s Tail sees the little dragon attempting to destroy a plethora of dark crystals, released by arch-nemesis Red, that threaten to put an end to Spyro’s world and its inhabitants as they know it. Ooh, chilling! Where its immediate predecessor, Enter the Dragonfly, came in for some criticism, developer Eurocom has listened to the cries of the gaming public and has produced what is perhaps the most solid and playable Spyro game yet, employing a series of known platform moves that, while not revolutionary by any means, add to the Spyro experience nonetheless. Roaming the 3D game world in search of these hostile crystals, Spyro comes armed with the usual abundance of platforming moves as well as several new ones. To fans of the series, the most obvious of his new moves are his ability to hang from ledges and reach high platforms through a series of wall-kicks. He also comes equipped with a new tail attack and any number of special breath attacks capable of rendering even the most determined Gnorc unconscious. Each of A Hero’s Tail’s vast environments are just as vibrant and colourful as previous games in the series, and are in keeping with the cartoon-like feel of the franchise as a whole. There’s a vast number of collectibles scattered throughout as well, ensuring players will have to explore every nook and cranny of Eurocom’s game world in order to get the most out of the adventure. As platform lovers, we’re very happy with A Hero’s Tail, and we’re sure it won’t be the last we see of Vivendi’s popular gaming hero.