
	Platform DS Genre Platformer Publisher Beuna Vista Interactive Developer WayForward ESRB E (Everyone) Released October 2007

- Some really great tunes - Flying sections are great - A basic, entry-level platformer for the young 'uns!

- Levels are padded with some extremely tricky instant-death platforming - Everything "tastes" bland

Review: Elite Beat Agents (DS) Review: Bubble Bobble Revolution (DS)
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Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long - Attack of the Dark Dragon

Score: 5.0 / 10

The title -- Disney's American Dragon: Jake Long - Attack of the Dark Dragon -- is almost too long to fit on a DS cartridge, but that novelty is not enough to make American Dragon a "must play" title. In fact, you probably want to avoid American Dragon if you're older than 10 because other than third-person flying stages, there's not a lot of fun to be had.

Based on the Disney Channel's American Dragon: Jake Long cartoon about a boy that can turn into a dragon, a premise that the game holds true, except for the fact that Jake can't turn into the dragon at will. First he has to collect enough focus points by defeating enemies or standing on a "focus vortex" then tapping the middle of the touchscreen or by saying "Dragon Up!" into the mic. (This creates a bit of a problem; in a noisy environment, Jake will automatically switch to Dragon mode.) Playing as the dragon grants you the ability to hover, shoot a massive ball of fire, and activate temporary invincibility. The focus meter continually drips out

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and once drained its back to playing as plain old Jake, who can only punch, kick, and jump.

The game is very straightforward, with a mere five short levels, easy bosses and minor collectibles, so to compensate for this, the developers inserted some pretty insane platforming sequences where one misjudged jump results in instant death. These typically happen toward the end of a level. The last

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level in particular is so demanding that I'm reasonably certain that the target market will just give up when they get there. The real highlight are the flying stages, where Jake (in dragon form) is required to fly around in 3D space and blast bad guys. More of this and less of the inconsequential quasi-3D-looking platforming would have been welcomed.

Besides the single player game, American Dragon: Jake Long also includes multiplayer which concentrates solely on the flying aspect of the game. Players fly through rings to gain control of them, once all are controlled by one player, they win. These matches can last a long time! Power-ups appear and the areas are small enough that the rings will change hands many times before a winner comes out on top.

I know that I don't fall in the demographic that American Dragon: Jake Long is aimed at, but even I can recognize a bad game, even if it is sprinkled with one or two points of interest.

- Omni

(January 17, 2007)