Even better, players can upgrade each character's attacks as they progress. Having the second playable character being a villain is a great way of differentiating their skillset, as players can choose to either use Spyro's traditional fire and ice attacks or Cynder's dark shadow powers.

The second playable character joining Spyro is surprisingly his ex-nemesis Cynder. Although the feature is not supported over Xbox Live, two players can team up to play through the entire game thanks to the drop in/drop out at any point co-op play. Backseat gamers can finally join in the Spyro action with Dawn of the Dragon thanks to its new co-op mode. As Spyro flies overhead we see churning rivers rushing by and clouds of pollen drifting up from the flower beds below. A vibrant pallet is used to bring out the best in the lush forest landscape. Flying about the map gave us a chance to take in the slick new graphics engine. Interestingly, a Spyro and Crash team-up game was mentioned as a definite possibility down the track. Flight has often been a big fan request for Spyro and the developer also thought this was a good way to differentiate the Spyro franchise from the Crash Bandicoot games (also owned by Sierra Entertainment). By far the most notable new feature in Dawn of the Dragon is Spyro's ability to take to the skies and fly about at any point in the game. Spyro gets to stretch his wings with the all-new flight mode. The new developer also gets to explore many new features for the Spyro franchise thanks to the added power behind its Xbox 360 and PS3 debut.

In an effort to launch Spyro skywards once again with The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, the current trilogy is being concluded by the French development studio Etranges Libellules. Disappointingly, Krome's sequel saw Spyro plummeting to earth with the very poorly received The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. Spyro soared high again in 2006 with Aussie developer Krome's reinvention of the franchise – the aptly titled The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning.

Spyro dawn of the dragon