Dragon's lair 3d is game for fans of the franchise.
Graphics:
Celshading is a great way of creating the feel of playing an interactive cartoon movie. This works very well, although sometimes I get the feeling that some of the backdrops could have been better made, but there is definitely an awesome and original atmosphere to the game; no blood 'n guts, no zombies and no bad language. Its graphics help create the aura of a fun, innocent and cool game. The introduction movie is very nicely animated but for some reason I don't find the following in-game cinematics as good. The animation and movement of the main character Dirk is very fluent and nice to look at (with the exception of the jumping, but more on that later) with a little comedy thrown in to enhance the feel of being in a cartoon, like if you run into a wall you will hear a "smack" and Dirk will shake his head, and if you don't touch the controller for a while he'll cut himself on his sword. There are also some elements of magic in this game called "essences" which you collect all through the game which will let you glide through the air, heal yourself, see hidden objects, paths and doors, protect you from fire and so on. There are more than 240 rooms to explore and there is a lot of variation to the graphics and once in a while you'll fight a boss. There is something missing in the celshaded graphics though, but I can't put my finger on it. It all looks very good and similar to the original arcade cartoon sequences though, which I guess is what they went for. The visuals of the magic are a bit of a disappointment though, as I expected more spectacular and bombastic spells, magic, and attacks. Something worthy of a mention is that this game plays in 1080 if your TV can handle it.
81%
Gameplay:
This game plays like an adventure-platformer, as it were, and you jump, fight, glide and roll around the castle's different rooms. The combat part of the gameplay is a bit boring since you just run around in circles, attacking your foes. Some foes can only be defeated by fire (you'll get a spell that makes your sword burn, late in the game), some foes you need to stun before you can hit them, you can choose between three different kinds of arrows, so there IS some variation, but in the end it's very repetitive and leaves you desiring for more edgy fighting mechanics. The second part of the gameplay is the puzzle-solving, which is also the most satisfying and most well balanced; it never gets difficult enough to make you want to quit but still presents a tough enough challenge to keep your interest. The last part, which is also the weakest part, is the actual platforming. The jumping, running, crouching and climbing feel very sluggish at times because of the controls. They aren't horrible, but they are far from perfect and the fact that you can only jump straight up or leap makes some of the more intricate jumps unnecessarily difficult and frustrating. The puzzles are cool and well thought through and the boss-fights are among the coolest I've seen in recent years (a personal favorite is the Lizard king) so they save this part of the game. I found I enjoyed parts of the game a LOT and some parts, not so much, but all in all I can recommend this to anyone who's into puzzles and adventures.
68%
Sound:
The sound effects sound dry and are very repetitive and, although she is SUPPOSED to be annoying, the princess' voice really sounds terrible, and the voice acting in general isn't top drawer, but the nice classic scoring makes up for it with its crescendo building and "situation sensitive" ambient sounds. The music as you fight Singe the dragon is among my favorites, with a deep feel of fantasy, heroism and being on top of the world, combined with a sense of danger. Perfect. Dirk's voice actor also does a decent job.
61%
Lastability:
You are treated to a (pretty self-indulgent) history and behind the scenes footage in three parts. You can also go back to watch any of the game's cut-scenes, as you unlock them and there are three difficulty levels to beat, but my guess is that you'll be pretty tired of the gameplay after finishing it once, because of the frustrating platforming. The puzzles will keep you from giving up on the game though. You'll definitely want to finish it.
55%
Overall:
Dragon's lair 3d is game for fans of the franchise, puzzle-nuts and hardcore platformers. Don't expect anything revolutionary about this title, but if you consider yourself to fit in one of the categories above, I actually recommend this.
57%