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I think Spyro — Legend of Ice was one of my first games for the GBA. I knew nothing about the character or franchise — but I figured anything with a purple dragon on it had to be pretty cool. I'll confess now that I didn't get all that far into my first venture with Spyro. I'm pretty sure this was about the time I had a new baby, and that took up the majority of my brain power and time.

Fast forward a few years and enter Spyro, stage left. There seems to be a whole lot of story going on in Eternal Night. I did discover that this game is the second in the series, so I probably would follow more if I'd seen the first game. In any case, it appears that Spyro is trying to rescue Cynder (the baddie from the first game who turned out to be his sibling) from being possessed and claimed by the evil Gaul. Sparx (kind of like Tinker Bell) is along to give me advice and sometimes help me out of a tight spot.

Let's just leave it by saying I'm a bit sketchy about the overall history of Spyro, Cynder and the others, and get to the game.

Yes, the game is presented in 2D. That being said, the graphics are actually quite nice. Spyro is a cute little dude. The bad guys look like bad guys. The little sparkly gems are easy to see and gather (unless the dang things fall on a bad spot). The music is suitably adventurous.

I start out with no real powers other than movement. The game takes me through regaining powers and teaching me how to use them as I play. This is good since I don't have a manual to refer to for this one. The amount of text to read might frustrate a younger child, but I really don't see this as being a game for a really young child. I think the combat combinations would probably be too confusing for the littler set.

In my heart of hearts, I am not a platform gamer. I'm not good at button mashing. I have trouble remembering combo moves. I have had carpal tunnel surgery in both hands, so my hands are a bit weak and my thumbs get tired easily. In spite of all this, I keep coming back to Spyro to get him just a bit further along in his quest to save Cynder.

There are only three save slots, but it is a huge plus to me that I can save pretty much any time I want. Other than during the nicely done cut movies that advance the story, I can save my game when I feel like it.

I like that I can go into the options screen and review my abilities. It will remind me how to use them and also allow me to take them out of my normal cycle if I don't want to use any particular skill. What is even cooler on this screen is that I have a big pool of experience that I've accumulated through collecting blue gems. I can use this experience to increase my abilities in my areas of elemental attack (earth, air, fire and water). Even better — after I spend my experience, I still get one more chance to save that change or change my mind. Yay developers!

The Eternal Night is a nice little game for the GBA. It looks good and it sounds good. Even for a poorly coordinated old PC gamer like me, that little dragon keeps me coming back for more. This is not a game that I could sit and just play through — I have a life and my poor hands wouldn't tolerate it — but it's a game I enjoy picking up for some dragon action fun. Have a look. I don't think you'll be disappointed. The bottom line, really, is that I stepped outside of my comfort zone on this one and ended up having fun.