Software:Spyro: Season of Ice

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Short description: 2001 video game
Spyro: Season of Ice
North American box art
Developer(s)Digital Eclipse
Publisher(s)Universal Interactive Studios
Director(s)Michael Mika Sr.
Producer(s)Renée Johnson
Programmer(s)Craig Stewart
Artist(s)Boyd Burggrabe
Composer(s)Robert Baffy
Ed Cosico
SeriesSpyro
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
  • NA: November 7, 2001[1]
  • EU: November 16, 2001
Genre(s)Platform, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Spyro: Season of Ice is a 2001 platform game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Universal Interactive Studios for the Game Boy Advance. It acts as an alternate sequel to the first three games along with Software:Spyro 2: Season of Flame and Software:Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs.

Gameplay

The objective of the game is to release fairies from their ice prisons and to progress from realm to realm before defeating Grendor. Spyro starts off in the Autumn Fairy Home one of the four seasonal fairy realms in the game. In each realm, gems can be collected, critters like sheep can be destroyed for healing butterflies (and some to grant extra lives), special objects (like pumpkins) can be ignited, baskets can be broken for more gems and Bianca and Hunter in various spots can give hints. Spyro can never die in the seasonal realms, with the fairy magic force protecting him from drowning in the water and no enemies present. The realms link to several places via portals. To access them, a number of fairies have to be procured, indicated next to the level name.

Some of the portals will go to levels which are similar in gameplay to the realms except they have enemies to destroy, dangerous territory that harms Spyro, water which Spyro can drown in and special encounters. There are always characters to talk with. One or two characters in a level will asks a request to do something in exchange for a fairy (often referring it to something other than a fairy like a diamond gem). In some levels, Spyro can catch thieves, which can be tricky to do. When all enemies are destroyed, a portal appears and will take Spyro back to the seasonal realm he came from.

Some of the portals will go to a long stretching horizon landscape in which Spyro flies across. The game can be played in Normal and Hard modes, but both will have to be played and won to obtain two fairies. The object of these levels is to move around the screen, flying through hoops, destroying lines of enemies and scattered enemies in a set time limit. Destroying enemies with a different colour from the latter and going through hoops grants Spyro extra time. At the end of level, Spyro must face a boss or two and destroy them.

Some of the portals, Spyro cannot go through with Money Bags guarding them, but Money Bags will allow Sparx to enter for a fee. The fee is only paid once. Sparx enters a level with killer bugs and insects. Destroying the nests of those bugs prevents them from spawning. Keys will enable Sparx to access more of the level. Electric panels can be destroyed to disable barriers that protect certain nests. Weapons can be procured to give Sparx limited increased firepower. At the last room of the level, Sparx will have to face and defeat the boss bug to open a portal back to Spyro and save a fairy.

Spyro is required to defeat Grendor twice, the first time to progress after the first two seasonal realms and the second time after the other two seasonal realms to win the game. If the player collects 100% of all the gems and fairies from all levels and realms, a new portal opens to play the extra game "Dragonfly X".

Plot

Spyro and Sparx are on holiday with Bianca and Hunter, when Hunter panics mistaking a balloon for a sheep in a flying saucer. Spyro finds on the balloon a message from Zoe asking for help from Grendor who is kidnapping fairies. Bianca left her spellbook behind in the library while she was looking for holiday pamphlets. Grendor had been browsing in Bianca's library and came across Bianca's spellbook. He tried it out, hoping to become a powerful magician, however, he read it upside down and became a two-headed Rhynoc with 4 headaches. He planned to capture all the fairies and use their wings to make a cure for his problem. Spyro and his friends head off to stop Grendor from carrying out his plans.

After Spyro traverses many levels (including a first confrontation with Grendor) and saves all the fairies besides Zoe herself, he confronts Grendor for a second time and defeats again, rescuing Zoe. Once free, Zoe lightly chastises Grendor for causing trouble, then uses her magic to cure him of his extra head and all his headaches. Grendor apologizes for his actions, and Spyro and his friends return to their vacation.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic74/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarHalf star[3]
GamePro15/20[5]
GameSpot7.5/10[6]
GameSpy84/100[7]
GameZone8/10[8]
Hyper79/100[9]
IGN8/10[10]
M! Games74%[11]
NGamer82/100[12]
ONM80%[13]

Season of Ice received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[2]

In the United States, Season of Ice sold 1 million copies and earned $29 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 13th highest-selling game launched for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "GBA Top 10 Games - 2001". GameShark (Holiday): 70. December 2001. https://archive.org/details/GameShark_Magazine_Holiday_2001/page/n81. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Spyro: Season of Ice for GBA Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/spyro-season-of-ice/critic-reviews/?platform=game-boy-advance. Retrieved October 2, 2013. 
  3. ↑ Miller, Skyler. "Spyro: Season of Ice – Review". Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141116004344/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=34894&tab=review. Retrieved October 2, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Steinberg, Scott. "Spyro: Season of Ice". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on May 15, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040515023908/http://www.elecplay.com/reviews_article.php?article=7447. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  5. ↑ Star Dingo (October 29, 2001). "Spyro: Season of Ice". GamePro. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20041031071401/https://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/gameboy_advance/games/reviews/17660.shtml. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  6. ↑ Provo, Frank (November 21, 2001). "Spyro: Season of Ice Review". http://uk.gamespot.com/spyro-season-of-ice/reviews/spyro-season-of-ice-review-2826755/. Retrieved October 2, 2013. 
  7. ↑ Rice, Kevin (2002). "Spyro: Season of Ice (GBA)". Archived from the original on February 4, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020204011139/http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/november01/spyrogba/index2.shtm. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  8. ↑ The Badger (December 10, 2001). "Spyro: Season of Ice (GBA)". Archived from the original on December 23, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20011223101721/http://gameboy.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18801_GBA.htm. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  9. ↑ Dry, Frank (January 2002). "Spyro: Season of Ice". Hyper (99): 81. https://archive.org/details/hyper-099/page/80/mode/2up?q=. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  10. ↑ Harris, Craig (November 16, 2001). "Spyro: Season of Ice". http://uk.ign.com/articles/2001/11/17/spyro-the-dragon-season-of-ice. Retrieved October 2, 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Spyro: Season of Ice" (in de). MANiAC: 89. January 2002. https://archive.org/details/MANiAC.N099.2002.01/page/n87/mode/2up?q=. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  12. ↑ Bryce (December 2001). "Spyro: Season of Ice". Nintendo Gamer (5): 40, 45. https://archive.org/details/nintendo-gamer-5-december-2001/page/40/mode/2up?q=. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  13. ↑ "Spyro: Season of Ice". Official Nintendo Magazine (112): 46. January 2002. https://archive.org/details/nom112/page/n45/mode/2up?q=. Retrieved October 15, 2021. 
  14. ↑ Keiser, Joe (August 2, 2006). "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games". Next Generation. http://www.next-gen.biz/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3557&Itemid=2&pop=1&page=0. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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