Eragon Hands-On Preview

[TomO]

Pro-G (www.pro-g.co.uk) took a look at Vivendi Game's upcoming winter blockbuster Eragon (http://www.pro-g.co.uk/xbox360/eragon/preview-235.html), a game based on 20th Century Fox's epic fantasy movie of the same name.
All versions of the game are looking sharp, although the Xbox 360 version is by far the prettiest of the bunch. As well as running in HD, it features normal mapping and other fancy effects to bring the world to life. The 360 game will boast two extra levels: one on foot and one as Saphira. It still shows its current-gen roots, but at least effort is being made to make it more than a straight port.
Read the full Eragon Preview ( http://www.pro-g.co.uk/xbox360/eragon/preview-235.html)

[The Continental]

Me thinks if you're making a game about dragons and the ensuing riding of said dragons, you should probably show at least one screen shot of a dragon.

[Grimgrock]

To my recollection, there isn't much combat (whilst riding upon a dragon) in the first book until the very end.

There are plenty of scenes with Eragon riding upon Saphira, however. Mostly as a means of transportation. This is mostly because, in the first book, the bond between dragon and rider hasn't been fully forged. Until the big battle at the end of the book, what combat Eragon does upon Saphira ends badly for Eragon.

This assumes that both the movie and the game follows the book.

I only read the book once and it was over a year ago so I could have my facts wrong. It wasn't that memorable.

[agentgray]

Trust me when I say this:

This is Star Wars in a medieval fantasy setting.

The two books are good for a quick summer read, however.

[Grimgrock]

Trust me when I say this:

This is Star Wars in a medieval fantasy setting.

I more or less agree. I don't think Paolini can come up with any ending other than something similar to the end of ROTJ.

The success of the book is amazing given that Paolini is 22.

[camberiu]

At least no one will be able to claim that the movie did not live up to the high standards set by the book.

[Grimgrock]

There is one significant difference, however....

Eragon's equivalent to Obi-Wan/Yoda turns out to be his Darth Vader as well. I have the second book on audio. I was working when I was listening to it so I could have the connections slightly wrong.

I enjoyed the books for what they were. Don't expect Tolkein, Rowling, or Jordan.

[TrackZero]

I like the comment below the second screenie in the article:

"The 360 version looks a lot nicer than these current-gen screens"

[TrackZero]

There is one significant difference, however....

Eragon's equivalent to Obi-Wan/Yoda turns out to be his Darth Vader as well. I have the second book on audio. I was working when I was listening to it so I could have the connections slightly wrong.


Spoiler much? Thanks.

[camberiu]

I enjoyed the books for what they were. Don't expect Tolkein, Rowling, or Jordan.


So, you put Rowling and Jordan on the same league as Tolkien??????

[Grimgrock]

Spoiler much? Thanks.

The book has been out for a year. That's plenty of time.

So, you put Rowling and Jordan on the same league as Tolkien??????

No. Definitely not. But, both of them are far better than Paolini. Granted with far more experience. He has a promising start.

[agentgray]

Spoiler much? Thanks.
Trust me, it's not much of a spoiler.

[Achilles]

Spoiler much? Thanks.Once your brain gets over refusing to accept that the plot could be as predictable as it is you’ll discover that Star Wars itself is a spoiler for Eragon. Make no mistake, it can be hard to throw out thinking that maybe, just maybe the plot will go somewhere else. The only spoilers would be more abstract stuff like if I described how their spell system worked or something like that.

Which isn't to say that it's a bad book, though I did find its pacing to be a bit slow, there's just no surprises in it from a storyline standpoint.

[Animated X]

Looks interesting, but sort of Meh to me.

[A Lusty Alien]

I have mixed feeling about this movie. There's going to have to be a LOT of dialogue re-written from the book, otherwise the whole movie is going to sound like the conversation between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala in Attack of the Clones.