Eragon (video Game) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The game has received generally negative reviews, (45-55 out of 100) according to review aggregator sites Metacritic and Game Rankings.

GameSpot rated the game 4.2 out of 10, and GameSpy gave it a similar score of 2 out of 5. PC Gamer UK slated the PC version of the game, describing the plot as "thinner than hospital undies", complaining about the tedious and repetitive side-scrolling action. They ended up summarising it as "a profoundly uninspiring tie-in" and gave it 53%. IGN came to a similar conclusion, primarily criticising the poor camera, unsophisticated combat and shortness. They rated the game 4.7 out of a possible 10. Gamestyle describe the title as "One half high-return investment bond, one half tedious waste of time, its place as part of the film's marketing campaign more important than it actually being playable" with a cast whose faces "appear to have been variously grafted onto misshapen potatoes and blind robots carved from meat." Something Awful's "one sentence review" is scathing: "This is what happens when everyone at the office works on a game for 2 months then decides to have pizza parties every day until the budget runs out. 1/10"

However, the handheld versions of the game generally received more positive reviews. The Nintendo DS version received a positive review from IGN, who praised it for its "solid gameplay, enjoyable quests, being long for a movie license, and having thorough menu and tutorial system". It received 7.5 out of a possible 10. IGN said that it is surprisingly well developed for a Nintendo DS game.