pyro's new Game Boy Advance cart is a weird collection of differing ideas. It breaks from the dragon's latest handheld entries by abandoning an isometric view in favor of a side-scrolling vantage point for the platforming sections – which, for us, is a good thing. But, unfortunately, the jumping is painful as all get-out.Another shift for the franchise is the card trading option offered in conjunction with Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage. This feature isn't particularly compelling, mostly because the cards don't look terribly cool and they don't do anything besides open up characters to use in the linked games – a bonus that I could care less about.And about those minigames, most are like a single level from a classic title – Breakout, Asteroids, and the Test Your Might sections from Mortal Kombat are each used over and over. You'll encounter five per world and probably dread each one. I will say that the minigames in Spyro are far more fun than its sister title, though.Spyro Orange is just a mishmash of concepts that never really gel into anything great.Concept:Mix a healthy dose of minigames into the action/platform soup. Include something about cards – kids love cards these daysGraphics:3D-esque character models and environments with many levels of detail try to make this stand outSound:It's GBA…and it's a little below current portable parPlayability:Boss battles are tough, but not funEntertainment:With no part executed particularly well, this is one sad little cartridgeReplay:LowRated:5.75 out of 10Editor:Lisa MasonIssue:June 20042nd Opinion:Wow, five years ago the prospect of Crash and Spyro joining forces would have been pretty damn exciting. Today, I just don't really care about these characters anymore. Spyro Orange (like its Crash counterpart) is largely a selection of minigames loosely strung together with turgid side-scrolling platforming. In theory, the card-trading and cross-game sharing features are cool, but I highly doubt this mediocre addition will generate a kiddie game phenomenon.Rated:6 out of 10Editor:Matt HelgesonSubscribe to Game Informer--Game Informer Review