It isn’t the biggest of secrets that the DS isn’t a 3D powerhouse of a system. Sure, it can do 3D, but not all that well. American Dragon: Jake Long – Attack of the Dark Dragon takes an interesting approach and plays to the system’s strengths. Everything is rendered with flat polygons that match the show’s visual style presented as a 2D platformer. At points in the level, the camera angle changes, often times presenting the more dramatic angle. Sometimes you’ll see Jake running from the side, while at others you might see him from a cropped isometric view or from behind. The effect isn’t jaw dropping or anything, but it works and helps to make the game stand out. If anything else, it is good to see developers trying something different.

Sound is sort of in the middle. Overall the soundtrack fits, though it isn’t particularly memorable. This is punctuated by grunts and yells, as well as a quick (and noticeably compressed), “Dragon Up!” whenever Jake transforms.

American Dragon: Jake Long – Attack of the Dark Dragon is based on the Disney Channel show of the same name. At the center of the show is a kid named Jake who has the ability transform into a dragon. After his girlfriend is kidnapped, Jake must take to the streets of New York City in order to rescue her from the Dark Dragon.

American Dragon is a platformer with a few flight elements sprinkled in every couple of levels. The platforming elements are okay and stick to the basics. As your make your way across each level, enemies come at you. The variety of enemies you face and their basic attack patterns are reminiscent of Kung-Fu on the NES. The most basic of enemies will simply walk towards you while more advanced ones will brandish some sort of weapon and put up a fight. In addition to common thugs, you’ll also face off against magical creatures that offer a little more challenge, but not much of one.

Level design sticks to the basics. Things are kept simple while some tricky parts sneak in every once in a while. Most moments involve jumping between colored platforms that you must activate by collecting and using colored gems. The downside is that gravity doesn’t seem to affect Jake all that much, so he floats more than he jumps, making jumping between moving platforms tricky.

Flying levels break up the platforming areas. As the dragon, you fly around parts of the city shooting down enemies. Jake has free reign to fly anywhere in the arena and can fly under, around and over enemies. Enemies can do the same, making dragon dogfights more than just target practice.

Boss fights take place at the end of each section and follow the same basic setup. The boss stands at the center of the level while Jake runs around him. Although the setup is the same, all of the bosses follow different attack styles and patterns so you’re not always doing the same thing. One of the few downsides is that there’s no way to tell how much damage you’ve done, which might frustrate younger players – especially since some fights are tricky.

Attack of the Dark Dragon hits the sweet spot for its target audience; it challenging, but not overly so. Rather than following a steady difficulty curve it slowly increases, then hits a plateau only to slowly increase again. Whether intended or not, the dips help to build confidence. You’re not hitting a bunch of really frustrating spots in succession. Instead you hit one, then an easy spot that makes you feel like you’re getting somewhere and not stuck in the mud.

Health is plentiful in each level and there is more than enough magic around such that you can play as the dragon through most of the game if you want. Small things make the game harder than it should be in some areas. It is really easy to fall off moving platforms if you don’t time it just right, switching powers can sometimes be a pain and the lack of a health indicator for boss battles makes it more of a guessing game.

When not fighting as Jake, you’re playing as his alter ego, the dragon. In order to change into the dragon, Jake must collect magic that is dropped by enemies or found in wells. Once his power is filled, Jake can transform into the dragon either by pressing the icon on the touch screen or by yelling, “Dragon Up!” into the DS’s microphone.

When playing as the dragon, Jake can use abilities granted to him by the dragon amulet. Activating powers involves rotating a wheel on the touch screen. Once a power is selected, Jake can breathe fire, fly or create a shield. Knowing when to use powers is another factor in level designs. It is obvious when you are supposed to use a power since you will usually find a magical spring nearby.

Using the touch screen to switch between powers works most of the time. Later in the game, there are spots that require quick switches between powers, which can become annoying – especially when your magic is slowly draining.

For the younger gamer, American Dragon: Jake Long – Attack of the Dark Dragon is a great buy.