Atomic Battle Dragons. The name makes me think of Godzilla, but Godzilla movies don’t have quite this much action. Atomic Battle Dragons blends multiple genres together into a jousting adventure where you ride atop a dragon, slaying hordes of enemies and increasing in strength along the way. The game is still in Open Beta, but it’s fully playable for gamers who can’t wait!

The evil dragon Belzom has been threatening the kingdom for too long, and the mighty knight Cain has finally had enough. With the aid of magical items from the elf Briannah, and riding atop his trusty dragon, Cain embarks on a journey to slay Belzom and free the kingdom from his tyranny! The story is relayed through brief scenes between stages, and helps tie everything together and even provide a little bit of humor. I found myself chuckling from time to time, and although the story might not be the most deep, it promises some lighthearted fun!

The game features two modes of play: story and arcade. The story mode features 40 story-driven stages of play, whereas the arcade modes features over 100 playable stages! There are also four levels of difficulty for gamers of different skill levels. Although no single stage is particularly long, Atomic Battle Dragons will surely be a game that you can spend a good deal of time with.

Your main goal in each stage is to slay your opponents. You do this by flying toward them on your dragon and striking them while your lance is higher than theirs. Doing this will either damage them, kill them, or knock them off of their mount. Finish off all of the enemies that are in a stage and you can progress to the next. Although it may not sound like it, the gameplay is actually surprisingly varied. In most levels you simply need to kill all of your enemies while atop your dragon, but there are other stages where you need to rescue allies, fire ballista, duel bosses, travel on foot, or reach a specific destination. Traveling on foot offers quite the challenge, but you'll still have to do it from time to time. Some levels require you to, while other times you'll simply be knocked off of your dragon by enemies. Fortunately the game automatically saves at the start of each level, making continuing easy.

You’ll encounter a wide variety of enemies on your journey, from dragon riders to giant insects, each presenting a different challenge. You’ll also pick up all sorts of magical items that restore your health, increase your speed, grant you temporary invulnerability, and grant you all sorts of other abilities. There are even obstacles to face, such as lava, boiling tar, and razor sharp stalactites! Your dragon's strength allows him to pick up foes that are on foot and drop them into such obstacles, leading to an easy kill. You can even eat some foes and then drop their bones on unsuspecting enemies below to deal some extra damage.

You’ll gain experience from each successful kill, and when you’ve gained enough you’ll increase in level. With each level up you’ll gain skill points that you can use to improve your speed, strength, HP, or attack. There are ways to gain bonus experience, such as dealing quick blows to your enemies or by dealing constant damage without getting hit yourself. Aside from increasing your stats, you'll also pick up new lances, increasing your damage.

The game’s controls are pretty simple. The arrow keys control your movement, and pressing Up (or Spacebar) causes you to flap your wings and jump up. Although, if you hold Up, your dragon will take to the skies! Simply hitting "c" will bring up your character menu, explaining your stats and weapons. You can also level up from here, which can be done at any time during a level, preparing you to finish off any remaining foes. Controlling your dragon might be a bit awkward and challenging, but shouldn’t take long to get used to. The controls can be customized to your liking to make things easier, or you can use a joy pad, which the game recommends.

As I said earlier, the game is still in Beta, so it’s not quite finished yet. I’ve noticed a few small problems, such as enemies falling into the ground and getting stuck. However, with any luck the Beta will result in this problem, and any other problems, being fixed.

Atomic Battle Dragons is an action-packed experience, with just enough RPG depth to please fans of the genre while keeping the game straightforward enough to appeal to the casual gamer. You can download a demo of the game to try it for yourself, or purchase the full Beta version and jump right in! The full version is expected to be ready at the end of the month, so you won't have to wait long. Look back to Just RPG shortly for a full review of the game.