What I really loved about this game, besides the tight, responsive controls, was the enormous amount of gameplay variety. The developers successfully mixed platforming, claw-to-claw combat, and shooter elements to create an unpredictable, addictive experience. And on top of this, there are a lot of gameplay gimmicks, such as shooting plant leaves with water so you can hop on top of them, sliding down vines and Brontosaur tails, and even gumming up toxic flowers with one of your various organic guns. Also worth noting are the vehicle sections, particularly the one that allows you to control the sabertooth cat, Diego. It’s an exhilarating, high speed sequence that unfortunately never gets reused. That’s just how fun it was.
The only drawback of Dawn of the Dinosaurs is the fact that the graphical elements are blatantly stolen from the PS2 version of the game. The polygon counts are very low, the texture resolution is decent at best, and the complete lack of graphical shaders (i.e. normal maps, surface effects, etc.) gives the game a very flat look. It looks like a PS2 game in HD. The only upside is that the animation quality is very good, and the game has extremely high anti-aliasing levels, ensuring that everything has a crisp look. The strong art direction also helps to make sure the levels are easily navigated and immediately understandable.
The sound design is fairly good, with dynamic background music and some surprising attention to detail. Fire crackles, gusts of wind swoosh through the tunnels, and the snow delicately crunches beneath your character’s feet. The characters within the game are constantly speaking and reacting to the world around them, and there were no instances of audio repetitiveness. There’s a lot of crystals hidden throughout each level that can be used to purchase collectible items, and even unlock multiplayer modes. The basic upgrade system, which is tied to collecting fruit scattered and hidden throughout each level, also allow the player to upgrade their health and ammo.
The trophies are also well integrated into the game. About 50% of the trophies are very easy to obtain, and in fact you’ll pick up three high-ranking trophies just for completing the game and watching the end credits. But the other 50% are fairly difficult, and add a lot of replay value. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a very complete package, and despite its graphical shortcomings there is a lot of fun to be had. It’s the perfect game to give to your kids, and is so fast paced that boredom will be the last thing on your mind.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Graphics quality is disappointing, but the animation is still good. Tons of replay value, great voice acting, and is extremely user-friendly. |
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