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Dinosaur
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Graphics & Sound:
Ubisoft's Dinosaur is based upon the kid's animated movie of the same title, so expect to see bits and pieces of the movie throughout the game to carry along the plot. All of your favorite characters from the film are here in their little digital representations, which are quite cute. The graphics in this game don't really push the limits of the Gameboy, but they do get the job done and get it done well. All of the different characters and enemies are easily identifiable and the levels are varied and look like they should. Nothing stellar, but pleasant nonetheless. The sound effects were unmemorable, but at least they weren't irritating like so many GBC games out now.
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Gameplay:
Gameplay is where Dinosaur really excels. You begin the game as Aladar, leader of the pack, or should I say herd. They are in search of the nesting grounds and must battle all sorts of enemies and natural disasters before getting there. Each dinosaur or lemur is cut out for a specific job and you'll need to locate and rescue each one throughout the levels if the herd is to survive. You will come to points in the levels where you are able to switch out characters (I think this is brilliant!) and choose the best character for the task at hand. For instance, Aladar is great for swatting velociraptors outta the way, whereas Plio and Suri are good for speed and climbing and such. The whole herd works together to accomplish the mission and it plays out pretty well. Another nifty thing were the tunnels placed in some parts of the levels. They functioned like portals to other parts of the level and any character could use them, not just a specific one. The reason I say this is that you will encounter levels where timing is everything and you can only use certain characters to do that section of the level. Screw up and get off course and you pretty much gotta find the beginning of the level and start over. But all in all, its a good little platformer with pretty cool gameplay.
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Difficulty:
The very first few levels are very simple. Everything is very straightforward and obvious. You proceed along a path, picking up flowers for health and points, and rescuing other herd members. Then it ramps up in difficulty pretty quick, once all the team is with you. Basically, they throw you in and expect you to swim, as far as being able to use all of the characters. Yikes! It's not too bad, since you can save anywhere (what a Godsend), but it can get frustrating. Not so bad that you want to throw the game down in disgust, but a little frustrating anyhow. Just be forewarned that you must use all of the characters in your herd. You can't just stick with tough Aladar.
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Game Mechanics:
Well, first and foremost, you can save anywhere. This is a good thing. Then there is the wonderful feature and ability to use all members of the team. It's novel and adds more to the game. There are little white and red flowers for team members to pick up. White flowers give you points, red flowers give you health. But it's different in that you stock up the flowers. That way, if someone gets hurt, you can go into the Health Menu and restore their health with your stash of red flower goodness. This is very important as you can't proceed in some levels without your teammates. You also can hook up Dinosaur to your GBC printer and print out scads of character portraits and your top scores. Woo! Overall, Dinosaur is a fun little Disney movie platformer romp and would make a nice addition to anyone's GBC collection. Especially so, if you are a platformer fan.
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-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins |
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