| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Wrong AudienceWhen youﾒre small, dinosaurs captivate your imagination. Their grand size and mysterious history ignites a sense of wonder in almost any child. Itﾒs no surprise then that when James Gurney created Dinotopia through a series of fabulous paintings and a childrenﾒs book, he found a large audience for his world of dinosaurs and humans living harmoniously together. Unfortunately, when Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey was conceived, someone completely missed the point.  The game takes place in the fantasy world of Gurneyﾒs design. It captures the essence of Dinotopia as portrayed in the books but certainly doesnﾒt expand upon it. It also has a lackluster feel when compared to the beautifully detailed paintings of the source material. Technology may not allow for the rich tapestry of the originals, but it certainly allows for better than youﾒll find here. The high point is some nice use of shadows in some of the level designs. However this is completely wasted in linear levels filled with rocks. The visuals are complemented by a decent musical score that loops far too often. The wimpy sound effects and sappy voice acting bring down any pluses found in the visuals. You could forgive the graphic and sound shortcomings if the game featured gameplay that you could dig into but thatﾒs not the case here. The game is brimming with silly fetch quests. It also features poor combat that revolves around bashing the bad guys with a hammer. Thatﾒs the first thing you think of when you think of Dinotopia, right? It might be forgivable to have beat ﾑem up gameplay if there was a story worth caring about, but the voice acting and silly pomp and circumstance that surrounds even finding some plants for a farmer make it impossible to care much about anyone in this world, human or dinosaur. Thereﾒs a system of gems you stick in the hammer to power it up but itﾒs pretty much centered on using what you find right away without any thought. Also, you spend time traveling around the treetop town waiting for the game to load another area that looks just like that last. Finally, you canﾒt save anywhere so youﾒre often praying youﾒll get to the next save spot so you wonﾒt have to spend another second of your life replaying any part of a level. You will undoubtedly have a lot more fun with the books the game is based on than you ever will with this turkey. Kid Factor: The game is based on books for children and itﾒs rated T. That should be a red flag right there. If thatﾒs not enough to keep this budget release on the rack where it belongs, consider that you donﾒt see that many dinosaurs and even when you do you canﾒt pan the camera very well to get a good look at them. Most of the game is spent pounding on people (and some dinosaurs too) or running here and there in super dull fashion. The kids wonﾒt be interested in it and you wonﾒt either, so donﾒt let the low price suck you in. Spend the money on the hardcover books instead. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 10+ Genre: Adventure ESRB Rating: T-Teen Publisher: TDK Developer: Vicious Cycle 
The game is based on books for children and itﾒs rated T. That should be a red flag right there. If thatﾒs not enough to keep this budget release on the rack where it belongs, consider that you donﾒt see that many dinosaurs and even when you do you canﾒt pan the camera very well to get a good look at them. Most of the game is spent pounding on people (and some dinosaurs too) or running here and there in super dull fashion. The kids wonﾒt be interested in it and you wonﾒt either, so donﾒt let the low price suck you in. Spend the money on the hardcover books instead.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
