Xbox 360 Review - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Whenever a movie-based game title hits the shelves you can expect one thing: a poorly slapped together game, often lacking the original voice-cast, that only a child can enjoy. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is another one of those games. This game isn’t necessarily bad; it just feels like the design team didn’t have any interest in trying to make the game above average.

If you have played an animated-movie based game before, involving several lead characters, you may have realized that more often than not one character is great, while the rest are an utter bore to play with. Monsters vs. Aliens was awesome to play as The Missing Link, but once you had to play as B.O.B. you were probably filled with disgust. Dawn of the Dinosaurs starts you off playing with Sid the Sloth. Although, he’s one of the three characters who maintain their original voice (John Leguizamo), playing with a sloth isn’t the most fun experience. Getting into the action is tedious. You start the game platforming, hunting down gifts for Ellie (Queen Latifah). Then you’re giving the task of baby proofing a field by throwing mud at rocks and melting ice. It’s just as boring as it sounds. Next you play with Manny the Woolie Mammoth (Ray Romano). He maybe the worst character you’ll ever play with in gaming. All Manny does is uproot tree stumps. Really? Sure, kids may be entertained by playing with their favorite movie characters, but the imagination that went into these characters’ gameplay was nonexistent.

By the third quest, the designers finally felt the need to add some fun into the gameplay. You’ll play as Diego chasing down a Gazelle in a time test. Unfortunately, this is about 2 minutes of playing time – tops. Once you nail the mechanics for the chase, the race will only last for about a minute. This is where you’ll realize a different problem with this game. Even when Dawn of the Dinosaurs is fun, it’s just too easy. For adults, that just makes you lose interest more quickly. Kids, however, will still have a blast.

Sid’s gameplay picks up later on with an egg-rolling adventure. You have to roll a dinosaur egg down a snowy mountain. This is a great mission. But, you’ll have to repeat the same thing three times, which seems pointless. Also, listening to Sid talk about his mama-wannabe syndrome can only last so long. Top it off with circus music, and you may be ready to pull your hair out. Well, if you’re an adult. Once again, with these reviews you have to understand who the game is intended for. And, kids will love the upbeat music as long as they still believe in a Santa Claus.

Missions are broken up be narrated cut scenes. The characters are often looking at paintings on a wall and telling you a story, before you are eventually thrust into the next mission. The story tends to be disjointed and hops around uncontrollably. This game was never meant to be taken as a stand-alone from the movie. So, if you didn’t see the film, you may find yourself confused by rigmarole.

By the time the dinosaurs show up, the cut scenes are much better, and you can really enjoy the HD graphics. You just have to have the patience to complete the Ice Age levels. Once you get past the Ice Age, which ironically is the name of the movie, the fun begins as you play with Buck. He is not voiced by the original voice actor, but for the upgraded gameplay you’ll quickly get over that caveat. Maybe since this was Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the game designers could have found a way to bypass all the unnecessarily tedious Ice Age chapters. Playing with Buck as he cracks his whip is fun. Also, scenes where you are required to run away from dinosaurs are great. There’s no real challenge in difficulty, but you’ll appreciate the faster pacing of these later chapters.

Some of the upgrades are jokes. Why would you pay 250 cherries to upgrade your cherries to really larger cherries that are still valued as the same one cherry? I thought that upgrading them would result in a higher value. Alas, I was wrong.

Dawn of the Dinosaurs comes with eight different multiplayer modes that help round out the game. Sloth Barge, which is taken from Sid’s egg rolling adventure, is easily the most fun to play. You knock down other players while rolling atop an egg. Of course, there is a dark side to multiplayer that reflects the inconsistent character gameplay in the story. There is a game where you have to match Sid’s actions that will make you question how anyone in their right mind could think this is entertaining.

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is a kid friendly adventure game that is just a little too easy, confusing and unbalanced for adults to find any lasting enjoyment in it. The game’s story is disjointed and gameplay with several characters are laborious. However, children will enjoy playing as their favorite CG characters and will have a blast rolling an egg down a hill or cracking a whip with the infamous Buck.