Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game is a recent release in both the Windows Phone and Windows Stores. You play the role of Dino, whose is seeking vengeance against an evil tyrannosaur who killed his mum.
The game is played out in platformer style with five stages that represent segments of Dino's life. You start out with Dino being a small dinosaur pup and as you progress through the game, he will grow in size and strength.
While the game is available for both Windows Phone and Windows 8 devices, there is no means of saving your gaming progress between devices. Still, after playing the Windows Phone game version of Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game it comes across as a nice refresh for platformer games and not a bad time waster.
The primary menu for Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game greets you with a host of options. These options include your game play button along with buttons to give you access to achievements, the game shop, Dino's cave, game settings, game hint videos and the about screen.
Settings cover your sound/music levels and a choice of gaming control layouts. The game controls include a jump, duck, slow down and bite buttons. Personally, I like the jump/duck controls to the side of the screen (as opposed to the top/bottom).
Game play includes multiple levels of play spread out across five stages. Each stage represents a period of Dino's growth and you start out with the dinosaur as a young pup. Each level has multiple goals to achieve (travel a certain distance, eat a number of drumsticks, etc.) before you can advance to the next level.
There are a few tutorials that pop-up before each level to walk you through any new game mechanics that will come into play. Additionally, you can view four tutorial videos off the main menu for Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game.
You have a host of obstacles to avoid such as rolling boulders, thorny tumbleweeds, bottomless pits and rival dinosaurs. The biggest challenge seems to be the timing of your jumps. You can jump to an upper platform to collect drumsticks or avoid rolling boulders, but you'll need to be careful jumping off those higher levels or you'll jump into an endless pit. Missing a jump is instant death while hitting a boulder, thorn bush or another obstacle will cost you health points. Run out of health points and the game ends.
As Dino grows larger, he will eventually get the opportunity to chase down other dinosaurs and gobble them up. There are also boss and mini-battles that will pit you against rival dinosaurs. These fights are basically a "tap as fast as you can" styled competition. These fights are a nice break from the platform running.
The drumsticks you collect during game play can be used in Dino's cave to buy power-ups to help you survive the game play. The game shop is for in-app purchases where you can give your drumstick count a boost or pick up power-up packs. Power-ups include a thick-skin, extra bounce, slow time and more that will be available for use on the game screen.
Overall Impression
In playing Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game for the past few days, it comes across as a fun, time waster of a Windows Phone game. There is enough variety in game play to keep you on your toes and the graphics aren't too shabby either.
The game does play out nicely on either a Windows Phone or Windows 8 tablet. It would be nice to have the means to save your game progress between devices. While the first couple of levels goes quickly, the rest can take a little effort to complete. Cross-save support would help avoid having to manage two games at once.
The biggest downside to the game is the lack of a trial version. At $.99 the cost of the Windows Phone game will not break the bank, but I think the game would have more success if you had a trial version. Maybe a trial that could let gamers play the first 3-5 levels and get a taste for things before investing in the full version.
Overall, I liked Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game. While we have an extensive collection of platformer games in the Windows Phone Store, the pre-historic theme helps this game stand out a little. At last check, Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game is pulling down a 4 Star rating in the Windows Phone Store and a 4.3 Star rating in the Windows Store. Both scores are about right for this game and if you give Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game a try, let us know what you think of things in the comments below.
Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game for Windows Phone ($.99)
Dino the Beast: Dinosaur Game for Windows 8 ($1.99)
