We're Back! A Dinosaur's Tale
Pagemaster meets Top GunGenre: action - platform
Publisher: Hi-Tech Entertainment
Year: 1993
System: Genesis
Gameplay Score: 3
Gameplay Notes:
Completely different than the SNES game. Platforming is pretty standard fare. The only combat is done via bopping, although you can buy a boomerang which is useful. Enemies run around a breakneck speed so hitting them is a pain regardless. The only really interesting thing in the platforming sections is that you can purchase items from a shop like menu on the pause screen. This lets you buy health, one-ups, a boomerang, or running shoes. Ultimately there's just not much to do. You pretty much go from platform to platform bopping enemies if you so choose. It's all very optional. Nothing stands out in the platforming sections. Controls are fast and fairly responsive. A major annoyance is that fall damage kills you instantly and some levels make it nearly impossible to avoid dying this way. The flying levels are fairly interesting, but your sprite takes up so much of the screen that it blocks your view. So the best strategy is to hang up at the top of the screen and only avoid an obstacles that come straight at you up there. It's the Top Gun strategy. Each level has exactly one enemy that's repeated over and over and over again. Three buttons, run, jump, and throw a ball. Yeah, you're a t-rex and your only attack is to throw a rubber ball. Actually you can bop but your sprite is so large and close to the bottom of the screen that you can barely see the tiny enemy you're gunning for. Jump is quite high and camera scrolls with you making it hard to see what's below. Also nauseating Enemies take multiple hits because why not. Turning around plays an insanely long animation. David Perry camera snaps back and forth giving you 80% draw distance. It's nauseating. Jump animation is also overly long. Controls are just horrible to work with. Impossible to tell what is a platform. And some platforms have a bottom but no top so you can't jump up through them but can pass they from the top or sides. Landing a jump kills all momentum
Level Design Score: 2
Level Design Notes:
Half of the levels are a standard platformer. The other half are a 3D level where you play one of the dinosaur characters, e.g. skateboarding on the back of a pickup truck as a t-rex or flying as a pterodactyl over central park while collecting balloons.
Theme Score: 1
Theme Notes:
No idea what this is based on.
Art Style Score: 2
Art Style Notes:
Decent sprites but there are literally only a handful of them. Backgrounds are extremely simple. Most are just a single flat color. Lazy and boring as all get out.
Audio Score: 2
Audio Notes:
Pretty terrible music and sound. It's not technically bad, but it's still not fun to listen to.
Overall Score: 49
Review ID: 1384
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