Pre-E3 2009 Preview
What happens when dinosaurs, the once
dominant species, are found in a tropical paradise by Sid, a clumsy sloth who
falls through a hole in a sheet of ice? Will mammals have a chance of survival
when their sharp teeth and enormous bodies once again roam the land? Ice Age:
Dawn of the Dinosaurs explores this high concept with its ragtag group of
misfits including returning characters: Diego the saber-toothed cat, Sid the
sloth, Manny and Ellie the mammoths, Crash and Eddie the opossums, Scrat the
saber-toothed squirrel, and many more. We recently were able to get hands-on
with the Xbox 360 iteration to see if the title is translating well to the video
game medium.
With a variety of different characters,
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is set to provide fans of the film franchise
a chance to play as their favorite characters from the film. Players won’t be
able to select their own characters, but instead will be forced to play as
particular characters in individual levels. In one of the featured levels, Scrat,
of course, is trying to retrieve his beloved nut that was stolen by a
pterodactyl-like creature. Throughout the level, players will be using Scrat as
if the game was a platforming title by jumping, crawling, and climbing all over
the environment.
Other various levels that were shown off
included: Sid being chased by a mother Tyrannosaurus Rex avoiding obstacles, Sid
collecting dinosaur eggs in vein of Marble Blast and Buck (a new
character in the film) fighting off mini-carnivorous dinosaurs with a dozen or
so attacks that he comes equipped with. Speaking about Buck (who is voiced by
Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead fame), the latter half of the game is
focused on his exploits in the Ice Age world. Playing as Buck, players
will have to be ready for quick-time events, third-person action sequences as
you shoot projectiles (i.e. mushrooms) at your enemies, riding on the back of
Pachysaurs to stomp and knock down obstacles, and even fly on the top of
pterodactyls to reach new heights.
Not all of the voice-cast will be
represented in the video game as Denis Leary and Simon Pegg both had prior
commitments to attend to. Outside of the two comedians, a majority of the cast
has lent their voices to the video game including: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo,
Josh Peck, and Queen Latifah.
Players will have a few scattered clips from
the film to embrace, but for the majority, the cut-scenes were done with in-game
CGI. Altogether, the visuals aren’t going to blow your mind, but the
environments they have put together – especially Scrat’s – were colorfully
displayed.
For multiplayer levels, which is all offline
based, players are able to select between baby T-rexes and miniature sloths that
were featured in Ice Age: The Meltdown.
Releasing June 30, gamers will have a wide
selection of platforms to play Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs on
including: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Wii and the PC.
