Disney's Dinosaur

Overall: B-
Violence: B+
Sexual Content: A
Language: A
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: Sony Playstation
Publisher: UbiSoft
ESRB rating: E

If you've seen the movie, you're familiar with the story... A hungry Oviraptor discovers an orphaned Iguanodon egg, but before the agile egg-eater can pause to enjoy the snack, a Pteranodon snatches it and embarks on a lengthy flight over land and sea. The trip comes to an abrupt conclusion when the Pteranodon loosens its grip, sending the egg tumbling to the ground. But hey, this is the wonderful world of Disney, so instead of ending up scrambled, it comes to a safe landing courtesy of some well-placed vegetation. Witnessing the event is a curious family of Lemurs who become even more enamored when the egg hatches a newborn Iguanodon (the lone dinosaur on the island). Mama Lemur convinces Dad that a baby can't raise itself, so they add an adopted son to their family and name him Aladar.

Disney's Dinosaur by UbiSoft puts you at the controls of Aladar, Zini (Aladar's best friend and adopted Lemur brother), and Flia (a friendly female Pteranodon). The adventure begins on an Island Paradise where you practice the skills inherent to each character. From here you will move on to a Strange New World and ten other levels that are stitched together by clips from the original movie.

At the beginning of each level your team will be presented with specific tasks, which must be completed prior to advancing. Some of these objectives include searching for older, slow moving dinosaurs left behind to fend for themselves; helping these newfound friends catch up to the migrating herd; finding water in a dry lake bed; and overcoming various obstacles preventing the rag-tag group from reaching the nesting grounds. You'll have to deal with Kron and Bruton--two dinosaurs that don't take kindly to Aladar's "evolutionary" ideas; and Neera, the female Iguanodon love interest--torn between her feelings for Aladar and her "cold-hearted" brother. And don't forget, this is the Cretaceous period; a time when "fast food" was introduced--so Aladar (best known for his tail-whacks and thunder-stomps), Flia (with her aerial reconnaissance expertise), and Zini (gold medallist in rock throwing and spin kicking) will often be required to combine efforts in overcoming Carnotaurs and Velociraptors looking for a full meal deal. Parents should be aware that although the only way to dispose of hungry enemies is to kill them, the process happens in a non-explicit manner (by simply falling over when their strength reaches zero).

While playing the game along with my 18-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, I came to the conclusion that due to its basic polygonal graphics and simplistic gameplay, the virtual world of Disney's Dinosaur will most likely appeal to pre-teen youngsters who already have an interest in dinosaur related topics (they're also more apt to forgive things like Aladar being stuck in an infinite thunder-stomp loop). And as long as parents don't mind being an active part of the Disney marketing machine, they shouldn't have any qualms about permitting their children to play with these prehistoric creatures.

Besides, next time someone asks why the dinosaur egg crossed the ocean... you'll know the answer.

Jim Fleming

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