So far in video game history, we have survived alien invasions, rapidly spreading deadly disease, the Joker, and even whole worlds infested with zombies. It seems like, at this point, we have taken on every kind of Earth ending disaster (with a little help from our computers and consoles) and come out on top. Well, get ready folks because there’s a new kind of apocalypse, a DINOclypse! The game developers at Panic Button have recently released a beta version of their project, Dinoclypse. Dinoclypse pits you (“The Commander”) against a myriad of festive dinos in an attempt to defend your home base.
Despite the PC controls, Dinoclypse plays just like an installment in Xbox’s Halo series, only you’re fighting the dinosaurs instead of the Covenant (which kind of look like dinosaurs if you squint hard enough). The game play itself is pretty basic for a third person shooter. The directional keys are set in the standard W A S D form, while your mouse is used to aim and shoot. If your main gaming outlet is a console, you will probably have to turn down the mouse sensitivity, but that is to be expected from any PC shooter. What is a little out of the ordinary is the function of your secondary weapon. With a right click of the mouse, you can release a stasis gas that will stop your enemies dead in their tracks. This can be really helpful in a tricky situation if used correctly but can also trap you in the horde if you’re not careful. Something else that can assist you in your battles are the various turrets structures you have the option of laying down (and can be upgraded throughout the game), though the little ones are no match for the foot of “Big Nasty.” If you combine these elements strategically enough, you can grab the high score.
Just like the infamous Halo games (ok, you caught me, I may be a little bias toward Halo since I used to play for about 4 hours a day, every day) your little dino fighting commando has a convenient radar system, pin pointing each wave of dinosaurs with red dots. Another similarity is the ability to automatically heal if you run away for a little bit. The question: will you be able to escape when you need to? The answer: not always. Once you are surrounded by a pack of raptors, it can be a little difficult to run to safety since occasionally they will come around you in a way that prevents you from moving. Even if you do get caught in a dinosaur mosh pit, you’ll re-spawn pretty quickly after death, though it may put you right back in the pit to die again.
The first thing you’ll notice about Dinoclypse is the strangely adorable and humorous graphics. The main character looks just like one of those futuristic firemen action figures Fisher Price made a few years ago. Better still, the raptors that first attack him are wearing fricken’ top hats and bow ties (and as we know, bow ties are cool)! If that isn’t enough for you, you’ll be glad to know that eventually, you are attacked by a gigantic T-Rex dressed up in a beer helmet with a top hat printed on it! All of the characters are brightly colored with soft, rounded edges damming them to the fate of being pretty cute and cuddly looking, instead of properly terrifying snarling beasts of Jurassic Park.
Dinoclypse is pretty entertaining and I will probably return to it in the future, however, I really think this would make a far more successful arcade game. I could definitely picture it in a full sized arcade unit with Dinoclypse glowing across the top in large, inviting letters. The campy ascetic and horde-like game play could easily convince any mid-20’s mortal to empty their hard earned quarters into a Dinoclypse machine (especially if it’s at a barcade).
If you want to check out Dinocalypse for yourself, visit www.dinothegame.com to download the beta version for free!