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Hands-on Review: ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ for iPhone

Categories: Applications, Reviews
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 4:59 PM

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Sometimes you know when you are going to get a quality iPhone gaming experience, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs  was no exception – developed by and Two Tribes (and distributed by Chillingo) for Fox Mobile Entertainment, this game oozes quality! In case you were wondering what the game is about:

In Scrat’s new iPhone adventure, life is not looking any easier, but at least this time he has you to lend him a helping hand. Set across four perilous and puzzle-filled zones — including ice caves, snow, mist-filled caves, and jungle — Scrat pursues delicious acorns as players use a revolutionary on-screen control system to direct him to his goal.

In Scrat’s new iPhone adventure, life is not looking any easier, but at least this time he has you to lend him a helping hand. Set across four perilous and puzzle-filled zones — including ice caves, snow, mist-filled caves, and jungle — Scrat pursues delicious acorns as players use a revolutionary on-screen control system to direct him to his goal.

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So on to the important thing – how did the developers fare in converting a platformer/puzzle game to iphone controls (touchscreen)? Well, pretty good actually – the game employs a point-and-direct system, where Scrat will move to the location you point to. It’s actually surprisingly easy on the fingers, since you don’t need to change direction constantly with button presses, merely tap near the end-goal for that given movement. Animation is also well done, and I have to say the music is amongst the best I’ve come across for any iPhone game recently – very atmospheric!
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The first few levels are spent teaching you the ‘Way of the Scrat’, which involves jumping on things, pushing/pulling things, and overall all a lot about collecting nuts! Simple you might think, but this platform-puzzler has devious ways of making you work for those nuts – and as the levels go on, things get more and more difficult.
Overall it’s an enjoyable yomp through levels that combine great graphics and design, with a control system that does work well on the iPhone – if you have had some stinkers recently when downloading games, give this one a spin – it’s well worth a go!

Search for ‘ice age’ in the App Store – cost £2.99 (UK)
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About The Author

Ben Robinson

Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.