Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D (3DS) Review

I’m pretty certain that I’ve never had an desire to play certain Ubisoft franchises when they were first released for the original DS, one of which included the Combat of Giants series. However, with the most recent addition to the series, the imaginatively named “Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D“, I was intrigued to try out the series not only because I was curious as to how they actually work as games but also because it’s a 3DS game, and I was interested to sample as much of the launch line up as possible. It almost seems like a game that could be amazing no matter what – a fighting game where you play as different dinosaurs, however, like the old arcade fighter Primal Rage taught us, things are not always a certainty when it comes to dinosaurs. Read on to find out where Dinosaurs 3D falls flat.

I was actually surprised to find that Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D actually had storyline, although it doesn’t really make sense either. The Arkosaurus, a beast of a dinosaur who was previously bound in place by four ancient beings is somehow threatening to cause extinction to the dinosaur race. It’s up to a group of “rogue” dinosaurs to destroy the Arkosaurus and ensure that they do not become extinct and forever forgotten. Yes, as we said, it’s a pretty weak story and it serves little purpose other than to loosely push the game along. If it wasn’t there, things wouldn’t be any worse, so that probably gives you an idea of how much bearing it has on the overall experience.

Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is actually a fairly decent looking game however, with some nicely modelled environments, brilliant animations of the dinosaurs themselves and even some gorgeous looking vistas in some of the more open areas. In particular, each of the dinosaurs moves differently and as you would expect them to, which the developers must be commended for. Certain parts of the environment are destructible, including piles of rocks and twigs throughout that give your dinosaur a real sense of power. The 3D effect is not used heavily in this title, with only a few pieces of the environment “sticking out” and properly utilising it. One element of the 3D graphics, however, was the back of the dinosaurs themselves, with some dinosaurs’ tails appearing to actually penetrate outwards towards the screen, which was quite a nice effect. Of course, the menus and user interface overlays the gameplay perfectly with the 3D activated. We can also confirm that performance does not change whether 3D is activated or not.

In terms of general gameplay, Dinosaurs 3D is pretty much Punch-Out!! but with dinosaurs added. Players will move their dinosaur across a very linear stage (with the Circle Pad, which works like a charm) until they reach an enemy, and then a Punch-Out!!-esque battle ensues. Essentially, players must wait for the enemy to attack, dodge to the left or right, and then land a counter attack to deal proper damage. This sounds great on paper, but Dinosaurs 3D is abysmally easy to play. There were times where I didn’t even need to dodge; just mashing the attack buttons would create this endless stun loop that would mean enemies would die without any chance to retaliate. It is extremely easy, and this distinct lack of challenge means that there’s little interest held to continue playing beyond the first hour. There are a few other ways to defeat enemies, such as pushing them off the edge of a cliff; as well as natural disasters that mix things up a bit, but these elements are all very superficial.

Dinosaurs 3D also utilises a very light RPG style system to track character progression, with each enemy dropping items that can enhance power of attacks as well as enhance their super “Dino Attack” moves. These come in the form of various scales, horns and talons, however it’s a bit of a shame not to see these equipped items reflected on the player model, which would’ve made creating our own bad ass dinosaur a lot more interesting. For now, players can unlock “Special Outfits” or instead just change the pattern of stripes and colours of their dinosaur.

There’s not a whole lot to do either, with each mini-campaign (there’s four of them) taking about an hour to complete. This would usually not be a problem, but most of these campaigns are carbon copies and it’s pretty hard to muster up the enthusiasm to play this game through three more times after completing it once. The game doesn’t feature any proper multiplayer either, which is a bit of a downer considering how well suited this game would be for it; instead players can trade items locally. Fortunately, there is the use of the StreetPass, which when activated searches for people with the same game. If their dinosaur is of the same species, players will receive a new item upon their next session. If they’re different, the dinosaurs will battle and the winner will be awarded an item. It’s a nice touch but it’s a little bit of a meagre offering – I’m sure anyone would’ve preferred a proper multiplayer component.

There is a good set of musical pieces throughout Dinosaurs 3D, however many of them will seem quite repetitive after the first thirty minutes, as there isn’t a whole lot of variety. Still, the pieces that are available are notably epic enough for the battles, and the ambient sound effects suit the roaming segments of the gameplay quite well. Dinosaurs themselves sound pretty accurate, though I must admit my only comparison I have is multiple viewings of Jurassic Park.

Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is a game that I would be very hesitant to recommend to anyone over the age of 12, which is a shame because the concept is such a good one and I hear previous titles in the series have much more depth to them than this one does. Could this have just been a casualty of the launch line up rush out? Still, I’m almost certain we haven’t seen the last of this franchise yet and with the right tweaks, it may actually become something a little bit more substantial. Grab it if you or your child is a huge dinosaur fan, but don’t expect anything challenging.

Graphics 8.0

Very nice environments and brilliant dinosaur animations. 3D effect is subtle but very noticeable, and adds a little bit of immersion to the game.

Gameplay 5.5

Extremely linear roaming sequences coupled with unimaginative and very easy battle sequences makes Dinosaurs 3D a little bit disappointing. RPG elements are nice but also poorly implemented. Dont expect a huge challenge either. StreetPass functionality is nice but superficial.

Sound 6.0

Some very nice and suitably epic tracks throughout, although there arent enough to make the repetition not noticeable. Roars and ambient sounds are well done, though.

Tilt 4.0

Its a little bit clear that this title wouldve been rushed out, with a copy and pasted campaign that players will have to complete four times to get the full story. No multiplayer seems like a huge letdown, too. A nice variety of dinosaurs, though.

Value 7.0

I must admit that despite not looking forward to playing this game, I did have quite a bit of fun in the opening hours, and I am not too ignorant to admit that this concept is one that could be truly great. Its just a shame the lack of substantial content lets me down quite a bit.