65 million years have passed since the last dinosaur roamed the surface of planet Earth, though they are hip to the times nonetheless. DinoSmash Online resurrects the beasts of prehistory for multiplayer mayhem that proves decent online competition is possible on iPhone.
At first glance, DinoSmash Online is an unadorned, average-looking affair. The characters are quite small and the levels are more functional than interesting. The environments consist of multi-level platforms that serve as something of a vertical maze.
That’s not to say that the wee homicidal dinosaurs that roam the platforms aren’t well drawn - quite the opposite - but their world is one of function over fashion.
Your dino’s movements are handled through an efficient, rotating D-pad in the bottom-left. Your on-screen gun follows the arc of the controller as you roll it around the circumference (taking care of aiming, as much as movement).
A fire button is accompanied by a jump button and, most interestingly, a grappling hook. This latter function fires out a grappler in the direction you’re currently aiming, attaching itself to walls and platforms for you to ascend to upper levels and to swing from. The whole control system is basic, yet efficient and serviceable.
Several different game modes are supported: Deathmatch, Capture-the-Flag and Team Deathmatch. While basic, this staple diet of multiplayer gaming keeps DinoSmash Online simple enough to ensure uncomplicated play and a solid technical performance.
With a reasonable wi-fi connection or a good 3G, DinoSmash Online moves at a fair old lick while playing online. Those well-armed dinosaurs really shift about the screen looking for noobs to slay and flags to pinch. A melee weapon is also included for close quarters combat, while lots of diverse armaments are scattered about the levels to add a bit of high-powered fizz to the action.
The matchmaking system is just as efficient as the rest of the game’s design, allowing you to either select which game mode you want to play or to browse the currently available games and join whichever takes your fancy. It’s pretty much as quick as loading up any iPhone game - an impressive feat.
The clever stereo system helps immensely in locating your enemies, which is impressive given the stereo set up.
Although the purpose of DinoSmash Online is clearly one of connected multiplayer action, an offline mode would still be a welcome gesture. Without a half-decent internet connection, the game is rendered useless.
A single player offline mode could provide a way to enjoy the addictive, quirky gameplay, not to mention helping you to hone your skills for the Battle Royale later on. Such a gift would be especially useful for iPod touch users.
The game is an undeniable bargain nonetheless, and it wouldn’t be at all reasonable to dock DinoSmash Online any points for not including a single player mode.
All in all DinoSmash Online is a reasonable shooter, made all the more fun by the inherent chaos of online battle. It packs in pretty much all the gameplay of any online multiplayer shooter, stripped back to its visual necessities to ensure a super-slick playing speed.
DinoSmash Online
Provides as fast and entertaining online iPhone multiplayer as we’ve yet seen, but holds itself back a little due to the lack of offline play
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.