Saturday, December 27, 2008

Dash of Destruction (Xbox 360) Review


In June 2007, Doritos sponsored a contest entitled Unlock Xbox, in which residents of the United States could come up with a video game concept, and if selected, Doritos would hook that person up with independent developer NinjaBee who would create their game as an Xbox LIVE Arcade title. As the slogan goes, "You dream it. We build it." And that's exactly what happened for Mike Borland, who's concept of Dash of Destruction is now a reality.

In Dash of Destruction, available for free via the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, players take control of a T-Rex rampaging around a city trying to eat Doritos Delivery Trucks, or they take on the role of the Delivery Truck trying to make their deliveries while avoiding said T-Rex. Get it? Got it? Good. 'Cause the game itself is no great feet of complexity, but it is a good deal of short term fun and Dash of Destruction's Achievements are ridiculously easy to earn, so much so that the game itself makes several comments to this effect.

Most of the game's Achievements can be earned simply by completing the levels, or by doing things you'll end up doing without even trying, like smashing a lot of buildings as the T-Rex, or by making "X" amount of deliveries as the Delivery Truck.

The controls are straightforward enough: You use the Left Stick to move around, and "A" allows you to lunge as the T-Rex, or gives you a Turbo Boost as the Delivery Truck. Again, all very simple and very easy to get into.

Graphically the game looks good, especially for a free product, and both the T-Rex and Delivery Truck have different skins that are applied as you progress. Borland himself appears in the game, taking on the role of text-based narrator and crazy-scientist-guy, and he upgrades your T-Rex or Delivery Truck with some interesting enhancements, some useful, all a little odd and crazy and fitting well with the game's silly theme.

Really, there's not much more to say about Dash of Destruction. It's a simple, fun, and free Xbox LIVE Arcade experience that's certainly enjoyable and easy for anyone to pick up. It has a fun and crazy concept and you can net several very easy Achievements with it. I say download it and give it a run. You'll likely be done with it in about 20 to 30 minutes, and it won't cost you anything but a little time.

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