Review: Dash Of Destruction (360)

The premise is very simple and straightforward. You can take control of a Doritos delivery van and attempt to make those essential drop-offs across the city map. Thankfully there is little traffic to be concerned about, however the biggest fan of Doritos seems to be an angry (and always hungry) Tyrannosaurus Rex. This beast will charge across the city in pursuit of the van, crashing through buildings and stomping anything that gets in its way.

Why there is a Tyrannosaurus Rex on the loose is never quite explained, however the dinosaur moves with grace and precision and proves to be a worthy opponent. There are only a handful of maps and these fail to achieve much variety. If anything they only introduce more environmental hazards such as water or parks, and these surfaces will slow down the track or prove to be a barrier. For the van its best to stick on tarmac, although boost and a snowplough front prove useful during the latter maps as the debry builds up.

Dash of Destruction does not offer much variety, only introducing another rival van driver to compete against in a race to victory. A twist is included allowing you to become the Rex and therefore the purserer, plus engaging in some Rampage style destruction. A rival dinosaur is also introduced to provide some competition on the van munching. The game play is fast but never furious, slightly reminicent to the PS3 downloadable title Calling All Cars, but lacking the gloss or depth of that release.

As a free game it is hard to criticise Dash of Destruction, as for many it will be a quick pitstop and an easy opportunity to pick up some achievement points. Gamestyle completed both the Rex and Van options in one quick sitting without too much trouble. Apart from the issue of spawning points that are often too near neighbouring dinosaurs, there is little here to annoy. Visually it was never going to rival some of the more expensive releases so the presentation and graphics met our initial expectations.

NinjaBee have also included a local multiplayer mode, which is beyond the call of duty for a free game in our book.  The mode caters for two styles of game across the maps in the single player mode. Overall Dash of Destruction is a pleasant enough detor that for younger gamers may prove to be more entertaining. The product placement is never over the top and for some this may be a safe option as their first tentative steps into the world of Xbox Live Arcade.

Rating: 4 / 10

Words by Jason Julier