The last time Xbox 360 gamers were given a free adver-game it was Yaris. The game is infamous for being one of the worst games on the Arcade, if not the worst game on the hardware. As such, hopes for Dorito’s free Dash of Destruction were limited at best. However, with quirky developer Ninja Bee at the helm, there’s actually a decent, albeit ridiculously short game here.
The concept is a fun one. You control a T-rex or a truck. As the T-rex, you need to munch on the vehicles before they reach their goals. As the truck, you need escape the gaping maw of the dinosaur and pick up Doritos. It’s simple, retro-styled fun, and the advertising isn’t that bad either. During the game, you’d barely know the branding was in there.
Controls are initially tough to adjust turn. The turn radius is fast and acceleration is hard to manage. This goes for both gameplay modes. Once adjusted, or once you gain one of the many powers given to you at the start of the level, it quickly becomes manageable.
Obviously, the T-rex levels offer the most fun. The destruction models as you tear through buildings is actually quite impressive and not a canned animation. Chowing down cars is fun, and when another AI dinosaur joins the fray, even more frantic.
Sadly, the entire experience lasts mere minutes. You could gain all 200 available gamerscore in about 20 minutes tops. There are no extra modes to play through, even though something centered around destroying the city as a dinosaur would have been quite fun. Multi-player is sadly local only, and honestly if this was online, probably would have gained some fame. It’s fun to dodge your friends dinosaurs, or try to catch a vehicle.
It’s hard to complain about something that’s free (unless it’s Yaris). Doritos deserves credit for both reaching out to the community, and for letting Ninja Bee develop something that’s more than playable. You may not spend a lot of time with it, but it’s a fun diversion for the 20 minutes it lasts.
