Dino D-Day

Dino D-Day is a multiplayer team-based first-person shooter video game developed by American studios 800 North and Digital Ranch. It was released for Microsoft Windows on April 8, 2011.[1]

Dino D-Day
Promotional cover art featuring the Axis Panzer Styracosaurus
Developer(s)800 North
Digital Ranch[1]
EngineSource Engine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseApril 8, 2011[1]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Multiplayer

The premise of the game is that during World War II, Adolf Hitler found a way to resurrect dinosaurs for use in the war effort. Players can battle online choosing to serve either the Allied nations or Nazis.[1][2] The game was described as a new twist on "the overdone World War II FPS [...] that has become a running joke in the industry and gaming press".[3]

Gameplay
The Allied team fights against a Tyrannosaurus rex

Dino D-Day is a first-person shooter where players join one of two teams of other players as they attempt to complete their goal. Players have the choice between the Allied nations or the Axis powers, the latter represented by the Nazis and their dinosaur soldiers.[1][2] Upon the game's initial release, both the Allies and the Axis had six different classes of soldier. The Allied classes range from assault troops, medics and heavy support. However, the Axis have three human and three dinosaur classes. The human classes comprise assault troops, snipers, and medics; while the dinosaurs comprise an attack Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus, and a Desmatosuchus with a cannon mounted on its back. Additional classes were added to both teams at later dates bringing the total to seven classes for the Allies and nine for the Axis. The Allies gained a dinosaur class of their own, a Protoceratops with a mounted machine gun. The Axis gained a Stygimoloch with a mounted gun, a Compsognathus that acts as a kamikaze bomber with a grenade and a flying Microraptor. In certain maps, an Axis player can also be chosen at random to play as a Tyrannosaurus with a jaw-mounted machine gun. While powerful, the class counts as three kills in a team deathmatch.[1]

The initial release consisted of five maps and three game modes that included: team deathmatch, where players must reach a set number of killed enemy players; king of the hill, where teams fight for control of a section of a map; and objective mode, where players are given specific goals to capture including a Fortress Objective where one Axis player takes control of a Styracosaurus with a Panzer IV turret mounted on its back and with his team must make it to their objective point while the allies must stop it with explosives.[1]

Development

Dino D-Day was originally a mod released in 2009 for the popular Valve game Half Life 2.[4] It was later released as a stand-alone game on April 11, 2011.[1] It has since had many free content updates adding new maps, characters, and bug fixes,[5] the latest of which was released on July 16, 2017 adding a new map and multiple fixes.[6]

On September 29, 2014, the Last Stand DLC was released. It could be purchased for an extra charge and added new playable dinosaurs, two new maps, an upgrade system, and co-op survival gameplay.[7]

Reception

Upon release, Dino D-Day met with mixed reviews. The game's controls and graphics were universally singled out as being disappointing and problematic, with the website IGN describing it as "a class-based quagmire."[9] Despite complaints regarding balance and playability, the art direction and alternate history setting were praised. Some also noted the game's sense of humour as a positive.[9]

Additionally, critics on Metacritic gave the game average reviews, with PC PowerPlay saying the game had "amateur execution" and PC Gamer saying the game was "Like a dinosaur skeleton in your local museum, [...] barebones, missing some pieces, and ancient-looking."[8]

In other media

In 2013, Icehouse Animation announced that it would produce a Dino D-Day animated series, and named Tommy Blacha as a writer for the show.[10] The series has not been released.

On January 9, 2015, the first issue of the Dino D-Day comic was released.[11] It tells the origin story of Jack Hardgrave and Nigel Blythe-Crossley as they attempt to uncover Hitler's dinosaur project hidden in a Nazi submarine base.[11] No further issues have been published.

See also

References
  1. "Steam: Dino D-Day". Valve. Archived from the original on 2011-04-01. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  2. "Dino D-Day beta and coming to Steam". GameConnect. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  3. "Dino D-Day: The Best World War II Shooter Ever". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  4. "Dino D-Day". moddb. Archived from the original on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  5. "News - All News". Valve. Archived from the original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  6. "Dino D-Day Update!". Valve. Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  7. "Dino D-Day: Last Stand DLC". Valve. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  8. "Dino D-Day for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  9. "Dino D-Day Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2018-04-06. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  10. Marc Graser (25 April 2013). "'Dino D-Day' Game Roars as Animated Series". Variety. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  11. "Dino D-Day Comic - Issue #1". Valve. Archived from the original on 2017-12-25. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
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