Age of Dino is a dinosaur-themed base builder and resource management game that’s part of the Xterio game ecosystem. It borrows elements from the popular Clash of Clans base-building mechanics, but simplifies the combat to straightforward power calculations instead of complex real-time strategies. Let's get into the specifics of Age of Dino before we get into a detailed review.
Gameplay
As explained in our Age of Dino beginner’s guide, the core gameplay involves continuously upgrading your commander's stats and expanding your base. This includes managing the Headquarters, a staple in resource management games. Additionally, there are military buildings where you can train various types of troops for different missions, like gathering resources or launching attacks on other players' bases.
Being a resource management game, Age of Dino incorporates several types of in-game resources such as food, energy, gas, and materials, which are crucial for training troops and upgrading buildings. As a web3 game, it also integrates on-chain assets like the $DAM token (known as TC, or "test coin"), which serves as the main utility currency. Players can use this to purchase exclusive items and resources in the game mall.
During the ongoing Age of Dino playtest, a key factor contributing to its player engagement is the play-to-airdrop campaign. In this campaign, players have the opportunity to earn "DIO points". These points can later be exchanged for Xtero airdrop rewards simply by playing the game. However, it's important to note that the way players earn DIO points differs significantly between NFT holders and non-holders. Primarily, these points are collected through X Crates, which are loot boxes containing various on-chain assets, including DIO points and TC. These crates come in different rarities, influencing the type and amount of assets they contain.
Review
As a mobile game, Age of Dino offers impressively smooth and detailed graphics. The models of dinosaurs, base buildings, and the expansive world map where you deploy troops are all well-designed. The mobile controls are straightforward and simple to use, which makes getting started quite easy. However, as you progress in the game and unlock various buildings and resources, the complexity increases, which might be overwhelming for beginners. The audio and game sounds are also polished and enhance the excitement of gameplay
While playing, I encountered some issues with lag and connectivity, but these were quickly resolved as the game added new servers. The concept of base builders and resource management is not new, having been popularized by Clash of Clans, and while Age of Dino is well-executed, it doesn’t introduce many new elements to the genre.
In terms of replayability, Age of Dino remains engaging as long as you have the resources to continue expanding your base. However, players eventually hit a wall where progressing requires a very large amount of resources or long wait times for building upgrades sometimes taking over a week.
The game’s play-to-airdrop campaign also heavily favors NFT holders. From my experience, this can significantly impact the enjoyment of players who don’t hold NFTs, as it offers substantial advantages to those who do. While I understand that limiting rewards for non-holders can help control inflation and prevent abuse, it does risk alienating casual players who are just trying out the game.
Overall, Age of Dino stands out in web3 mobile gaming with its intuitive gameplay and excellent graphics and sound quality. Although the base builder concept isn’t new, Age of Dino adds a fresh layer with its web3 integration and is certainly worth trying out for those interested in the genre.
