The Dino Killing Simulator: John's verdict
Orion: Dino Horde is a multiplayer FPS currently available on Steam for £11.99. The game’s main aim is to co-operate with your team mates while you fend off hordes of vicious dinosaurs. While the low score of 36 on Metacritic, which was actually for Dino Beatdown (the previous iteration of this game
Dino Horde is possibly the best FPS I have played, and if not the best, it certainly ranks high on the list. The game rose from the ashes of Dino Beatdown and has carried the reviews forward on Metacritic, but since its rebirth as Dino Horde it is unrecognisable. I considered getting Beatdown when it first launched, but opted not to as it appeared to be a good concept that been poorly made. However, it has had so much new content added, so many bugs fixed, that while I was sceptical at first, I was immediately convinced. Apart from the obvious thrill of fighting off dinosaurs, which can be so intense you completely forget the downside of trying to kill the more annoying and challenging dinosaurs (the small ones or the flying ones), there are multiple PvP game modes. My first ever PvP kill earned me the achievement for killing a developer, which is about the best luck I’ve ever had in a game, since there’s a good number playing (it wasn’t just me and the devs, honest!). There is a Gun Game mode (at which I demolished an inexperienced opponent, who I shall call C, in a 1v1 match) along with Team and Free-for-all Duels, and King of the Hill (which I also won handsomely against C). There is also the Conquest mode, which is essentially an extended Survival mode, except you can buy your tanks (did I mention the tanks? You can kill dinosaurs in a tank. On a number of awesome landscapes. Just mind the rocks or you get stuck!) and it is a much longer mode. Considering that this game is made by a team absolutely dedicated to making it the best it can be - even to the point of adding another game worth of content in Autumn as it becomes Orion: Prelude, the game it was always meant to be - it is absolutely worth every penny, because you are investing in the future of excellent developers.
