Insomniac Games Unleashes Bad Dinos on iOS

Ratchet & Clank creator Insomniac Games is continuing its rapid expansion into mobile with the release of Bad Dinos, a tower defense game for iOS devices. Bad Dinos is the third mobile release from Insomniac in as many weeks, following Fruit Fusion and Digit & Dash. In the game, players defend a prehistoric family from dinosaurs across level-based gameplay.

Bad Dinos offers familiar gameplay for the tower defense genre, but includes its own twists. Enemy dinosaurs walk down a path, lined with the towers players manually construct at the beginning of each stage. Gamers need to stop enemies from reaching the family at the end of the path, with levels containing multiple waves of enemies. Thankfully, users have access to powers for changing the tide of battle.

The most interesting power allows users to capture enemy dinosaurs on the brink of death and turn them into powerful allies. Once unleashed, these friendly dinosaurs will walk away from the base, attacking any enemies they come across, until they either die or exit the screen. There’s a size mechanic in place here, as larger dinosaurs will eat smaller ones. As such, players can strategize the kinds and numbers of dinosaurs they capture and unleash in response to the enemies in each wave.

Aside from capturing dinosaurs, players can also unleash aerial attacks on chosen dinosaurs, place a decoy to confuse and reroute enemies, or throw tar onto the path to temporarily slow a group of enemies. All of these powers take time to recharge.

As one might expect, levels become more challenging over time. In addition to stronger dinosaurs coming in later waves, level maps change over time, with additional pathways and enemy entry points to keep track of. Players earn dinosaur bones with each dinosaur they kill, and can spend these to purchase or upgrade towers in response to these changes.

Players receive up to three stars on each stage, relating to their completion of specific goals. While players may receive one star for simply beating the stage, others may challenge players to win without letting a single dinosaur reach the family, or complete the stage in a short amount of time. These stars are used as currency to upgrade the game’s powers.

Brian Hastings, chief creative officer at Insomniac Games, told us:

Like Outernauts, Digit & Dash and Fruit Fusion before it, Bad Dinos evolves a mobile game genre with unique gameplay twists while showcasing our flare for creating games with a vivid art style and humor. We’re also excited to offer Bad Dinos as a premium game without any in-app purchases – players will enjoy a deep and polished Insomniac Games experience for less than $3.

Bad Dinos is now available to download on the iTunes App Store for $2.99.