Velocirapture Review

Suppose the bible were a relic from our Mesozoic prehistory and the Rapture described an event long past. Now imagine being the Hand of God in the final days of the dinosaurs picking out those whose souls are pure and smiting those bound for hotter climes. Sounds plausible and reasonably fun right? Well, good, 'cause it’s the premise behind PikPok and Adult Swim’s latest co-venture, Velocirapture. It’s really just a flick game like Paper Toss, but with great graphics, a funny premise, and a few special deity powers to keep things interesting.

Story mode is level-based and set in locations pulled from the lost scripts of The Flintstones like Seattlodactyl and Brontario. In each are 10 challenges where players have to flick the good green dinosaurs into the big Hand of God that serves as a goal, while smiting the red ones with lightening or, as they are unlocked, super smites. There is a Glory meter, where combos add and missing the goal, or sending up a fiery beast to singe God’s palm cost Glory. Run out and it’s game over.

At first the dinosaurs are rather docile, regardless of where they are headed, but soon new species are introduced. We meet them first in their good forms as they fly, bounce, or zip by, and shortly thereafter their evil doppelgangers get into the act complicating gameplay. With flyers blocking the goal, bullies scaring off the innocent and speed demons stealing God’s chosen before he can get to them, it gets harder to build combos and clear levels.

There are unlockables that help. Players can earn super smites by completing worlds. They come in three varieties my favortie of which is the Holy Hose. They are then charged by players collecting the released souls of smited (smote?) dinos with a tap and give players a few seconds grace time to refill the glory meter and rack up big combos.

Velocirapture also has an endless mode. Mt. Fossilmore, the first world, is open at the start and the others are unlocked by accumulating high scores.

The graphics are innocently ironic and highly polished. The soundtrack and effects are pulled right out of a campy horror movies from the 50’s. But, the game isn’t very deep or very long. I was able to complete Story mode in one sitting earning three golden eggs on almost every run, and unlocked all the endless worlds later the same night. And, having done so I can see myself burning a minute with the game waiting in a line or something, but there really isn’t much replay value.

Velocirapture doesn’t have the addictive element that other Adult Swim/PikPok games like Monsters Ate My Condo or Chuck Darwin’s Extinction Squad have, but for a summer pick-up-and-play title the good looks, great sounds and solid gameplay are worth the $.99.