Sometime in the earl nineties a bloke named James Gurney had a dream. He dreamt of an island in which people and Dinosaurs lived in harmony. A land untouched by the pollutants of the modern industry, the intricacies of contemporary society, or the logic of Charles Darwin. A land where glowing crystals are potent forces and men ride the backs of pterodactyls. Where brontosaurs wear funny hats, greet men with expressions like "Breath deep, find peace” without the benefit of vocal chords, and work door-handles without opposable thumbs or a cerebellum larger than a pea. It was a world which was explored first in graphic novels and fantasy fiction, then in a series of Hallmark movies, and now... as a video game.

To be fair, though it's an easy concept to deride, its seems to have struck a chord with the younger audience. Presumably it is this younger audience that are the target market for the game Dinotopia: The Sunstone Odyssey, because anyone but a younger player or die-hard Dinotopia fan would struggle to find this title remotely enjoyable.

The game is a third person action adventure in which you play as Drake Gemini, a cross between Luke Skywalker and Ground's Keeper Willie, who must adopt the mantle of "Guardian of Dinotopia” and save the island from a band of genocidal sociopaths, the Outsiders, hell bent on destroying the harmony which exists between humans and dinosaurs.

Gameplay is unfortunately relentlessly linear: (1) receive mission in a dull fmv sequence at point A; (2) run a predetermine course, flattening all obstacles in your way; (3) complete mission by arriving at point B and maybe killing a Boss monster; (4) repeat, then repeat some more. There is no open exploration, no more than one method of completing a mission, no open environments or (significantly) alternate routes through levels. There's only one path from A to B, which is bordered by impassable cliff faces, hills, village walls, etcetera.

In addition to the main missions, Drake is occasionally offered peripheral tasks which can be completed for reward. Unfortunately these tasks are very uninspired; they usually involve finding an object (or two) which is strewn along your path; the only challenge is to kill the bad-guy holding the object, or finding it hidden behind a bush. Worse, though, is that the nature of the tasks borders on the ridiculous and occasionally even demeaning: find a few apples so that a citizen can bake a pie? find a doll which was stolen by the bad-arse Outsider? Doesn't the Guardian of Dinotopia have more important things to do? Far from adding intrigue or depth to the game, these tasks actually detract from its already limited appeal.

As the game progresses Drake acquires magical items and experience points, a feature of Dinototpia which may, if they had been properly developed, have given the game a role-playing flavor which may have helped to excuse the thin plot and linear missions. Sadly, this aspect is as undeveloped as the rest of the title; the magical items are usually only pieces of amour or minor weapon modifications, while the accumulation of experience points only results in the awarding of a new combo move. There is no opportunity to customize Drake, and while the items and combo moves do add to the fun of combat, they do nothing for the overall depth of the game.

That said, combat is the one bright point. There are two projectile weapons at Drake's disposal – essentially a stun and a fragmentary grenade -- but his primary implement is a mace, sporting one of four interchangeable heads. These heads, each with a unique special power, are awarded progressively as the game proceeds and are increasingly more powerful and damaging. With the combo moves, the special powers, and the ability to block and dodge attacks, combat almost develops into a sophisticated experience with even some strategic potential. I say almost, because ultimately it's a let down by simple A.I. Unless you're very enthusiastic, for the most part you'll probably resort to mashing buttons. It may not look as cool or be as fun, but its easier and just as effective.

The graphics are low polygon affairs which look about 4 years out of date. The textures are repetitive, the lighting bland, and the models have absolutely no character. On the bright side, the animations are pretty smooth. And there'll be the occasional graphic highlight, such as a brontosaurs munching leaves at the top of a tree; not exactly triumphant but its pretty cool nonetheless.

The environmental sounds were serviceable, and the music was okay if you're into new age Celtic elevator music. But the voice acting and dialogue is cringingly lame at times. For example, an annoying character – with the voice of an eccentric yankee gold-prospector – repeatedly pops up, offering to give you something from his "sack” and personally, I think the contents of that, and this game are best left untouched.