Review: Xtractaurs
Written on Nov 10, 2009 by Brian and filed under Mattel, Reviews
Mattel showed off Xtractaurs at CES back in January. Now the dinosaurs are available, another entry in Mattel’s line of merged physical and online play set of toys.Xtractaurs combine the offline world of dinosaur play, with an online world filled with adventure games and perhaps most important, the ability to mix and match dinosaur parts to make unique hybrids ready for battle.
Getting Started with Xtractaurs
To get started with Xtractaurs, you need the T-Rex with extractor gun kit. This kit retails for $20, subsequent dinosaurs are $9, but not necessary to start playing (if you just want a test drive; Mattel offers a free 3-day trial of the online service). Of course it’s more fun to have multiple dinos – there’s more to do online and the more the merrier for offline play too. In fact, the nice bonus for offline play is that the heads and tails come off the dinosaurs and can be swapped, take a look at our T-Rex and Ceratops cross-breeds.
Once you open the starter kit, install the software from the included CD. This more or less installs the needed drivers to make the DNA extractor gun work. You’ll go online and create an account, then extract the DNA from your dinosaurs. During this process the tip of the DNA extractor is inserted into your dinosaurs to essentially unlock the dinosaurs and related features in the online world. The DNA gun is engaging while in use, it lights up during the process; kids had fun with the magic of sucking the DNA from the dino and getting it online. Unfortunately the DNA gun serves no other purpose and will probably be relegated to a drawer until you buy another Xtractaur.
The online experience is all Flash-based and runs in a web-browser. We prefer the browser-based experience over installed software, as kids can login to their account from any computer to play the games. The only problems we had were getting the flash movies to load. It appears from the outside that when the servers are busy, the flash movies can hang up, making the online gaming a little bumpy. I’m sure Mattel is monitoring this however and will continue to improve the online infrastructure.
Using Xtractaurs
Some of the most fun is the initial setup of your dinosaur hybrid. Kids can in fact make many and save them, creating different combinations of their “Base DNA,” which are dinosaurs that you’ve bought, with DNA from other dinosaurs. The system gives you another dino to work with, and kids can earn DNA by winning battles and playing adventure games. In our review we had the T-Rex from the starter kit and the Ceratops. We combined those two with DNA from a provided third dinosaur to get started. Once you’ve amassed DNA from the battles, there are probably hundreds of thousands of unique hybrid combinations kids can create.
Hybrid creation screen
Once you’ve saved and named your first hybrid dinosaur, you’re ready for battle. Kids are presented with a world map, where the evil Megavores have run wild. They’ll need to battle both lesser skilled minions and tougher bosses that come in easy, medium and hard levels. With each battle comes points for winning, and special DNA bonuses appear from time to time which can be added to their hybrids.
Xtractaurs battle
During each battle, your hybrid design will dictate the types of attacks that are available. An Xtractaur with a Ceratops head won’t have a bite attack for instance, but he will have head bash. Certain combinations of DNA will also unlock power-ups that will help kids in battle.
Hybrid pen
Aside from the battle games, each Xtractaur unlocks an arcade-like adventure game. Kids can also play five mini-games that can earn them health bonuses in battle. There’s also a gallery of Xtractaur hybrids that have been created by others on the system, and a few other nuggets like “collectible cards” that have profiles and fun facts about the dinosaurs in the game.
There’s a surprising amount to do online. Even if you only bought the starter kit, kids who are into dinosaurs will spend hours online customizing their hybrids, battling and so on. We’re very impressed with the depth of the experience. It’s also pretty easy for kids to handle. We had six-year-olds having a great time on their own, though the intended audience of 8+ will probably get a little more out of the game by being able to read the stories and instructional materials.
Bottom Line
Our complaints list with Xtractuars is outnumbered by compliments at least 10 to 1. Okay, so you can’t swap out the legs on the dinosaur toys and the DNA extractor gun is kind of pointless after you’ve started. However, the online experience is fantastic, and will keep kids engaged for hours. The battle games are fun, and not graphic, so kids can smash dinosaurs, without the needless gore. As an added plus, they get well-built dinosaurs for offline play too, which is fun. This is by far the best meshing of online and offline play we’ve seen, and think any dinosaur loving child will be thrilled with the Xtractaur experience.
Rating – 5 out of 5 Stars – Editor’s Choice
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