Velocirapture review

When approaching Adult Swim’s latest arcade time-waster, it’s hard not to suspect that the name came first, and the mechanics were then constructed to fit around it. Who cares? Velocirapture’s sugary and simple: a heavenly spin on basketball played with vengeful deities and huge 1950s-styled dinosaurs. It draws you in after your first few taps of the screen, and it’s smart enough to keep things brief, topping off a short campaign with an endless mode and a limited selection of unlockables.

You’re God, then, and it’s Your job to rule over a land of wandering dinos, casting any green ones up into a giant spectral hand that hovers at the centre of the screen, and blasting any reds with swift bolts of lightning. Swipe up to save, swipe down to smite: there’s almost no depth to speak of, but the action’s pacy and delivered with great audio and lovely animations.

Things gradually get a little more challenging, at least, with a combo multiplier to extend by sorting the dinosaurs correctly, while each chapter will also see you unlock new super smites that you can trigger once you’ve harvested enough souls from the deceased. Throw a handful of different enemy behaviours into the mix – some buck other creatures out of the way, some lurk by the goal-mouth and defend – and you’ve got a wonderfully brisk arcade offering with a smirking sense of humour and just enough skin on the bones to earn its keep. [7]