Return of The Dinosaur

Return of The Dinosaur is a video game in the educational genre developed by Leisuresoft and published by Leisuresoft originally released in 1988. It is currently playable on DOS.

Return of The Dinosaur is a fun, detective-style board game designed to teach children facts about their favorite animals of all time.

The premise is that your hometown is suddenly invaded by dinosaurs, thanks to the malfunction of Professor T. Rex's time transporter. You have four days to find and return each dinosaur to its proper place and period in the Mesozoic era. The game, which is in real time, consists of going to various locations on the map to find clues. You need three elements to be able to return each dinosaur: its name, place and period. The game contains an excellent online dinosaur database called 'Dino Filer', with information on dozens of dinosaurs. The Dino Filer can also be used separately, from the game's main menu, in case you want to read up on any obscure species. As in real life, your two main concerns are food and money. You need to eat 3 times a day, every day, so you must plan your journey carefully so as not to lose more time to hunger. This requirement, while perhaps realistic, detracts from the game itself, as it has nothing to do with the gameplay.

You will also need money to buy most of the items in the game (many of which are needed for the tracks), as well as to pay for the bus or cab in case you run out of time. You can earn money by correctly answering dinosaur trivia questions in the DINO COLUMN newspaper, or by taking a part-time job or collecting a cash bonus (these two are random). Once you know the answer, you'll use the Time Transporter to bring the dinosaur home and watch it appear in all its CGA glory. The game has four levels, each one more difficult than the last. Unfortunately, the hints also get more obscure, and you'll struggle to match one item in your inventory to another. There is a hint function ('¿?' button), though using it will cost you precious money.

Overall, Return of The Dinosaur is a well-conceived dinosaur detective game that should please dinosaur lovers of all ages, despite a cumbersome interface (you have to walk to each building, the entrance to which may not be obvious) and dated CGA graphics. Online instructions and hints help keep the frustration level down, despite all the illogical clues. If you have a resident dinophile in your house, this is a good game for him/her.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.