Good game.
As expected, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs has a number of collectables for you to get your hands on. These include strawberries that generate your health and fruit that you can use in the game's stores. You can use this fruit to buy ammo, health and even minigames. The game also aims to appeal to fans of the movie since you're able to collect color crystals that do things like unlock songs and clips from the movies, concept art, and voice overs. It's a nice touch and one that rewards gamers for collecting the crystals, especially since you can acquire some of these crystals by collecting fruit.
The game's combat engine is fairly simple. The characters have a main attack that's conveniently mapped to its own button though you can make this attack better by combining it with the character's jumping ability. Some characters can throw projectiles, like Buck who has an acorn gun and Sid who can throw snowballs. Fighting isn't the only thing you'll do as the game also has some light puzzles (in addition to the platforming). You'll have to, for example, melt some ice before you go keep going. The game makes use of checkpoints and it's possible that younger gamers will have to repeat certain sections but never to the point of frustration.
Visually, the game looks great though more similar to the first two Ice Age films than the more detailed Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Nonetheless, the characters look great and instantly recognizable from their movie counterparts. The environments aren't incredibly detailed but are sharp, vibrant, and full of color. The game's cutscenes look good, too. The Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game obviously look better than the Wii and PS2 versions thanks to an overall sharper look, better textures and improved lighting. The audio in the game is also well done thanks to excellent voice acting, enhanced by the clever writing.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is very sharp, lighthearted and fun game that will please younger fans of the movie with its varied gameplay, good looks and clever writing. A recommended purchase for fans of the movie.