Price: $0.99 Score: 5/10 Category: Entertainment
A novelty purchase if there ever was one, Outfit 7‘s Talking Rex the Dinosaur is a quirky time-killer and not much more. Like a Tamagotchi on acid, Rex is a virtual pet that you can feed, pet, play fetch with, or talk to. Unfortunately, after a few moments you may find yourself longing for a little more out of your iCompanion as his range of interaction is extremely limited.
The premise of Talking Rex is simple: instead of a cuddly dog, cat, or other domesticated animal, users get to interact with a giant T-Rex. By tapping on the screen you can pet Rex or pull his tail. You’re also able to feed him a giant slab of meat, Flintstones style, or play fetch with him by tossing him a giant bone. You can also summon a second Rex for him to play with, albeit briefly. If you’re lonely, you can talk to Rex and he’ll repeat everything you say in a spooky dino-voice, a feature that’s funny at first, but quickly loses its luster when you realize a simple pitch-shifter is creating the illusion. And finally, those interested in sharing their interactions with Rex are able to record and upload videos
To be frank, Talking Rex the Dinosaur is one of those apps that most folks purchase on a whim to play around with for a few moments and never look at again. There are only so many times you can toss a steak or hear your voice repeated in a deep voice before wanting to move on to something a little more interesting.
However, from firsthand experience, I can confirm that if you’re a parent with a bored child, Talking Rex might be your new best friend. My three year-old sat and chatted with Rex for a good hour, asking him questions and giving him orders, oblivious to the fact that Rex was simply repeating the last few words of every sentence. Because of this, I’ve gotten more than a dollar’s worth of value out of Rex. However, if the developers are interested in broadening their audience, they may want to add a few more levels of interaction in a future update.
Bottom Line: Good for a only few moments of entertainment, there are certainly better values for your dollar than Talking Rex the Dinosaur. For kids only.
Talking Rex the Dinosaur is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later