In PRDT you must control the Red, Yellow, Blue, and Black Ranger as they combat the evil Mesogog, with the help of giant mechanized dinosaurs known as Zords.  The game is presented in the typical licensed game/platformer style of play, with the single difference being that the gamer has the ability to switch between various Zords at will.  Each Zord, representing a different dinosaur, has their own special attacks and abilities, but in practice, there isn’t a whole lot to differentiate one Zord from the next, beyond their look.  The differences between the Zords will be familiar to anyone who’s ever played any game that offers multiple characters to control.  Some have lighter armor, but are capable of moving faster, while others conversely have heavy armor and move slower.  And of course, there is the obligatory middle of the road characters that fall in the center of the two extremes.  Pretty standard mechanics and sensibilities.  From there you’ll traverse nine different worlds (3 bonus worlds) that cover roughly fifty different missions.  While completing missions, you’ll be asked to dispatch Mesogog’s minions, as you collect several different collectibles and or power ups, and solve simplistic puzzles.  The puzzles seem to revolve mostly around using the special attack of a specific Zord to clear an obstacle or switching to a Zord more adept at reaching higher ground.

Unfortunately, this is where the game derives a lot of its troubles.  Gamers will feel as if they are constantly completing the same missions over and over, albeit with a different Zord in different surroundings, across all fifty plus missions.  While this game was no doubt created to cater to the young gamer, I’m not sure whether most of them will be kept entertained long enough to see themselves through very many of the missions.  Speaking of the missions, while fifty plus missions sounds pretty impressive, most of them will take even the most novice of gamers no more than a handful of minutes to complete.  Another problem the game suffers from is that controlling the Zords, feels no different than controlling a human sized character in any other game.  When controlling dinosaur shaped and sized robots you can’t help but to expect the sense of controlling something huge, powerful, and with hefty weight, but the Zords feel light, insignificant, and almost floaty.  The other aspect that most gamers would expect from controlling massive robots, especially in the midst of environmental features much smaller and more fragile than you, is the ability to destroy or at least damage something, anything, besides enemies, but alas, you can’t.  Finally, the collectibles in the game feel almost like an afterthought, and all, save for just a couple, are hardly worth the effort of collecting.  For example, you can collect 100 Dino Bolts to replenish your Zords health, or you can pick up Power Cells that restore power much quicker and are dropped by every enemy you defeat.  Beyond that, there are various other items, which unlock new Zords and worlds, of which neither can be used in the main game.  These extras are saved for the Power Games, which is a collection of simple bonus games.  The only collectible besides the Power Cells worth your attention is the Dino Claw, which allows your Zord to pull off its special attack, vital for progressing past some obstacles.

Now, for anyone that’s read any of my recent reviews of licensed games knows that I’ve been both impressed and appreciative of the obvious love and effort that’s been poured into recreating the characters, worlds, and environments of the licenses.  Unfortunately, PRDT takes a step back in that regard.  It’s not that they’re horrible or suffer from debilitating technical problems; it’s just that they’re very bland and sparse.  The Zords themselves are suitably colorful, but they look almost out of place in the barren environments they find themselves in.  There’s just not any life to the worlds.  Their animations are pretty good and some of their attacks are flashy, but any given time, your Zord is only one small part of the screen you’re looking at.  The enemies also suffer from the same fate as the backgrounds, blending right into their surroundings all too often.  On the whole, there’s just not enough detail and polish to stand up against other games in this genre, which seem to be raising the bar on a consistent basis as of late.

Thankfully the sound of the game fares much better.  Not being familiar with the license itself, I have no idea if the voice actors from the show are used, but they do a good job of delivering their lines, with the same over the top emotion and cheese that seems to be hallmarks of the series.  The sound effects are pretty standard, but effective, with various grunts, groans, and explosions.  The one aspect that I would’ve liked to see done a little better is the sound the Zords make as they move.  Once again it goes back to what gamers expect from controlling giant robots, we expect thunderous, ground shaking footfalls, which sadly we don’t get.  Something as simple as ramping up the sounds the Zords make as they move would have solved not only this problem, but also part of the problem I spoke of earlier when I said that it doesn’t feel as if you are controlling a massive robot.

In closing, while it suffers from a fair amount of problems, it is by no means an awful game.  It’s obvious that the developer intended this game for the very young, inexperienced gamer and it will probably appeal to the diehard fans of the show that fall into that category.  But sadly, for the show’s older fans that have become accomplished gamers in their own right, this game will not hold their attention for long.  So, if you’re a parent of a young gamer that lives, breathes, and eats Power Rangers, that has trouble keeping up with an older brother or sis’s gaming, then this game would probably make a great purchase for your budding gamer. 

Gameplay: 5.5
Very, very simple with very little variety.  There’s just not enough here to keep the attention of anyone, but the newest of gamers who just happen to be Power Ranger fanatics.  What is here, works and doesn’t become frustrating, it’s just on the under-whelming side of things.

Graphics: 5.0 
Bland and devoid of detail.  The Zords look nice, but at times they kind of reminded me of the old Colorforms some of us old timers used to amuse ourselves with as kids in the way that they stick out from everything else and never seem to quite fit in with the background.  

Sound: 6.0
The voice acting is pretty good and I’m sure the dialogue is probably in line with what is offered on the show.  The rest of the sound is pretty basic, but functional.

Difficulty: Easy
This game is very easy, which should appeal to the target audience.  For anyone else, there’s just not any challenge.   

Concept: 5.0
Licensed games are getting better and better all of the time, excelling in capturing the look, mood, and feel of the license, while presenting compelling gameplay.  Developers who did not take this into consideration do so at their own peril.

Overall: 5.3
While it doesn’t stand up favorably against most of the licensed games currently available, it’s not a failure by any means.  Young fans of the show, and their parents will appreciate the simplistic gameplay that allows the kids to actively interact with their favorite characters.  A good entry level game for the beginners, but anyone else should probably take a pass, but then again, at a budget price, older, complete diehard fans, may want to take a chance.