Jurassic Park
Sega Genesis
Jurassic Park was a big deal when I was a kid. I saw it over summer break when I was 10 or 11 years old. The movie completely blew me away as no other movie had ever done before. After seeing it I constantly had Jurassic Park on the brain. I got the toys, the clothes. I even managed to convince my parents to get me the book. When school resumed, this was the first question everyone would ask each other: "Did you see Jurassic Park?"
It was a no-brainer that there would be a video game adaptation of the movie, and is it turns out, there have been several. Some good, some not so good. But as a proud Genesis owner back in the early 90's, there was no question in my mind. I was getting the game. Even if I had heard it was terrible, I was going to get it. I loved Jurassic Park that much.
I had been following the game's production very closely. I subscribed to several video game magazines back then, and I basically wore out the pages reading the articles on this game over and over again. I was so excited. Not only did it look amazing, but you got to play the game in two separate ways. As Dr Grant, and as a velociraptor. I was totally sold.
When I finally did get the game, I played it religiously. I explored every nook and cranny of the game with both Dr Grant and as the raptor. No stone was left unturned. I could probably beat the game in my sleep. I was an unquestioned Jurassic Park expert. Even though the game is pretty short and relatively easy - I still managed to find a way to maximize my time with the game and to stretch out the experience for as long as humanly possible.
Eventually, of course, I ended up getting new games. Jurassic Park was pushed to the background. I think I either traded my copy in or gave it away. It didn't matter to me back then - I'd played the game so much I didn't think I would ever have the desire to play it again.
Twenty some years later, the desire returned. But I had traded away my copy and had no way to play it. I always looked for it when I would go to used game stores, but could never find a copy. Enter my cousin Ryan. He is an avid reader of this blog, and offered to loan me his old Genesis games to play and review. Jurassic Park was one of those games. I was ecstatic. All my years of searching, and I finally had my hands on the game.
Would the game withstand the test of time, however?
Of course, the game looks primitive when compared with games released in today's day and age. But that is to be expected. I think the game still looks pretty good, especially when you consider it is well over twenty years old. The environments all look good. The dinosaurs look like... dinosaurs. Dr Grant is recognizable as Dr Grant. Some of the animations are a bit choppy, and there is a significant amount of lag/slowdown from time to time, but it never really bothered me that much.
Music and sound effects are top notch. The raptors sound like they do in the movie, all the little sound effects sound as they should. My only complaint is the T-Rex didn't sound like it did in the film, but that is a minor complaint. The musical score works with each level. It's not an outstanding score by any means, but it does the job.
Gameplay is typical side scrolling shooter fair.
If you play as Dr Grant, you must traverse the island, making your way from the crash site of your Jeep to the Visitor's Center. You face off against a wide variety of dinosaurs along the way, most of which want to eat your face. Weapons are mainly of the non-lethal variety. Tranquilizer guns, stun grenades, knock out gas. I guess it is good that you aren't just running around slaughtering every animal on the island. If you linger, though, the dinosaurs will wake up and start coming after you again. Some of the weapons are lethal, however. Rocket launchers, hand grenades. Those dinosaurs aren't surviving an encounter with one of these. Occasionally you will tangle with the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but take not that he can't be killed. You can only stun him and run by before he recaptures his wits.
The levels are nice, and give a pretty wide representation of environments in the park. You've got your typical jungle levels, a power station, a rafting level, a pumping station, mountainous terrain, volcanic tunnels, and the Visitor Center itself. Each level looks and feels different, so there is no sense of repetition or deja vu as you play the game. My personal favorite level is the rafting one. As Grant, you must ride the rapids as you make your way back to the Visitor Center. You don't just ride the raft however, you must jump out of it from time to time on to dry land, collecting gasoline for the raft's motor and picking up other essential supplies. There are a lot of paths you can take on this level, and also a ton of hidden secrets to find. It's just a really fun level to explore for me.
The only part of the game I really struggled with was the controls. Grant moves in a really herky-jerky fashion. For the most part, it didn't bother me in the game. But there were times (the pump station, cough cough) when this became a very glaring flaw. I died many times due to the shoddy controls. I'm not gonna lie, I did become pretty frustrated with the game at this point.
Make it to the Visitor Center, and complete one final level to escape the island and complete the game.
Escape is not the number one thing on your mind when you play as the velociraptor. After escaping from your pen, you pick up the scent of Dr Grant. Your whole quest involves stalking him through the game in an attempt to eat his flesh. Unfortunately you must contend with a horde of dinosaurs trying to block you from your prize, in addition to to enemy soldiers looking to keep the dinosaurs at bay. Where are all these soldiers during Grant's campaign? Hmmmm....
The velociraptor mode feels more like a side quest than anything. It can be beaten in a fraction of the time it takes to complete Grant's campaign. Mainly you just run from left to right, leaping over or killing anything in your path. There is one level (once again, the pump station) where precision jumping is needed to advance. And again, it is very frustrating. The raptor moves in a very jerky fashion, and it can be hard to get her to do exactly what you want her to do. I died many, many times on this level. It turned out okay in the end, though. It added a little longevity to the raptor portion of the game. Without the having to play the pump station over and over again I would have likely beaten the game in fifteen minutes, if that.
Even though killing Grant is your main objective, you still escape the island when you beat the game. I remember being so excited for the sequel when I was a kid. Hoping that in the second game you'd wreak havoc on the mainland as a velociraptor. But alas, that was not to be.
While I did have fun with the game, and it brought back a lot of great memories, I do have to admit that it is very short. And there is not much replay value here. I beat the game twice - once with Grant and once with the raptor. And I'm good. I have no desire to play any further.
I enjoyed myself, I had a nice stroll down memory lane. There is no denying that for its time, this was a really, really good game. Playing it now, I still like it. But not as much. There's just not a whole lot of substance here, no real reason to keep playing after you've beaten the game. And the game itself was over and done with, both modes of play, in under two hours. I can't imagine paying top dollar for a game such as this in this day and age - and then being done with it in under two hours. And the controls, man. The controls really could have used a little fine tuning before this game's release.
This is a good game, no doubt. And it pulls enough sentimental value with me to get a solid grade. But I question whether it is a true classic. It's no Mario Bros, it is no Contra. Heck it isn't even Judge Dredd or Taz-Mania. It's a solid game, but without the Jurassic Park license, no doubt it would have been forgotten by me a long time ago.
Overall:
B
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