Jurassic Park: The Game
PlayStation 3
Before playing:
I've played through this game once before in my life: back in May of 2014. That's over ten years ago, in case you are keeping track. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?
I am not sure what exactly drew me back to this game, other than my intense desire to review everything I can, coupled with the fact that this is a quick and relatively easy game to play through. Didn't take much to sell myself on the idea of returning to this game.
I don't remember much about it from my first playthrough, other than that I liked it. At the time, I vaguely remember expecting this game to suck, because of the reviews I had read. They were mostly negative. That just goes to show you: never trust other people's reviews.
My opinions are good, though. You can trust mine.
Story:
As this is a Telltale game, it is heavily reliant on its storyline to keep you playing. The game picks up after the events of the first Jurassic Park film. A mercenary named Nima has been sent to the island by the Biosyn Corporation after Dennis Nedry has failed to show up with the shaving cream can full of dinosaur DNA samples. Her job is to locate these samples and bring them to BioSyn before they thaw out and become completely ruined.
The game also tells the story of Dr Harding and his daughter Jess. After failing to evacuate, they are now stuck on this dangerous, dinosaur-infested island. They cross paths with Nima, who has been injured and knocked unconscious after a dilophosaurus attack. Additionally, a rescue team has been sent by InGen to look for survivors. This team, led by Billy Yoder, encounters this small group of survivors after their helicopter crashes on the island. The two groups must work together to find a way off the island.
Things take a turn later on, when the can of DNA samples is discovered. It becomes a battle between Yoder and Nima as to who is going to bring the can back and claim the reward. This sparks a battle between the survivors, with Yoder turning out to be the game's "bad guy." After Yoder is defeated, the survivors get on a boat and escape the island.
I'm glazing over a lot of the game's plot points, but that is pretty much it in a nutshell. You do encounter a doctor character at one point who assists in your escape, but she too becomes untrustworthy when she threatens the survivors in order to advance her own personal agenda. She does explain how she was able to lift the "lysine contingency" so that dinosaurs do not die if they are cut off from their supply of lysine. This helps explain the somewhat glaring plot hole regarding how the dinosaurs stay alive when they get off the island. So that's kind of cool.
Gameplay:
Telltale games are not known for having the strongest gameplay, and this game is the perfect example of that. Most of the action takes place through quick time events, conversation choices from a menu, or by examining things in the environment. You can't really control your character. You just move a cursor around and look at things.
There are some light puzzles in the game, like a puzzle where you use a switch to re-arrange the order of cars on a roller coaster. There's another puzzle where you have to use sounds to help herd a group of dinosaurs to a certain location. Basic stuff like that.
There is not much challenge here, but what challenge there is comes from the quick time events. I was pretty good at them (for the most part), but sometimes I would inexplicably fail and it would really tick me off. As far as I know, you can die an unlimited number of times, and you pick up relatively close to where you left off. I did not die too often, so I am not sure what happens if you die repeatedly in one area. Do you get a game over? Do you have to start the chapter over again? I don't know.
There are four chapters in total. I'd say each one is between one and two hours long, something like that. I didn't get out a timer or anything. But it moves by pretty quick. Once you've made it through all four chapters, the game is over. There's not much reason to replay, unless you really liked the game's storyline.
Unlike other Telltale games, the choices you make do not affect anything. There are no branching paths or multiple endings. That gives the game limited replayability. I played through it once back in 2014, and I played through it once here in 2024. I can't see myself returning to it again, anytime soon. Maybe 2034?
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Graphics:
This game definitely looks its age. It's an early PS3 game and it shows. I also think it was one of Telltale's first efforts, so maybe they were still perfecting their craft. But yeah, a lot of the environments and character designs are lacking. Things look very plain most of the time. And there are a lot of little glitches here and there.
But I have to give credit where it is due. The game may not look perfect, but it does an admirable job at recreating the atmosphere of Jurassic Park. I loved seeing the Visitor Center and a few other locations from the film. Nedry's crashed car is another example. The game even does a good job introducing some new areas that feel right at home - like the roller coaster and the underwater observation room.
The dinosaurs in this game definitely look better than the humans. The humans themselves are a little uninspiring in their design. The dinosaurs, on the other hand, look great.
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Sound:
This may be the first Jurassic Park game I've played that actually uses music from the movie. Lego Jurassic World probably does, but do any original games in the franchise? I don't remember the 8-bit, the 16-bit, the 32-bit games, or any PC Jurassic Park games using music from the movie. I have to say, the music really adds a lot. Gives it a feel of genuine authenticity. Can anything with the Jurassic Park soundtrack attached to it be bad?
Not only does the game have a great soundtrack, it uses sound effects from the movie as well. The classic T-Rex roar, the hoot of the dilophosaurus, and the raptor screech are all present and accounted for. The only criticism I have is of the voice acting. But it's not bad, and I can't be too critical of it considering how great everything else sounds.
Overall:
Like most Telltale games, you will enjoy this if you like the source material. So, if you're a Jurassic Park fan, this is a must play. If you're not, you probably wouldn't care much about this.
Jurassic Park: The Game is not going to win anyone over with its fast, addicting gameplay. Instead, the game delivers a forward-moving narrative that tells a fun story taking place right after the first Jurassic Park movie. It introduces new characters and adds to the lore of the series. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I'd suggest you play this. It's like getting a movie or a TV series about what happens after the first Jurassic Park film. I would have loved that when I was a kid.
I'm a little torn on my final grade. I understand that the game isn't necessarily "fun" to play, but at the same time, I still found myself fairly addicted to it. I don't get much time to play games anymore, but when I do, I would spend a lot of it playing this. I wanted to see what would happen next, and where the story would take me. I'm a big Jurassic Park fan, having seen this movie and read the book dozens of times in my life. There was no way I was not going to like this.
I'm going to give it a solid score, but not anything too incredibly high. Like I said, I enjoyed this, but it was mainly because of the game's setting and storyline. It was not because of the gameplay, or because the game has any kind of depth to it whatsoever. Character choices have no impact and there are no branching paths or multiple endings. It's a very linear game that tells a story.
If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, by all means you should play this. If not, you won't be missing much if you skip this. Unless you're a Jurassic Park fan. Then you need to play this regardless.
THE GRADE:
B
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