Jurassic Park - Arcade '93

Welcome... To Jurassic Park...

Brought out to coincide with the release of the groundbreaking film, Jurassic Park, Jurassic Park (SEGA) is an on-rails shooter that capitalises upon several things. Namely that you get to see large parts of the film, you get to shoot dinosaurs and several other things too, and you get to replay that bit in the film where the T-Rex chases the jeep... Several times.

Faster, must go faster!

The plot in Jurassic Park, for want of one as it stands, is simple enough. You're driving through Jurassic Park with your infinite ammo, never overheating, machinegun(s) and you get to see the lovely tour of what is most of the island and key locations from the film. You'll be sped quickly through jungles, overgrowth, ripped up fences, fields of lush emptiness and even through the main compound including the front door and beyond as you try to survive the journey with your vehicle still intact.

They're flocking this way!

Your health bar seems to be a mix of your own body and the vehicle, but either way if one is stopped then your forage through Jurassic Park is over anyway. Your large gun is mounted to the dashboard of the large car/cabinet and you're presented with a nice attempt at having something tangible around you while playing the game. You can find health packs through the game but almost certainly just after you've pumped in another credit and they become redundant to your situation.

We clocked the T-Rex at 32 miles per hour.

As a game, it's short. The speed at which you're racing through the levels, combined with the fact that you'll be assault virtually the entire time you're in Jurassic Park, means you'll either burn through the credits quickly or you'll be done with the game inside of 20 minutes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it's a fun experience and doesn't overstay its welcome but you will most likely have spent a considerable amount of money to get that far and it won't feel worth its value.

...Clever Girl

Graphically, Jurassic Park is using the same core as Alien 3: The Gun and Out runners, though there's been a significant overhaul in the detail of the game compared to Alien 3, the dinosaurs look impressive from the T-Rex as it chases you along the road and through the overgrowth to Raptors leaping at you from all angles, pterodactyls dive bombing you in series of waves, even up to and including racing along a Brontosaurs' back, off its head and later meeting one that (in due homage to the film) sneezes on you and blows you over a cliff. Everything looks quite impressive but what's even more impressive is the fact that the game is fast and you really do get a sense of urgency when on the run from the larger creatures.

When the Pirates of the Carribean ride breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists!

As for the sounds, Jurassic Park's music is usually fast paced, action enhancing and fairly fitting to Jurassic Park but you won't be finding the famous score in this game. After the second time you face off against the T-Rex, you'll be dreading the starting bars of each subsequent battle with them as they tend to do a lot of damage and the music is very distinct from the other pieces composed for this game.

We spared no expense.

Overall, Jurassic Park is an attempt to cash in on the franchise and it's done fairly well but the game is too tough and too greedy for the credits which invariable leaves plays with a cheap rewarding thrill but a bad taste in their mouth afterwards. Not unlike time spent with your mu- [Article End]