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System:
Arcade
Genre:
Shoot 'Em Up (Light Gun)
Publisher:
Konami
Developer:
Konami
Players:
1-2
Release date/year:
2001
Other systems:
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- Jurassic Park III
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2001 Konami - Konami - Arcade
- Another part of the shooting game series, Jurassic Park, this sequel comes up with some impressive visuals, awesome sound and intense game play as well as a couple of features that makes it an average game. Though the series is getting better with the locations and even the way that it is presented, the fact that the game starts out too easy and ends too quickly, makes for a shooting game that is pleasure to play, though short-lived! The story as it stands has nothing to do with the movie, other than the dinosaurs that you take on and a couple of the locations, aside from that, you’re playing through a somewhat modified story that has just a few nods towards the original movie.
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The Game Play
It is pretty much your standard game that involves you and a friend going one on one with a bunch of rampaging dinosaurs. The twists on this game is that instead of just allowing you to take damage during the ‘boss’ battles, you now have the use of the Evade Button that lets you escape some injury and get yourself into a better position to take a shot. The Evade Button, while interesting, makes the game too easy in most respects and you’ll be able to breeze through it on just a couple of bucks!
Scoring is different here as well, with your shots taking on a precision bonus. When you shoot something in the head, you get a critical hit bonus that tallies up to the end of each stage. The more of these that you get, the higher your score will be in the end, and you’ll be able to rise in rank through the game. However, these shots aren’t all that easy to come by, and if you do happen to bite the dust at some point during one of the stages, it automatically resets to the original thousand points, and you’ll have to rebuild it from there!
Control is easy enough to work with, in which you simply point off-screen to reload and then use the evade button to escape damage. The evade button is only good for the boss fights, so you’ll have to pray that you have not only good timing in the regular stages, but also an accurate light gun in order to get through the later stages that require lightening quick reflexes. Anyone with some light gun skill should be able to pick up on the game and use the evade button with little or no problem.
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The Visuals
Possibly the crowning achievement of this cabinet, Jurassic Park III has some pretty impressive locations that you run through complete with shadow effects, mood lighting and dark corners for things to jump out at you from. Thought the game tries to keep in touch with the movie, there are some locations that you will not recognize, and although this isn’t much of problem, you may think that you’re playing a Dino Crisis game rather than a Jurassic Park game. All of the dinosaurs are vicious and quick looking with the boss battles having some pretty impressive detail and movement given to them!
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The Audio
The music that you find here isn’t John Williams inspiring, but it serves the purpose of being there in the background for you to listen to at some points. Without anything really jumping out to your ears, you may find that the game just doesn’t have the same effect in the audio department that Lost World did. Voice effects come in with something of a Silent Scope feel in the way that the radio talk comes through the speakers and the only sounds that you’ll really hear are the dinosaurs as they get ready to make you the dinner guest of honor!
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The Verdict
Jurassic Park III isn’t a bad way to end out the sequel, but the fact that the game is too damned short makes it a wonder that anyone would pay a buck or more to play this. With the lack of story line throughout the game, and the fact that you fight the same boss a couple of times throughout, there is little going for this title other than the visuals and even those get old after twenty minutes of play. While the innovation of an escape button has been used by Time Crisis, Jurassic Park III is worth taking a gander at if you’re in the mood for some dinosaur hunting!
8/10
//KasketDarkfyre
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