Jurassic Park

"Rawr."

If you're a gamer (And I'm going to take a wild guess and say you are) then you're probably aware (And probably agree) that most games based on movies...aren't that good. Most, for lack of a better term, suck. However, this doesn't hold true for Jurassic Park, a great Genesis game based on a great movie.

Story-6/10
The story is pretty much the same as the movie. You're touring through the park at nighttime, when all of a sudden the power to everything goes out. Your car stops, (Conveniently right next to the T-Rex containment area) and all the electric fences are down. The T-Rex breaks free, and demolishes your car. You can also play as the Raptor, who during the power outage, breaks free from his cage, and heads out in search of Dr. Grant.

Gameplay-9/10
Jurassic Park is your standard platformer. You'll make your way through the jungle, power station as well as other areas from the film encountering the many dinos of the park such as the Dilophosaurus, Compies, (Were they even in the first movie...?) and of course, the Velociraptor. Your method of getting past these creatures will be the many weapons you find while exploring the areas. Grant has access to some pretty cool weapons: A stun gun, smoke grenades, tranquilizer darts and other goodies will put your enemies down for the count allowing you to run past them safely. (Some can be avoided, allowing you to save your precious ammunition) You have to be careful, as you only have 3 lives to spare. Dying sends you back to the beginning of the level, and losing all your lives is a game over. Luckily the game has a password system, so you don't make it to the very end, die, and have to re-do the whole game over again.

As mentioned earlier you can also play as the Raptor. Raptor's objective is to hunt down Grant, traveling through most of the same levels while fighting the dinosaurs mentioned above, as well as human guards who use weapons similar to Grant's. Raptor's method of getting by his foes will be kicking or biting them. If you get low on health you can either gobble up a few Compies, or find some of the many chicken legs scattered around the island. No matter who you choose to play as, you'll have a blast. Gameplay gets a 9.

Sound-9/10
Quite good. The dinos' growls and roars are amazing, (Especially the T-Rex's) you'll look over your shoulder every few minutes fearing that it's coming from a real dino behind you! The music for each level is great, on top of it, as you wander around you'll hear noises from dinos and other critters in the background. Not much else to say, sound gets a 9/10.

Graphics-10/10
Digitally remastered for your Sega Genesis game console! The graphics are amazing for a Genesis game, the opening cutscene looks beautiful, and it only gets better. The environments look nice, and most of the humans and dinos look lifelike, especially with the T-Rex. (Even though you only ever see it's head) Graphics definitely get a 10/10.

Buy or rent?
Buy. If you're a fan of the film, or side-scrolling platformers, get this. A great Genesis game which you can probably find very cheap nowadays.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/07