Dino Crisis

"Dinosaurs ARE scarier than zombies it seems..."

Dino Crisis is a new survival horror game from the creators of the ever popular zombie destroyer, Resident Evil, Capcom. Even though it's a new shift towards what seems like a not so scary subject, they've gone towards great lengths to prove that wrong. And they've succeeded.

Gameplay-8
As typical with the survival horror genre, the controls are your basic tank like movements. The directional pad moves your character, while R1 aims with X becomes the versatile "I access everything" button. Whether it's shooting a bullet, confirming an action, or opening a door, the X button takes charge of it. While at first it seems as though this is a typical adventure into terror, Capcom throws several neat mechanics into the mix. The first of such is dart mixing, where different types of chemicals can be combined and loaded into a shotgun, once obtained, and used for random effects. Tranquilizer darts will knock out enemies for certain amounts of time, which are great for when your low on health or simply need to escape a crowded room; while poison darts will quickly kill enemies, saving precious bullets for more important fights. The next design quickly keeps you from thinking your character will always have a safe run from room to room. At certain intervals, a danger sequence will occur, which instantly puts the characters life at risk. You need to mash all the buttons quickly once the word DANGER appears onscreen to save her life. This breaks up the monotony quickly and tests your nerves about how well you pay attention to the situation at hand. The difficulty ramps up a bit when a boss battle occurs, since each time you'll be fighting a T-Rex and usually in a very small area that requires adept dodging and a big weaponry to fell.

Story-8
A research facility is conducting shady experiments, and a special investigation team is sent in after their mole fails to respond back. They land on the island where the facility is located, and quickly realize these experiments are much more dangerous then previously thought. During your trials, you play as Regina, a member of the aforementioned task force. The story evolves from a typical B-Movie status to a tale of humans desperately trying to survive against prehistoric creatures. What really stands out in this story is how your pitted against actual creature simply following their primal instincts instead of genetically engineered weapons or mindless monster. Along the way, your faced with branches paths that can lead to different endings based on your earlier choices. This makes following the game through to the end quite interesting, and while it may be a stretch to believe, it's the flow and even progress that keeps it on track.

Graphics/Sound-7
The models, for a Playstation-era game, were nicely rendered, with a good amount of polygons distributed. The dinosaurs look great, and positively scary; especially when the T-Rex roars directly into your face, revealing rows of sharp, pointy, pearly white teeth. However, the backgrounds and overall structure of the facility are lacking in distinct colors. They suffer from your standard "laboratory gray" and "outdoor brown" shades that become a bit boring to look after a bit, especially compared to how great the characters and enemies appear. The voices in this game rival the better acting that were featuring in current Resident Evil titles, with characters perfectly portraying themselves without seeming too over the top or unbelievable. Another plus are the monsters, be it the beating wings of a pterodactyl or the distinct hissing of an approaching raptor. It stings fear directly to your heart, almost sending you running into a safe room before you realize your holding a grenade launcher.

Playtime/Replayability-8
Dino Crisis takes about five to six hours to complete, and that's on a speed run. Along the way, you can unlock costumes that range from sexy to just silly, and the bonus from unlocking them (special changes during the game itself) are just too priceless to miss.

Final Recommendation-
Any fan of the survival horror genre should pick this game up immediately, and that goes double for any Resident Evil fan. This game is an experiment for Capcom; their hand at trying something new, and it definitely works.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06