Dino Crisis

"Jurassic Park was a day at Drayton Manor compared to the latest addition to the Survival Horror Genre"

''Clever Girl'' Robert Muldoon (aka Bob Peck) had murmured as he approached his reptilian prey, but it turns out not even a rugged game warden like him could prevail against the might of the Dinosoars, so what chance do we stand?
Whatever the odds, Regina, the brave heroine of the game is not going down without a fight. Though she may not share the body of the Tomb Raiding Lara Croft, she certainly equals the buxum brunettes defiance to enemy nasties, and while the cold blooded dino's of this adventure are surely deadlier than Laras opposition, do they share the brains?
Erm.....well, no, they dont actualy. While your Prehistoric Hunters have never been famed for there massive IQ, they still should have had it in them to outsmart what is commonly found under rocks. Be it the crafty Raptors, terryfying T Rex or the carniverous Compys, they all share the dangerously sharp dental structure, and a series lack of any intelligence whatsoever! Its ridiculous! Switch on an electric fence and watch in bemused intrest as the Dinos continue to throw themselves into it.
''They never strike the same place twice,'' Muldoon had said, these ones do. Over and over again. Some actualy kill themselves doing it!
Besides that though, the Dinosours are truly marvelous. They look, move and even attack like real Dinosaurs! Wandering around any of the games forboding areas is a nerve wracking experience. In there defence, the Dinos are very much responsible for this, though usualy when there not even there. In true Horror Movie fashion, the Game slowly heats up, preparing you for that moment when some unpleasant reptilian monstrosity will leap out, all claws and teeth snapping. But it doesn't happen, and you think, ''Oh, its Ok, theres nothing here''. Then it happens, when you least expect it. This game is scary, and several younger players may find themselves forced to change there pants after one of the more terryfying sequencies.
But its not all mindless blasting, you are required to use your brain more often than not, and some of the puzzles can be realy devious. While these frequent breaks from the action add to the game considerably, some of them are way to difficult! Bringing Thomas Edison back from the grave would be a fruitless activity as even his incredible intellect may struggle to tackle the puzzles of DC.
But its not all Brain Busting either, even more regurly than the puzzles are the Dinosaurs and its your job to finish the job that the massive comet failed to complete. Its extinction time, and its them or you. But this is one of Dino Crisis' major upsets. There are hardly any Dinosaurs! And im pretty sure there was never such thing as a Super Rapter. But enemies is not the only thing the game lacks, where are the Guns? 4 in all, in the whole game, with the exception of the Fish Launcher. Dont ask.
Now that we've identified the bad bits in the game, lets look at the good bits. And theres lots.
Starting with te plot, the plot is a perfect Horror Movie tale of Fear, Darkness, Dinosaurs and.....did I mention fear? Typical mad doctor Edward Krick has dissapeaed to a top secret base to work on a highly secretive project, needless to say, something went wrong. I dont want to spoil it for any one yet to play the game, so all im saying is the insuring chaos involves lots of Dinosaurs, as the title suggests.
The puzzles provide a well needed twist to the action and Dino Destruction never stops being fun. And the game does have Replay Value, completing the game several times reveals several new costumes, several re-designed Weapons and a brilliant Sub Game.
This game is a ace addition to any Games Collection, especialy for fans of the RE games. Its Dino-tastic! (Sorry, couldn't resist).

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/10/00, Updated 09/10/00