Jurassic Park The Game: Review thread - post your impressions here!

[anthoto1]

Originally Posted by Mike55

Overall Thoughts-
This is by far the best JP Game of all time.

What are you smoking ? Were you even born in 1993 ?

[jpark_08]

Originally Posted by kasaki89

are you dumb...it was never meant to be a game

Pssst. The title of the product is called, "Jurassic Park: The Game". It is infact, a game.

[Vainamoinen]

Originally Posted by anthoto1

What are you smoking ? Were you even born in 1993 ?

Seriously, I can see that this is the place where opinions necessarily clash, but keep it a little bit more civil. The consumption of psychoactive substances is not necessary to like this game, just a certain preference which others might not share.

[Mike55]

Originally Posted by anthoto1

What are you smoking ? Were you even born in 1993 ?

Hmmm tell me a better game then this game. Which game has characters which you care about? Certainley not the old consoles. Tresspasser was a fighting game and JP:OG was a Zoo Tycoon-Esque game. So yeah please actually anwser like someone with some sense instead of an invalid when I explained my thoughts.

[anthoto1]

Originally Posted by jpark_08

Pssst. The title of the product is called, "Jurassic Park: The Game". It is infact, a game.

I've been playing videogames for more than twenty years and this is probably the less interactive thing that I've ever tested.

[anthoto1]

Originally Posted by Mike55

Hmmm tell me a better game then this game. Which game has characters which you care about?

Back in 1993, Jurassic Park games (on NES, SNES or MD) had an actual gameplay that was up to standards. JPTG has none.

[Mike55]

Originally Posted by anthoto1

Back in 1993, Jurassic Park games (on NES, SNES or MD) had an actual gameplay that was up to standards. JPTG has none.

1.I've said it before. I'm not an experinced gamer. So what may have been good gaming for me you may not have liked.
2.What gamplay did YOU want? I'm ok with button mashing but i'm not an experinced gamer.
3.Yeah JP:TG is up to the standards and is far better then some recent games. Go play MUA2 and come back to me on bad gameplay.

[paulmccain]

Originally Posted by jpark_08

Characters:

I'm shocked with all the love the characters are getting, not one of them is original or well written. Each one of them is a walking cliche. From the soldier with a troubled past seeking redemption, to the mad scientist or rebellious teen with daddy isssue. It's all very predictable and superficial.
(It also didn't help that Telltale doesn't define half these characters until the very end of the game.)

Let me stop you right there. Both the characters in the game and the characters in the film are walking cliches. Look at Nedry--fat nerd programmer. Look at Hammond--Andrew Carnegie-esque genial billionaire. Some character developments were cliche (the stern Grant's hardened sensibilities about children are changed when he is thrust into a situation where he has to protect children) and some character developments were even preposterous (suddenly, this kid knows how to manipulate a UNIX system and save the lives of all).

Point being, I think the developers were intentionally trying to hit on the notes of the original film, with its cliche characters and silly triumph-over-the-odds revelations. While you can say that the characters were cliche, you cannot deny the fact that all of the characters in the game were on the island purposefully. While I'm kind of an apologist for the game, I do feel that some of the dialogue was overly campy and grating to hear. But that does not change my opinion of the effectiveness of the game's characters.

This goes to say nothing of the gameplay, which could have been so much more, but alas, the game is released, and there is nothing we as gamers can do about it now, short of complaining, which is an effort in futility. I enjoyed the game for what it was: an interactive Jurassic Park film for fans of the original.

[MisterBronze]

I confess I skipped your post to avoid spoilers, because I have not finished the game yet, but was looking for a thread where I could give feedback.

I'm enjoying the game so far and I'm a *huge* fan of both Telltale Games and the Jurassic Park franchise, so I've been really looking forward to this.

My main gripe so far is there seems to be a lot of inappropriate button inputs in the QTEs. The best example is where you are staring at the floor looking for tracks and you have to button mash a button. Really? Wouldn't just holding down a button be sufficient for simply looking at the floor?

The parts that require quick reactions and stick movements are great, but pounding one button really fast just feels really lame.

Just an opinion. Love it otherwise.

[paulmccain]

Originally Posted by anthoto1

Back in 1993, Jurassic Park games (on NES, SNES or MD) had an actual gameplay that was up to standards. JPTG has none.

But what it does have is a story that can stand with the film it was based on. Show me an example of a Jurassic Park video game from the Genesis era that rivaled the 1993 film in a capacity of story, save perhaps Jurassic Park Interactive, which I don't believe I knew anyone at the time who even owned a 3DO.

P.S. The company is called Telltale Games, if that is any indicator of the kinds of products they release.

[wedge]

okay well it's a bit difficult to come back to the game, but first let's specify I played it on PC with keyboard as the input interface.

I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and found the graphics very nice, of course it's nothing like top notch realistic graphics of some games. But it has a nice design overall, and the dinos are pretty good .

But well to me the game went a bit wrong, because of many things, first the gameplay is really poor and not very interesting, it's completely driven by the game with almost no freedom.
The observation you have a mouse but still to be able to click something it has to be on the center of the screen, sounds very much like port from console without any changes to make it more intuitive for mouse/keyboard user.
Some sequences of buttons, well mainly the one where there is two or three buttons to press are completely insane for some you don't even have a complete second to do two or three buttons, but still you don't know what kind of button combination it is, which make's it impossible, unless replaying the sequence to pass some sequences at first.
I also got another example where it is wrong where on the scuba part the thing you have to shoot to close the grate appears appears after another symbol, so of course you do the first and then die, and then you know there is another option and can pass it.

So well overall I'm pleased with the story, not going after the pure adaptation as always is really the way to go, it just feels right. Even if they are a bit cliche the characters are nice, and really enjoyed the dinos. But the games you take your inspiration of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain are really much more complex, you're still in control of the character and do take decisions that have an impact on the story, and you can also miss buttons sequence which impact what happens but do not kill you each time you're wrong.

I really hope the games are going to be better for the future, for example the latest Sam & Max season was just really nice, creative story, nice and challenging puzzles. Then was Back to the Future, story was nice but there it started to get much less of a challenge on the puzzle side, and finaly Jurassic Park, which is a no challenge at all, that's really the point that is lacking in the game, that you really don't have any kind of puzzle challenge, so many case you just check everything and okay done, only a couple of puzzles which are really too easy.

[anthoto1]

Originally Posted by paulmccain

Show me an example of a Jurassic Park video game from the Genesis era that rivaled the 1993 film in a capacity of story

Show me an exemple of a XVIth century vehicle that rivaled Ferrai F458 Italia.

[Strayth]

Also, "best" doesn't mean "good" in any way.

The fact that it's better than 15 years old games doesn't mean that it's any good comapred to any nowaday standard.

When Blade Runner the game was released, it was amazing, on every freakin' level, and it was a somewhat linear adventure game, but with several branching, choices, and multiple endings. It's actually a lot like Heavy Rain and Shadow of Memories, which are both story driven with simple gameplay mechanics. But the key point isn't that they're easy, it's that you have CHOICE. You interact in the world, in the story, with the characters.

You don't just press a button to see what they want you to see no matter what. You don't have anything to do in the game, and the puzzles were so easy they kinda just ask you to "click the two things you see in order".

It's just like BTTF except that, you can't walk.

And BTTF is a disaster. I actually didn't even like the story, they just butchered everything :/ I'm sad they even got MJ Fox to do a cameo for that thing.

Also, can I please remind you, a good story is cool for a game. But if that's the only thing cool about the said "game", and that you have NO way to change anything about it (ok minus the ONE choice about Nima at the final act -_- ), it's not even "interactive", you do not participate. It's more like a video player. There's no choice involved (or so little that it's not worth mentionning).

And I love games like Shadow of Memories, Gabriel Knight 2, Heavy Rain, Deadly Premonitions etc...

Those are games noted for not being mostly story driven, and they all had the player being IN the story. Not just watching what was planned in the order it was planned, as if you were playing videos on windows media player :/ ...

[Neelis]

(Review contains spoilers)

A few minutes ago, Nima, Jess and Gerry Harding made it to the boat and to safety - and I'm sitting here replaying the scenes in my head and forming an opinion as I go.

As a big fan of the Jurassic Park films and books, I'm always pleased and excited when something new is being produced or published. When this game was announced, I followed the production and signed up on the TellTale forums to read up on the progress of the game. Some of the news had me smiling, other bits of information that got out had me worried: though I’m not much of a gamer, word about the game play had me concerned. People complained it would be a “point and click” game, something for kids. Which had me thinking, ‘if this is a children’s game, it might be childish and not live up to the original intend and content of the books and films.’ Which is: messing with nature is a bad idea. And if you are unlucky enough, the consequences of that messing around will be deadly.

That last aspect of the game certainly did not let me down. From the very start of Jurassic Park: The Game, it’s clear that something has gone terribly wrong, and it won’t get better any time soon. If it’s not a group of Dilophosaurs hunting you, a T-Rex might be sneaking up from around the corner. Dr. Sorkin’s little Troodon project has gone terribly wrong as well, with the nocturnal predators out and about tracking our heroes constantly.

And those heroes are developed well enough to care for them. The park’s veterinarian, Gerry Harding, is the lead in this game, who has taken his daughter Jess to Isla Nublar after she got in trouble at home. (As is confirmed during a discussion between the two, Sarah Harding from The Lost World: Jurassic Park is his daughter as well.)
It’s not long before the two encounter Nima, who has her own reasons to visit the island (aside from retrieving the canister with embryos), and the mercenaries Yoder and Oscar, hired to rescue the remaining survivors. On their way to safety, the group has to pick up Dr. Laura Sorkin and her assistant, David. The latter has become dinosaur food by the time the group makes it to the field laboratory, but Sorkin is still alive and hell bend on staying on the island. What follows is a wild chase and a race against time, during which the characters even find some time to discuss ethics and morals.

For the larger part, the story’s pretty well worked out: it sheds a light on INGEN’s background and Isla Nublar’s history. At the same time, this back-story does not seem consistent with the information we can gather from both the books and the films. INGEN and the Costa Rican government forcing the island’s locals in favor of the park does not seem something John Hammond (at least the film’s character), would approve of. And there’s no indication in any of the books that this happened – if any, in the novel The Lost World it’s established that the Five Deaths were all uninhabited, and Nublar most likely was as well.
The option of choosing different directions in which to steer conversations, makes it possible to gather more information about the characters and the park.

Both characters and story make for an entertaining game: the game play isn’t hard to follow once you’ve gotten the hang of it. (I have to admit, it took me a while to figure it out and I needed some help from the boards before I got into playing mode properly.) It’s good to see that the Dilophosaurus, which we only see once in the film series while they do make for formidable foes, get proper treatment in this game. The Velociraptors presence had me puzzled (the game takes place after the original three have been killed and locked up in the first film), but Dr. Sorkin’s journal solves that mystery as well. They are not overused, but do pose a serious threat during the time they are seen and confronted in the game.
Our old friend (or nemesis, if you wish) T-Rex is, of course, present as well. She gets a good amount of time to do some serious damage, but shares her screen time with the three newcomers: Herrerasaurus, a pack of Troodons and a Mosasaurus.
The Troodons are the real danger in this game, with venomous bites, night vision and a nasty way of building a nest (which I will not reveal here – but it would fit into a horror film.) They do look somewhat like the Raptors, but are smaller and nastier creatures: their poison paralyzes and gives the person or animal bitten a hard time being delusional before death finally sets in.

The Herrerasaurs reminded me of the Raptors, a bit bigger and lumpier, but in this game they serve as filler, only appearing once and shortly during the roller coaster ride.

The Mosasaurus is the biggest and most refreshing newcomer when it comes to the prehistoric predators. Almost as big as a Tyrannosaurus, this swimming creature causes the main characters a lot of trouble when they get locked up in the underwater observatory. Sadly, the chapter featuring it is rather short – but perhaps it will return after Dr. Sorkin opened the waterways from the exhibit into the open ocean.

Sadly, the herbivores are limited to encounters with the Triceratops and the Parasaurolophus. A missed opportunity, it seems, as many fans are fond of the Brachiosaurus, the Gallimimus and the Stegosaurus (featured in the book and sequel film, The Lost World: Jurassic Park) and there certainly would have been room for them in the game. On the plus side, we do get to see a lot of familiar locations, among them Nedry’s car (and his body!) and the Visitor’s Center.

The biggest nuisance this game offers is the relatively long video fragments of the characters talking and debating, during which the player can only watch and listen. But, more often than not, these talks will be followed directly by a relentless action scene, demanding you to punch buttons like a maniac. When not prepared because of looking away for a moment to pick up a drink or snack from the table, you could be killed in seconds.

Another problem I had with the game was the amount of time Jess got to talk: I’m not against the presence children in the Jurassic Park films or games, in fact they are an integral part of many of the storylines, but Jess was more annoying than Eric Kirby from Jurassic Park III: trying to smoke, stealing, lying, being obnoxious and calling everything she could not properly name “thingy”. Another missed opportunity was her ability to speak Spanish: instead of making her fail at it, she could have bonded with Nima much easier due to the shared knowledge and mastering of the language.

All in all, it’s an entertaining game which features a lot of dinosaur action and allows us to return to Isla Nublar and explore it. I’m not certain yet if I would call the events in this game “canon” in regard of the film(s), but it certainly is a nice and worthy addition to Jurassic Park’s alternative universe.

[TheMountainKing]

The game had a good story, and a bad everything else!

[TheMountainKing]

I thought the sneaking QTE's were pretty funny, I missed the B button When Oscar was trying to sneak by the raptors and he yells "Damn!"

[bloodkiller630]

now if they made another jpog game you guys would probably love it wouldnt you, the last posts ive been posting around here, of how it would be like, then you guys wouldnt complain now would you

[Asian Inferno]

Originally Posted by bloodkiller630

now if they made another jpog game you guys would probably love it wouldnt you, the last posts ive been posting around here, of how it would be like, then you guys wouldnt complain now would you

Personally even though a lot of people are against it (Since it's never about guns and shooting the dinosaurs), I'd love to see a L4D-style type of versus for Jurassic Park than another JP:OG. Although that game was fun for a little while it just ended up getting repetitive and once you 5 star there's nothing else to do.

[bloodkiller630]

Originally Posted by Asian Inferno

Personally even though a lot of people are against it (Since it's never about guns and shooting the dinosaurs), I'd love to see a L4D-style type of versus for Jurassic Park than another JP:OG. Although that game was fun for a little while it just ended up getting repetitive and once you 5 star there's nothing else to do.

thats what mods are for, go to google and type in modding genesis, there are a bunch of mods you can install to your game to make it better, like the graphics for one, different colored skins, right now on my jpog, i have the actual skins from jurassic park, jurassic park the lost world female and male, jurassic park 3 skins, you can mod and everything, but dont tell me how, just look on youtube or something?

[_Veritas_]

It seems like Telltale should have made this an animated film and just released it on DVD than a game for most people.I would be happy either way (with it being a game or a film) because the story is great and that's all I care about.