Here’s a throwback to the Jurassic Park game for the SNES in 1993 by Ocean Software. It had a positive reception upon its release, with reviews praising its graphics, gameplay and sound effects.
The games was based on the same plot as the blockbuster film. As world-renowned paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, you visit Isla Nublar off the coast of Central America to examine cloned dinosaurs. Something (of course!) goes wrong. The supercomputer controlling the island malfunctions, rendering the security systems inoperable and letting loose hundreds of deadly dinosaurs.
Game objectives include activating motion sensors, securing the Visitor’s Centre, stop escaping raptors, destroy raptor nests, radio for help and reach the helipad.
In a weapons collection that would make a Doom and Quake player green with envy, you have access to a cattle prod, shotgun, missile launcher, tranquilizer gun, gas grenade launcher and bolas. A lightning gun would’ve been useful…
The game has a variety of dinosaurs, some of which were placed to catch you off guard, including the Compsognathus (Compy), Pachycephalosaurus (Headbutter), Gallimimus (Ostrich), Velicoraptor (Raptor), Dilophosaur (Spitter), Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex).
The biggest let down of the game was the lack of a ‘save’ feature. For such a large game, to get through it all, you’d have to play for several hours straight or take a break while leaving the game on. However despite the cons, there were an abundant number of pros, making it “worthy of the film’s reputation” as SNES Force magazine put it.
