In their âotherâ recently released first-person shooter, Jurassic: The Hunted, Activision forgoes over-used antagonists such as aliens, zombies, demons, and Nazis, and puts dinosaurs back where they belong-right in our cross hairs!
Remember when dinosaurs were cool? You know, when Jurassic Park ruled the box office, Dino Crisis wasnât set on a spaceship, and Turok wasnât totally lame? Recent reboots, such as 2008âs return of the mohawked dino-hunter on consoles and, more recently, Will Ferrelâs big screen remake of Land of the Lost, have failed to reignite interest in the beasts that so swiftly sent our jaws to the floor when they first rumbled across the silver screen in Spielbergâs 1993 blockbuster. Finally, Jurassic: The Hunted puts the extinct monsters back in the pop culture spotlight, allowing them to once again sink their razor-sharp claws and drool-drenched choppers into willing fans.
While this budget title lacks much of the polish, production value, and creative vision that defines most current-gen shooters, thereâs no denying the dumb, B-movie-fueled fun youâll have picking off prehistoric beasties in this way under-the-radar release.
Loved
Dino-mite!:Letâs not beat around the bush; shooting dinosaurs in the face is fun, and Jurassic: The Hunted delivers this experience in spades. Whether youâre turning a cluster of acid-spitting foes into fleshy confetti with a well-placed grenade, shotgunning a killing blow before a velociraptor can tear your throat out, or hoofinâ it from a screen-swallowing boss baddie, taking on Jurassicâs beasts is a blast. Additionally, a familiar but fun-to-use arsenal-complete with cool reloading animations and punchy sound effects-nicely complement your killing spree. A quick-time button-mashing attack even allows you to punch the scaly menaces in the head-yes, please!
Dinosaurs Have Hearts:âŠAnd brains, and other vital organs you can blow up. Weâve seen the slo-mo, bullet-time, John Woo-meets-Matrix thing a dozen times, but Jurassicâs take is one of the more inventive thatâs come along in awhile. When in slow motion, dubbed âadrenaline burstâ, youâll see enemiesâ vital organs light up like Tiger Woodâs cell phone on a Friday night. So, for a limited time, these beastiesâ big pumping hearts and tiny pea brains are easy targets. Itâs a fun mechanic that makes two very familiar game tropes-slo-mo mode and weak points-feel somewhat fresh again.
Straightforward Fun:Aside from allowing us to fire hot lead into the bright, shiny hearts and brains of our enemies, Jurassic brings nothing new to the genre. Thatâs mostly okay, though, as the comfort-food formula more than serves the purpose here. Red barrels explode, conveniently-placed crates brim with ammo, and enemies run towards your reticule. Similarly, the controls are ripped right from the FPS play book; shoot, jump, crouch, sprint, and grenade-toss pretty much cover it. The gameplay is simple, solid, and never gets in the way of the gameâs goal of allowing the player to stack dino corpses like cord wood.
Hated
Linear Lost World:While Jurassicâs gameplay actually benefits from a no-frills approach, the level layouts suffer from it. Many shooters successfully hide their linearity with set pieces and the inherent nature of claustrophobic interiors, but Jurassicâs vast jungle setting is anything but. Itâs not easy setting players loose in an organic environment, where man made obstacles are few and far between, and keeping them on a set path. By the end of the first hour, youâll begin to wonder how many more rocky outcroppings and creatively positioned tree trunks Jurassic will place in your path to ensure you remain on the straight and narrow. Linear shooters are nothing new, but Jurassicâs environmentâs struggle to keep the restricted paths believable.
Fake Plastic Trees:Sullying the level design even further is environments that look as though they were pulled from a Hollywood studioâs back lot. Trekking through the very green, very static jungle is more evocative of Disney Worldâs Jungle Cruise ride than a mysterious lost world inhabited by dinosaurs. Weâve seen technology progress so much in other jungle-set titles that it really sticks out when individual blades of grass donât realistically react to the wind, or when bullets donât tear through foliage. As fun as it is blasting through packs of dinos, youâre pulled from the experience a bit by the feeling that youâre battling them in the produce section of your local supermarket.
If youâre tired of peering down the barrel at yet another zombie horde, Jurassicâs prehistoric giants might be just what the paleontologist ordered. Despite lacking the graphical polish and creative design of its contemporaries, it still packs plenty of satisfying, straightforward action, complemented by a good selection of weapons, frantic firefights and, of course, dead dinos.
An entertaining single-player romp, supported by silly B-movie style, and a solid live-as-long-as-you-can local Survivor mode, make Jurassic a worthwhile budget purchase or Gamefly rental. It doesnât quite recapture the magic of the dino-crazed 90s, but as a potential sleeper-hit it could pave the way for a T-Rex renaissance.
Jurassic: The Hunted was developed by Cauldron and published by Activision for Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 on November 3rd. Retails for $29.99 to $39.99. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the gameâs campaign on Xbox 360 and played Survivor mode.
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