Jurassic Park: The Game

1. snugwuls

   Dec 27, 2011

   10

   I am a huge fan of the classic graphic adventure gaming genre and a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise (read both books, loved the firstI am a huge fan of the classic graphic adventure gaming genre and a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise (read both books, loved the first movie, hated the second one, and didn't bother to watch the third one yet). Let me start out by saying that The Jurassic Park: The Game is a GREAT game. It's actually one of the best games that I have played in recent years.
   
   I had been putting off buying this game because of the negative press that Telltale was getting (i.e., the "Jeep" incident and the metacritic allegation), but finally made the purchase on Steam along with Batman: Arkham City at 50% discount. Guess which one of these games I found myself coming back to again and again? Yes, I enjoyed playing JPTG even more so than Arkham City, which I felt was basically a rehash of the excellent first game.
   
   Now to the game itself. First off, to me this game is the epitome of cinematic storytelling done right in a video game. I can't say enough about how immersive the gaming experience was. I haven't played Heavy Rain or Uncharted series since I don't own a PS3 (although I did play Fahrenheit), so I can't compare the game to those established franchises known for superb storytelling, but as far as I am concerned, the plot, cinematography, music, and dialogue were all excellent. This was no doubt possible only through JPTG's heavy reliance on the "quicktime" game play, which I understand has a lot of detractors. However, after playing through the game, I think this type of gameplay was the best (and possibly only) way to tell this story effectively since the JP franchise is so synonymous with thrills and actions. I admit that some of these action sequences were quite challenging and I died a whole lot. But even some of the death sequences (i.e., getting eaten by dinos) were satisfying to watch. The interface also allows "narrating" the story from different perspectives at the same time, which was quite interesting and ingenious in my opinion. Some adventure purists may feel that the inability to move the characters directly restricting, but I personally didn't mind this at all. I played JPTG with my XBox 360 controller and I do highly recommend playing with one. I'd imagine doing those quick time sequences with a mouse/keyboard would be significantly less enjoyable somehow.
   
   The puzzles are extremely well designed. They are logical and realistic, and are seamlessly integrated into the plot. As such, the puzzles don't require cartoonish logic (No "apply molasses to cat hair to make a fake mustache" type of nonsensical puzzles) and often objects that behave realistically like their real-life counterparts.
   
   One of JPTG's strongest suits is its dialogue. The game overall is very well scripted. Although you won't mistake it for a Sorkin flick, the quality of writing is far better than some of the drabs you find in today's Hollywood blockbusters. The characters are both varied and interesting. Each character has a back story, which gets developed slowly throughout the game, and plays an important role to advance the overall plot. The story is face-paced and thrilling at some points and emotional and thought-provoking at others. The scientific tidbits that are introduced throughout the game are both interesting and consistent with the JP lore. One interesting thing that Telltale attempts to do in JPTG is to correct some of the scientific inaccuracies that were introduced in the original movie by explaining that the frog DNAs that were spliced into the dinos by Dr. Wu had introduced these "anomalies" in JP's dinosaurs.
   
   Now for the bad parts, which aren't that many. The most obvious one is its graphics, which is the biggest gripe that I have had with virtually all of Telltales' titles. It's definitely not top-of-the-line. But, then again, it is certainly "serviceable." The animation is quite fantastic in many areas actually. I don't know if they used motion-capturing technology, but the animations in a lot of the action sequences are top notch and the facial expressions are certainly good enough to covey the emotional depths. But the character models themselves lack the details and look "plasticky" under certain lighting conditions. The jungle, which is pretty much everywhere in this game, looks quite cheap if you look closely. The swaying grass and bushes are simply 2D textures moving side to side. That said, this is certainly the most graphically advanced game that Telltale has created so far. (I don't know if that's supposed to be a commendation or an indictment, but hey.) For those of you who are fans of adventure games, scientific fictions, or just dinosaurs in general, I highly recommend this game. For the Jurassic Park aficionados, JPTG is truly a worthy (and might I say "essential") addition to the beloved but aging franchise that is in sore need of its own "resurrecting."… Expand

   • 8 of 13 users found this helpful
2. madmad90

   Sep 10, 2012

   9

   The games provides you with an amazing universe, if you love Jurassic Park you totally gonna enjoy the game. But certain parts like theThe games provides you with an amazing universe, if you love Jurassic Park you totally gonna enjoy the game. But certain parts like the technical problems and the fruststing quick time events may prevent you sometimes from having fun. However for that price its totally worth your effort in going out to buy this. Do it.… Expand

   • 1 of 6 users found this helpful
4. light487

   Jul 6, 2012

   8

   People give this game a bad rap.. why? I dunno.. maybe they were expecting something else. Maybe they were expecting Turok with more adventurePeople give this game a bad rap.. why? I dunno.. maybe they were expecting something else. Maybe they were expecting Turok with more adventure and puzzle solving.. maybe they were expecting a Telltale Games adventure, even though Telltale clearly said that this game is different and explained the differences. I don't know.. after I played "The Walking Dead", I wanted more of the same while I waited for the remaining episodes and this game fits that bill nicely. Yes, there's a lot of QTEs.. but then so does "The Walking Dead" and that gets a lot of high marks reviews. I think the poor reviews of Jurassic Park are based on people's expectations and not the game itself. Is it a perfect 10 out of 10 game? No.. but it's certainly not terrible as many would have you believe.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful
5. Alpha10

   Aug 7, 2021

   5

   Very boring game of telltale , not expected this from telltale on a great title .

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
6. drachehexe

   Jun 14, 2012

   3

   This game is just downright boring. You completely lack any direct control of anything in this game. All you do is push buttons (some requireThis game is just downright boring. You completely lack any direct control of anything in this game. All you do is push buttons (some require quick reaction) and watch what happens. Ultimately that wouldn't be so bad but basically you feel like you're just sitting and watching one incredibly long cut scene and the designers punish you if you don't hit the right button fast enough. The graphics are console friendly, meaning crappy textures, crappy lighting, crappy models. Voice acting is average at best, with no great performances but a few horrible ones. The worst part of this game though is the dialogue which is bad throughout but at some points so awful it's comical. While it does feel like a Jurassic Park movie, I paid to play a game, not a movie and even as a movie it's a fairly boring one at that. If you want a good dinosaur adventure find Dino Crisis, if you want a good cinematic adventure go play King King. Both are much better time spent.… Expand

   • 5 of 6 users found this helpful
7. DoctorOrpheus

   Apr 2, 2013

   1

   For starters, I was very excited to hear about Telltale working on a Jurassic Park game. Their work on the "Walking Dead" was a refreshingFor starters, I was very excited to hear about Telltale working on a Jurassic Park game. Their work on the "Walking Dead" was a refreshing surprise. I'm not a fan of that franchise, I don't like quicktime-based gameplay, and I snickered upon seeing the bad graphics, HOWEVER the writing was fantastic! It had excellent narrative pacing, realistically intelligent characters (which you could truly care about), and it made you sweat every tiny decision because each had a consequence, be it subtle or dire. Yes, "Walking Dead" was like playing a movie a very good movie with superb story-driven interactivity, which made up for what it lacked in the gameplay and graphics department.
   
   Now, about "Jurassic Park: The Game"... oh dear. The graphics and animations are just as crappy as "Walking Dead." Many quicktime events are ridiculously menial, and are more about basic motor functions than about exploring and investigating (the worst sequences seriously reminded me of QWOP). The characters' motives, actions and reasonings often defy logic and/or are downright obnoxious so instead of rooting for them, it's a relief if they fall unconscious or die. Your in-game decisions don't really matter, and you'll still do the same thing (or something even dumber) regardless. Basically, this has all the depth and intrigue of "Barbie Horse Adventure"... just with more quicktime events, boredom, plot holes, and dinosaurs.
   
   To sum it up, don't waste your time or money on this poor excuse for a game. The ONLY thing they did well were the dinosaur models and dinosaur animations nothing else. If you're still morbidly curious, just watch a Let's Play of somewhere in the middle of the game since the first act is sort of okay, but it goes downhill rapidly from there.
   
   ...Tetris has a better plot: everything fits together without defying logic.… Expand

   • 3 of 4 users found this helpful
8. Jacob01

   May 28, 2013

   0

   Very boring game. Because you have no control over the characters, I mean, all you do is press buttons and watch what happens. And all theVery boring game. Because you have no control over the characters, I mean, all you do is press buttons and watch what happens. And all the great areas from the original film are gone or rarely seen, instead we get to see stupid places like a roller coaster, and the graphics are poor. Seriously, this game is more like an animated B movie then a video game, TT should've sent there ideas to a B movie studio because maybe it wouldn't be so bad then, playing the game is not fun and should not be recommended.… Expand

   • 1 of 3 users found this helpful

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