Summary
TheJurassic Parkfranchise began in 1993 with the success of the first film, which pushed special effects into some new and impressive territories. Sadly, the two sequels were received less well by critics and audiences, and the first stage of the franchise ended in 2001. However, there was enoughmomentum behind the fanbasefor studios to continue the franchise in 2015 with a new cast inJurassic World. This movie also yielded two sequels, but this stage of the franchise has gone the way of the first.
Fortunately, there is enough material in these movies to be explored in a series ofJurassic Parkgames. There have been many licensed tie-in games and spin-offs over the years, each of varying quality.
The Lost World: Jurassic Parkgarnered a fairly tepid reception at launch. While the second movie in the franchise may have been viewed as a disappointment by fans, the game it is based on has suffered a far worse fate: It has been forgotten.
That said, it isn’t as awful as some people may assume. There are a total of thirty levels in the campaign, each played from a top-down view. The aim is to play one of the characters in the film, and ratheruncharacteristically run around shooting dinosaurs.
Telltale is responsible for some fantastic video game stories, butJurassic Park: The Gameis not among the developer’s strongest works. The project takes place around the events of the original movie, introducing new characters that are loosely connected to the film’s cast. Although not a bad idea, the execution leaves quite a lot to be desired, and that extends beyond the uneven gameplay. The story is let down by forgettable characters who lack the required charisma to carry the burden.
Still,Jurassic Park: The Gameis not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, just a disappointing one. Die-hard fans of the franchise might find something to enjoy here, but they should go in with low expectations.
Video games in 1993were very different than they are today. For example, a movie or TV show had to be extremely popular for it to receive a tie-in video game on home consoles. Fortunately,Jurassic Parkwas popular enough at the time, and so Ocean Software got to work on the game for Nintendo.
The game is quite primitive when looked at today. The isometric view lets players roam around the park and solve objectives, while the interior of buildings are shown in first person.Jurassic Parkdoes follow the events of the film, it is just unfortunate that hiding from dinosaurs and solving puzzles isn’t that fun.
When it came to the release ofJurassic Park 3,Konami decided to go in another direction for the tie-in game. Instead of plotting an action/adventure game around the movie, they chose to allow players to build their own dinosaur park inJurassic Park 3: Park Builder.
This pixelated game does everything it promises players, and it actually performs well on the GBA. The aim for the player is to send out extraction teams to eight of the dig sites across the world to find mosquito DNA. This DNA is used to clone the dinosaurs in the park, and players must build enclosures, hotels, restaurants, and shops to boost their park’s rating. Players must remain aware, though. Natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes can hit and cause trouble for the park and its guests.
The park-building concept seems to fit theJurassic Parkfranchise well, which is why Frontier Developments released another one of these types of games in 2018. Based closely on the movies that were released at the time,Jurassic World Evolutionis a park builder and management game that takes place in the same universe as the movies.
The building options are incredibly detailed, and players can choose to build high-rise hotel buildings, viewing platforms, and gyrospheres for their guests. A few of the cast members and characters from these films, such as Jeff Goldblum, even show up to offer the player advice. A heavy storm can occur, though, to harm park guests and set dinosaurs free.
The LEGO franchise has made a name for itself in the gaming world by taking beloved movie franchises and turning them into LEGO open-world adventures. The developer, Traveller’s Tales, has done this withStar Wars, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings. In 2015, it just happened to be the turn of theJurassic Parkfilms.
This game lets players follow the stories of the four movies that have been released up to this point in LEGO form, and then explore the islands to solve puzzles in the open world. There are also opportunities tounlock a variety of playable characters and dinosaursfrom the franchise.
The firstJurassic World Evolutiongame was so successful and beloved by fans, that it received a direct sequel in 2021. Many of the same characters from the first game return to instruct the player as they try to build and manage a dinosaur park.
As expected, the sequel is far more detailed and impressive than the first game. There is even the option to build bigger parks this time around, and there aremany new additionsto the game that include flying species of dinosaurs, and sea-breathing giants.
