Jurassic Park Interactive
| Jurassic Park Interactive | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Universal Interactive |
| Publisher(s) | Universal Interactive |
| Director(s) | Gregory A. Gorsiski |
| Designer(s) | Gregory A. Gorsiski |
| Series | Jurassic Park |
| Platform(s) | 3DO |
| Genre(s) | Action/First-person adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Jurassic Park Interactive is an action video game based on the 1993 movie Jurassic Park. It was released in 1994 exclusively for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer by Universal Interactive. It had originally been intended as the 3DO pack-in title for the console's October 1993 launch, but delays in development pushed the release date back.[1]
Although footage from the film is included in the opening sequence, actual shots of actors' faces are noticeably edited out. Look-alike actors portray the characters in further game cutscenes and images.[2]
Gameplay
The game's interface is set as a computer screen that allows the player to navigate a map of the island, as well as a collection of five minigames programmed by Dennis Nedry. Players have to locate various guests on the map, then engage in a short first-person action level that either involves outrunning a Tyrannosaurus in a jeep, escaping from a small building containing raptors, or shooting approaching dilophosaurs with a charged electric gun. The end of the game comes once the player successfully relocates all of the island's guests to the helipad dock and locates outside help by breaking through the minigames.
Depending on the difficulty level chosen (Normal, Hard, or Expert), more guests are shown on the map to be saved, and less time is allowed in total to break through the minigames. In the minigames the player controls feather-light jeeps and microchips that blast floppy disks that read "DUMP".
Actors in cutscenes
| Character | Original 1993 movie | 1994 video game |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Muldoon | Bob Peck | Jason Ford |
| Dr. Alan Grant | Sam Neill | Sam Taylor |
| Dr. Ellie Sattler | Laura Dern | Joan Harris |
| Dr. Ian Malcolm | Jeff Goldblum | Frank Paturzo |
| John Hammond | Richard Attenborough | |
| Dennis Nedry | Wayne Knight | |
| Announcer | Denny Delk |
Reception
Reviews were mixed, with Famicom Tsūshin scoring the game a 22 out of 40,[3] but Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it an 7.75 out of 10, praising the full motion video sequences, the use of music from the film, the innovation of the main levels, and the nostalgia value of the Nedry minigames.[4] They later rated the game 9 out of 10 in their 1995 Videogame Buyer's Guide. GamePro's review asserted that the music is the game's only good point, lambasting the long load times, substandard graphics, simplistic and boring gameplay, and unvarying video sequences.[5]
Shawn Sackenheim of AllGame rated the game 3 stars out of 5 and praised the "decent 2D animations" of the minigames, but wrote "they're nothing you'd expect to see on a 32-bit system like the 3DO." Sackenheim said that while the minigames were enjoyable, "You'll soon grow tired of these arcade rehashes."[6] Bob Strauss of Entertainment Weekly gave the game a "D" and called it "one giant slab of prehistoric cheese." Strauss wrote, "I can say with confidence that the vehicular sequences in Jurassic Park Interactive, with their clumsy controls and grainy visuals, are among the most inept I’ve seen. [...] The other sequences, sad to say, are also somewhat stingy, lizard-wise-and equally uninteresting to play."[2]
See also
References
- ^ Matthews, Will (December 2013). "Ahead of its Time: A 3DO Retrospective". Retro Gamer. No. 122. Imagine Publishing. pp. 18–29.
- ^ a b Strauss, Bob (20 May 1994). "Jurassic Park Interactive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ 3DO GAMES CROSS REVIEW: ジュラシック・パーク・インタラクティブ. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.330. Pg.78. 14 April 1995.
- ^ "Review Crew: Jurassic Park". Electronic Gaming Monthly (60). Ziff Davis: 38. July 1994.
- ^ "ProReview: Jurassic Park Interactive". GamePro (61). IDG: 70–71. August 1994.
- ^ Sackenheim, Shawn. "Jurassic Park Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014.