Jurassic Park Interactive (3DO)

Adventures in Jurassic Park, part 8.

The most dramatic title screen yet. The title feels a little pretentious though. This isn't a mere game, this is Interactive multimedia.

Whoa, this is the only Jurassic Park game so far to play the Jurassic Park theme! Finally I get some actual John Williams soundtrack.

There's some clips from the movie too, but that's no surprise from a 3DO game. Nothing showing any of the actual actors though. I guess they cost extra.

Dinosaur roll call. Apparently we'll be seeing the Velociraptor, the Dilophosaurus, and the T-Rex in this game. Good to know.

Finally, I've reached gameplay! I'm playing a security guy who has been tasked with saving the scattered visitors after the computer tech, Nedry, screws up the park's computer system and makes a run for it.

I have to help each person find a path to the heliport, and hack the mainframe to send a message out to recall a cargo ship full of raptors heading for the Costa Rica mainland. Apparently.

The fate of Costa Rica is at stake (and perhaps THE WORLD).

I'll start by trying to get this Sam Neill lookalike off the island. You select between three possible locations on the map, then play a gameplay sequence to get there safely. Looks like in this one I'm going to be evading a t-rex.

Yeah, screw evasion and 'no fast actions', I'm just going to floor it. This isn't proper driving, you just kind of slide left and right across the video of a road to avoid obstacles. It's not much of a challenge, at least not so far.

"Yeeeee ha!" Grant yells as I escape the t-rex.

The next destination on the map took me to a first person Doom style sequence. Nothing pre-rendered here, I can walk around freely. It's a lot better looking than the SNES one too. I've got a key with a 1 on it, so I guess I should go to the 1 door.

Okay, I found the exit key and OH SHIT IT'S A RAPTOR!

Uh... fuck it I'll just run past her!

Next level is a 2d dilophosaurus shooting sequence. I've got to charge up my taser, then shoot them when they turn to the camera to spit. If I screw up and hit a dinosaur that isn't hostile to me, they turn to attack me too and their health bar is added alongside the others.

Once I've shot them a couple of times, they comically spin off screen.

Yes, I've reached the main gates! I'm so close to the end now. I can go to other locations, but they all lead away from the heliport so I don't see the point.

Oh, it's another 3d velociraptor level? Actually it seems like the exact same level, only I get a room 2 key instead of an exit key behind door 1. Now I've got to search around the room 2 area for the next key. And it's not in here because this damn door is apparently locked. Now I've got to slowly spin around and race the other way before that damn raptor finds me.

OH SHIT!

Well, Alan Grant is dead then. I've broken the movie plot. It says I've got extra lives, but they actually seem to refer to the other characters I've got to get to the end rather than extra lives for poor Dr Grant. No time to grieve though, I have less than 20 in-game hours to save the rest of the visitors, Costa Rica, and maybe THE WORLD. Or at least that's what the intro said.

I took a different path with Ellie Sattler, and managed to avoid those damn velociraptor levels so far. I think I can make it.

Yep, I've guided Sattler's look-alike to the heliport and saved her life! Now I just need to get the other three here. Fortunately the kids aren't my problem. I guess they were with Dr Grant and... oh. Well I'm sure they found an cupboard to hide in or something.

More driving, this time as Robert Muldoon. Oh crap, must go faster, must go faster!

I didn't go fast enough. Why is it when the dinosaurs kill my people it's horrific, but when I kill them they spin off screen like they're in a bad cartoon?

Damn, I got fake Ian Malcolm killed by raptors too. Only Nedry left now. Maybe I should check out the computer hacking part of the game before I get my last guy murdered.

This... isn't computer hacking. This is a map telling me how to avoid all those damn raptor levels!

Found the computer hacking button, and it took me to this crappy space invaders clone. It seems that I have to get 20,000 points in 5 different games to get into the system and recall the cargo ship of doom.

This plays about as well as it looks. And every wave of enemies seems to be identical to the last.

Between each level you get a new cartoon pic, apparently drawn up by Nedry. Man, this guy will be lucky if I don't deliberately lead him to his death.

Next up, a crap Galaga style shooter called Dacty cream. Uh, Dactylscream. I have a huge sprite to control that's a quarter as wide as the tiny screen, so it's hard to avoid being hit. And he shoots from his right hand instead of the centre.. I eventually figure out the trick though. I just have to hang around on the left of the screen and shoot each wave as they appear.

Game 3 of 5. Man, I'm not going to let the dinosaurs kill Nedry. I'm going to go out there myself with a gun and I'm going to shoot him myself for putting me through this. This 3d egg bouncing game is actually very easy but it still takes forever to finish.


LATER.

Man, that level was ridiculously easy, but this one is really hard. I have to drive my car around and shoot the dinos as they wander on screen, a bit like in asteroids. But the car races around so fast it's uncontrollable, it's difficult to turn to the precise angle to hit anything, and when the enemies get close enough they race towards the car and kill you. I couldn't get close to 20,000 on this bit, I could lose three lives without a single kill, so I have no idea what game 5 is like. Fortunately.

Okay I couldn't get into the computer, so Costa Rica is doomed (and perhaps THE WORLD), but I can at least save Nedry. If you're lucky you get tiny little video clips of the character lookalikes running around the trees when you move to a new place. Sometimes all you get is 'Camera Malfunction' and red static though.

Oh dear, it seems poor Nedry is surrounded by spitters. Well I'm sure a resourceful, intelligent guy like him will find a way out of this situation...

Nope. He got swarmed by eight dinosaurs, and only managed to get four of them before losing his eyesight due to dino spit in his eyes, and getting torn apart. Finally something goes right for me!

Well I guess my work here is done. Time to fly back, collect my paycheck, and get home in time to watch the dinosaur apocalypse.


Next game.

Part 1: Jurassic Park (NES)
Part 2: Jurassic Park (GB)
Part 3: Jurassic Park (SNES)
Part 4: Jurassic Park (Amiga)
Part 5: Jurassic Park (Master System)
Part 6: Jurassic Park (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Part 7: Jurassic Park (Sega Mega CD)

Part 9: Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Part 10: Jurassic Park II - The Chaos Continues
Part 11: Jurassic Park 2 (GB)
Part 12: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Genesis/Mega Drive)
Part 13: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (GB)
Part 14: The Lost World: Jurassic Park (PSX)
Part 15: Warpath: Jurassic Park (PSX)
Part 16: Jurassic Park: Trespasser (PC)