Dino Crisis

From the same man who brought us the original Resident Evil comes Dino Crisis. Its more of the same really with the exception that we now must do battle with dinosaurs on a tropical island instead of the undead in an abandoned mansion.

While I don't see Dino Crisis as the classic that Resident Evil most certainly was its still an excellent game with a compelling story (for a video game anyway), great visuals and addictive gameplay. The one slight niggle I do have with the game is that, like most of the RE series it doesn't take an age to complete - though the fact that there are three endings to uncover will add to the replay value.

The bottom line is if you liked the RE games then you'll like Dino Crisis. Its an excellent addition to the survival horror genre.

Rating: 9/10

Any fan of either dinosaurs or survival horror games, both old and new, must give this Capcom classic a try.

It's the year 2009. Dr. Edward Kirk, believed to have died in an accident three years prior, is discovered alive and continuing his research on a remote island called Ibis. S. O. R. T. Agent, Regina, and her teammates, Gail, Rick, and Cooper are sent in to apprehend the scientist, only to discover the facility is inexplicably overrun by vicious dinosaurs. Now Regina and her team must capture Kirk and escape, and discover just where the dinosaurs came from in first place...

You'll control the attractive red-headed agent Regina and guide her through a research facility with only three weapons, the handgun, shotgun, and grenade launcher. They can be upgraded, and you can mix stronger types of ammo, but combat usually isn't recommended, because the dinosaurs you encounter are tough, cunning, and so relentless, they sometimes follow you through doors. Velociraptors are the most common threat. Others include the swift flying Pteranodon, the small and annoying Compsognathus, and the unrealistic but lethal Therizinosaurus. Rounding them out is the mighty T-Rex as the main antagonist who stalks you throughout the game, is invulnerable to all of your weapons, and its attacks almost always result in instant death.

The game has more advanced features than Resident Evil titles released the same year, with a 100% 3D enviornment, the ability to move and aim at the same time, and a dynamic camera that followed you around.

The sound effects are great. The dinosaurs made lifelike and intimidating sounds, like the raptor's blood curdling shrieks and hisses to the T-Rex thunderous roar. The voice acting was good too; Stephanie Morgenstern did a nice job voicing Regina.

Like its sister franchise, Dino Crisis relies on solving puzzles and collecting key items to advance. The horror aspect is powerful. You'll discover the mutilated or half-eaten corpses of the facilities staff. The Velociraptors behave like the Xenomorphs from the alien franchise, popping out and ambushing you from windows and vent shafts. Plus, the scare cords and music are outright hair-raising during jump scare encounters.

The games main downside are the excessive puzzles, which are tougher and more frustrating than in Resident Evil. There's more emphasis on survival than combat, given the scarcity of ammo and relative weakness of your weapons. The dinosaurs can withstand a lot of damage, so you'll likely spend more time running away than fighting them. But thanks to the narrow corridors and hallways all over the facility and fair amount of backtracking, sometimes you have to fight them to proceed or avoid damage.

While it didn't reach the same level of success as the better-known Resident Evil, Dino Crisis was still a remarkable addition to the survival horror genre.

I got a copy of Dino Crisis years ago back in the day when I was computer game addict on the PS1. I never got round to completing it as my I managed to burn out my second playstation through all the time I spend on it. Many years later I managed to get my hands on a cheap copy of it and decided to resume my mission to finish the game off. What can I say , I think Dino Crisis was realised during the time of the still very popular Resident Evil series. Players assume the role of uber sexy and tough chick known as Regina and the plot revolves around them going to Ibis Island in order to capture a rogue scientist known as Dr Kirk. Here is where Dino Crisis works on the Resident Evil engine and succeeds on many levels even somewhat better than the others as we are presented with Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park and if you have seen the Jurassic Park movies , we all know how viscous the dinosaur species is. The game still retains some of its thrills along the way and still has a few jump out moments which in a way make it better than Resident Evil. There is a certain addictive-ness to to it , it will keep you very entertained although my only complaints are that some parts of the game i.e. the DDK system were not explained well enough and some puzzles you were quite hard and required a stress free mind to work with and not to mention the classic running back and forth with made it a bit frustrating. However to conclude , Dino Crisis certainly was not boring and worth a check should you ever come across it, especially if your a fan of survival horror.

DINO CRISIS : 8.1 OUT 0F 10

A SURVIVAL HORROR ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE...

Much scarier than the resident evil games, much more fun to play than the resident evil games and much better graphically than the resident evil games. It rips off Jurassic Park, an island military base is crawling with dinosaurs and team go in to find the man responsible, Dr Edwin Kirk. The team find him and several of their attempts to get off the island are thwarted by attacks from the T-rex. 9 out of 10.

Dino Crisis improves on many aspects of Resident Evil, but it falls short in some other areas.

The main plus - Now you can aim AND walk at the same time. It's just...really cool. Another plus is the advanced mixing system, that allows you to create even more powerful medical equipment/weapons than before.

Not to mention that killing dinosaurs is just fun in general.

And the storyline isn't what you'd think at first glance, either. The dinos aren't created by some horrible genetic experiment horribly gone wrong, but I'll leave how it actually happens to the gamer.

Also, gone are pre-rendered backgrounds, the game is now completely in 3D ( Sort of like Code: Veronica ), and the graphics are just sensational.

Saving is also much easier. Instead of having to have enough Ink Ribbons ( Meaning you can only save so many times ), you only have to locate a save point, where you can save your game as many times as you'd like.

The FMVs are sensational, and the voiceovers are superb.

The problems lay in the gameplay though. You only get three weapons tops ( But you can upgrade them to compensate ), such as a Glock, a SPAS shotgun, and the HK Grenade Pistol.

Another downside is the item box system. There are now three different kinds of boxes you can store things in, and in order to open them, you need so many 'Plugs' to open them. But, as an added plus, each box will usually come ready-equipped with stuff already in it.

Also, the game has many keypads which require codes, which are either incredibly hard to find, or just darn-near impossible ( Thank God for FAQs ).

If these problems don't affect your gameplay, you'll get quite a lot of mileage out of this game. Otherwise, this will only be a one-ride game. Kudos to Capcom though, this was a really good idea.

**** out of Five.