I really liked the game though there where several problems I had with it.
The press arrows are often too small that you need to redo it just because you couldnt see them.
There should be a color difference or something like that between the arrows where you need to press them in different order and you have some time to look at it to get different buttons. And the one where you need to press 2 or 3 times the same button and need to do it really fast. Often I had to redo it just because of that and I needed to know in advance if it was fast or slow one just to be able to get past a point.
And had several times the mouse arrow dissapear on the exploration point so it was hard to do that part without an arrow.
Just meant to play Episode 2 today but I got caught up in the story that I ended up playing through the whole game! Great job Telltale, fantastic story, great set pieces. All in all a very good game. Just wish it were longer but you can't have everything I suppose. At least there's plenty of replay value in trying to gold all the scenarios plus trying different dialogue choices. And as my first play through was with the keyboard & mouse combo I want to give the gamepad control method a play through.
Overall I loved the game but there were a few things that bothered me about it:
Speaking as a Hispanic who was raised in a bilingual home I found Nira's spanglish very annoying. It would have been fine if it had been done sparring or she had a heavier accent but she was doing it almost every other line in the early episodes.
In episode 1 and possibly 2 as well instead of directional buttons sometimes an xbox X would appear.
Some of the qucktime events are humanly impossible to do on first try just using a keyboard and mouse and were clearly designed with a console in mind.
Loved the Mosasaur design but was very disappointed with the Troodon once it was revealed.
Speaking of reveals the menus were horribly spoileriffic. Your first experience with the Rex and Mosasaur should be in the game not in the menu. Was very disappointed by that.
Loved the new motion blur you've added to the engine though there were some errors with it applied inappropriately to Billy toward the end.
Lastly I was disappointed when the tour voice and Mr. DNA were clearly voiced by Telltale regulars instead of sounding like Richard Kiley or Greg Burson.
I hope if there's another season of Jurassic Park it could be set even earlier during the movie. The reason I say this is that even though at first the impression is given that everyone left on the boat, later on when Hammond and Ellie are talking they repeatedly mention how "people are dying" even though the only person the movie has shown that they know has died was the lawyer. So who are these other people?
I'm having problems with episode 4, when fighting with Billy and escape from T-Rex has to press the button faster and not complete, or when done happens nothing .
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. Let's get the CONS out of the way:
Cons:
- my only significant complaint: too small symbols in the mouse-keyboard control scheme of the PC version, they were challenging in the wrong way and pulled me out of the experience quite a few times
- I think splitting the game into 4 episodes was a bit of a mistake, they were short and they made me feel the whole game was short, while it wasn't THAT short I think, the story was erm fulfilling
- I was kinda expecting a 'dinosaur vista scene' and Brachiosaurs (TellTale could have shown some Brachia heads above the tree line like in the movie and I would have been satisfied)
- I was dissatisfied with only one story point:
the 'bunny out of the hat' arrival of the Safari vehicle in the Harding-Nima scene, TellTale took the shortcut with that, eh?
- few grahpical glitches, but nothing serious
Pros:
- the story was surprisingly awesome, way better than that of JP3, I think it was halfway between JP1 and JP2 in style
- the failure death scenes were really well done: some of them were funny, others disturbing, some of them were even touching (like the last one)
- the puzzles could have been more challenging, but they were not as easy as in BTTF:G, which was also a pleasant surprise
- the characters
I expected Jess to be annoying as hell, but I really liked her... I was also pleasantly surprised that TellTale didn't rehash the Kelly-Ian Malcolm conflict from the second movie
I was nice that Sarah Harding and even Peter Ludlow got a mention
I loved the hero-villain dynamics of the supporting characters
the turn of Billy was really well done, as well as the final 'crazy scientist' twist on Dr. Sorkin
Oscar was awesome, probably my favorite character
I loved his fight with the Raptors
I am glad the dark side of Hammond was shown
- the dinosaurs:
the best one was the Mosasaur, I didn't expect her to be that awesome!
the T-rex was the T-rex from the first movie, I liked all the QTEs that featured her... she was everywhere on the island, weren't she?
the Troodons were creeptaclural, they were awesome!
the 'eggs in the stomach' bit was seriously disturbing, I loved that dark twist
Paras were cute, they really had a bad day with Raptors and the Rex all over them though
Raptors were cool... they were intelligent, but not too much (like in JP3)
- the Journal was a really nice addition, I liked the 'genetic tampering' angle on the InGen dinos
My overall grade: 7/10
Mainly because of the small PC symbols. TellTale should fix this problem the next time around. So BRING ON THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK: THE GAME!:D
EDIT: Hey, I totally forgot that I actually wished for
a mention of Sarah Harding and Peter Ludlow... on 24th March in the Insiders' Forum I wrote: "I would love a mention of Sarah Harding or Peter Ludlow in the Game."
! Thanks so much, TellTale! )) Of course I don't think it was because of me, but still... it's always nice to feel appreciated.:D
I finished the game last night, and overall I really liked it despite some glaring technical and design issues. For one thing, on PS3 those button callouts for the QTEs are way too damn small and hard to see. Callouts with similar icons are really hard to distinguish between, such as distinguishing between L1 and R1 callouts or O and square callouts. I also found that the button-mashing QTEs gave the player way too little time to react, as if you weren't hammering on the button with all your might the moment the callout appeared, most of the time I died. That just feels like an unfair death.
I also ran into some technical issues with the game stuttering during transitions, particularly during auto-saves and after entering a QTE sequence. The game also crashed on me once in Episode 3 when Billy picks up the Barbasol can.
That said, I think this game's getting a lot of unfair press right now on its presentation. This game easily has the best production values of any Telltale game to this point, with quite a few characters and environments that are about the quality of a PS3 launch game. Characters are expressive, detailed, and mobile (so they don't have that common Telltale problem of everyone acting like store mannequins, only moving their head and arms). The QTE sequences, while frustrating, are fantastically well-shot and scripted. And I'm very impressed with the storytelling altogether, as the game slides very neatly both into the first movie and the original book. The characterization is very good, and I found the story very engaging.
It's not a perfect game, and if you didn't like Heavy Rain's gameplay you'll hate this game. But I really enjoyed it. I hope this is a sign of greater things from Telltale in the future, as I don't know if I can go back to the old Telltale style after this.
There was one continuity error that really bugged me about the Jurassic Park game, though. At the end of the first movie, the main characters are about to get eaten by the Velociraptors when IIRC the T-Rex burst through the walls and attacks them. Then after the main characters escape, the big "WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH!" banner falls to the ground in front of the T-Rex as it roars.
However, in this game's Visitor's Center (which you reach after the characters from the first movie get away) there is no sign of the damage the T-Rex should have inflicted upon the main lobby, and the banner is gone.
There was one continuity error that really bugged me about the Jurassic Park game, though. At the end of the first movie, the main characters are about to get eaten by the Velociraptors when IIRC the T-Rex burst through the walls and attacks them. Then after the main characters escape, the big "WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH!" banner falls to the ground in front of the T-Rex as it roars.
However, in this game's Visitor's Center (which you reach after the characters from the first movie get away) there is no sign of the damage the T-Rex should have inflicted upon the main lobby, and the banner is gone.
I saw the banner on the floor, even looked at it (with one of the characters, Jess I think). Plus there is the skeletons that were in the lobby are broken and scattered around. Hell there's an important item hidden in one.
There was one continuity error that really bugged me about the Jurassic Park game, though. At the end of the first movie, the main characters are about to get eaten by the Velociraptors when IIRC the T-Rex burst through the walls and attacks them. Then after the main characters escape, the big "WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH!" banner falls to the ground in front of the T-Rex as it roars.
However, in this game's Visitor's Center (which you reach after the characters from the first movie get away) there is no sign of the damage the T-Rex should have inflicted upon the main lobby, and the banner is gone.
The banner is still there actually, you can click on it and Jess will read it out loud.
The banner is still there actually, you can click on it and Jess will read it out loud.
Ok, if I missed that, fine. I remember looking for it, and I didn't find it. But what about the entire wall that should be missing from the Visitor's Center where the T-Rex charged through? It did do that, didn't it? I don't remember if the movie showed where the T-Rex entered the scene.
There was one continuity error that really bugged me about the Jurassic Park game, though. At the end of the first movie, the main characters are about to get eaten by the Velociraptors when IIRC the T-Rex burst through the walls and attacks them. Then after the main characters escape, the big "WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH!" banner falls to the ground in front of the T-Rex as it roars.
However, in this game's Visitor's Center (which you reach after the characters from the first movie get away) there is no sign of the damage the T-Rex should have inflicted upon the main lobby, and the banner is gone.
Uhhh...no. The damage is there, scene for scene. The scattered skeletons, the banner, the broken tarp entrance, even a limb of a dinosaur. I don't know what you're looking at.
We've also deducted that the T-rex comes in and out of the left side wall which is unfinished covered with a ripped tarp in the game. That was something the film didn't explain very well, but it's the only logical explanation.
I must say I'm probably one of the biggest JP fan ever. I spent the last 5 years making 3d models for a JP fanfilm I'm making and I used to spend a lot of time, sometime having dinner ... with the Stan Winston Studio team, ILM team, and even with Steven Spielberg himself.
What about that game.
Well, I wanted to be back on isla nublar and explore the island. Well I did ;-)
The story, just great, I just love how Hammond is like in the novel and not on the book.
The new characters are very interesting and the atmosphere is perfect.
Graphics are not so bad even if they are far from the last high tech games.
If you made a TLW version, try to make better graphics, and if you have the possibility, please follow the novel, not the movie. TLW novel story if far far better than the movie one.
About the gameplay, well, sometime it's fun, a bit rpg like when you talk to people but sometime it's just like if you watched a movie. It's like if the dvd stopped when you died and jump back to the last chapter to try again.
Sound and music, ok for me.
Info about dinos, quite interesting, talking about lysine, dilo and raptor size ... good.
If you make a new one, any suggestions? Well Maybe to keep point and click part but not for the entire game. You could keep it for some action sequences and dialogue sequences, but I miss the possibilities to explore the park.
After the group is seperate, I would have loved to explore the road ... And be a bit more free, not just follow the storyline. It would have been great to drive the jeep instead of just be transported in it ... maybe something more interactive.
Well I enjoyed to play the game, it's canon with the movie and book, the atmosphere and story are awesome, if you make a next one, just try to make better graphics and something less linear and more interactive. I would like to be able to drive cars and why not play a dino ^,^
finished the game. loved it. hated when sorkin died. loved when yoder died. felt a sense of nostalgia when the brach's were bellowing. didnt like how we didnt see any brachs. mosasaur = awesomeness. loved it overall. anding kinda questionable. when they are hightailin it off the island it was to short.
finished the game. Loved it. Hated when sorkin died. Loved when yoder died. Felt a sense of nostalgia when the brach's were bellowing. Didnt like how we didnt see any brachs. Mosasaur = awesomeness. Loved it overall. Anding kinda questionable. When they are hightailin it off the island it was to short.
Also I discovered something for keyboard gamers, during action scenes that require arrow buttons, keep smashing each one of them. It's helped me get passed each one with a gold star.
Today, my friend asked me, "Was the game good?"
I just said "Yep." And inside, I was plotting my night - play the game again.
And again.
And again.
(Avast! Ahead be Spoilers, yaargh!)
Here's my lengthy review on my Game of the Year. Final scores at the bottom.
Gameplay
The moment I started the game, I was deeply interested in the gameplay style. It was different than the annoying, spammed FPS games coming out all the time, and it kept me playing, panicking and restarting - just what I like, a game not too easy, but not too hard. I played with the Xbox Gamepad on the PC, and it worked perfectly. No flaws, nothing. The optional dialogue choices added alot of fun and realism. The only reason it's not perfect will be explained under graphics. 9.5 / 10
Story
One word sums it up: UNFRIGGINBELIEVABLE. This was, by far, the number one greatest story I have ever seen in a videogame before. I felt it was even better than the first Jurassic Park movie, my favorite movie of all time. I was riveted on the plot, and all was heartfelt when something bad befell the survivors. The characters developed very well, especially Jessica and Gerry. I really enjoyed the scene where Gerry and Nima are on the cliff and discussing how InGen stole the island from Nima's people. The best thing was that the plot was not obvious at all; I never expected Yoder to turn on me. Also, the two alternate endings were really well done, and they really reflected Nima's final decision. Done EXACTLY like a Steven Speilberg / Micheal Crichton film. Very well done Telltale writers. 10 (would be 14) / 10
Graphics
This is the only thing that really got me. The graphics were really nice, if not up to todays standards. The dinosaurs were amazing. The trees were beatiful. The buildings were perfect. The DoF effect was great. The people were...kind of a letdown. The humans didn't look all that good, and the lip-sync wasn't perfect. But other than that, the graphics were very nice. What caused the rating to fall was a glitch that forced me to set graphics quality to "high" instead of "highest", which my gaming rig should have handled no problem. The game lagged horribly in the worst possible places, and eventually, I couldn't push the actions commands because of a glitch. So I couldn't get the full potential, even with a computer that ran all modern games perfectly. So thats going to be a 6 / 10.
Sound
The sounds were straight out of the movie. The dinosaurs were using precisely the same sounds (except the Parasaurolophus, but they still sounded fine) as they did in Jurassic Park. The voice acting was perfect - pat on the back to the actors. Most of the sounds sounded like their real-world counterparts (except Nedry's Jeep, but I can overlook 1 bad sound). The music was great, and it was played at the exactly the right times. Occasionaly, the sound would clip, and that would get a bit annoying. Overall, very good. 8 / 10.
Overall
Jurassic Park is my Game of the Year. After so many letdowns following Trespasser (which was a great game, no matter what anyone says), someone finally came out of the blue and made the greatest piece of Jurassic Park material ever. The plot was phenomenal; Universal should use it as Jurassic Park IV - this game would be a fantastic movie. I freuently felt like I was watching a movie, then my character would die because I was so entranced. I cannot be more pleased for such a great price. Despite the few bugs and outdated graphics, I was able to overcome that for the amazing story that so many games lack nowadays, the completely non-first-person gameplay, the cinematic style, and the classic Speilburg jokes (I really laughed hard at the "No running or jumping off this dock" sign at the end).
My final words: That was the greatest game I have ever played in my entire life. Kudos to Telltale - You guys have just made my year.
FINAL RATINGS
Gameplay: 9.5 / 10
Story: 10 / 10 (I'd give it a 13 or 14 if I could)
Graphics: 6 / 10
Sound: 8 / 10
So I heard. They only ever like shooter games. Prejudice, I say.
JP was the greatest game I have ever played, IGN can go back to CoD MW3...err...MW2...or...MW1. It's the same thing...
Yeah, I just watched the review on youtube and he was wrong about a lot of things. I don't understand how he can say the story was bad. He even said the character were not devolped which is total bull.
Yeah, I just watched the review on youtube and he was wrong about a lot of things. I don't understand how he can say the story was bad. He even said the character were not devolped which is total bull.
Exactly my thoughts. The character development was great and fleshed out, for one - just take Jessica and Gerry. IGN really has to go out and get some non-FPS gamers...geez.
Sorry it took so long to put up my review. Everything I said in my first impressions post still applies, though.
I think what really makes this game shine is that it shows Telltale's capacity for storytelling. Telltale's been steadily inching towards more serious stories for a while (Tales of Monkey Island, The Devil's Playhouse, Puzzle Agent, BttF), but this is the first time the drama outweighs the comedy as opposed to the other way around. This game might just be a better Jurassic Park movie than the sequels were. Telltale's always treated their licenses with respect, but this game might be their best in that department. Most people only remember JP for the dinosaurs, and when Telltale first announced this game most people (mainly those who don't know Telltale does adventure games) were expecting something along the lines of an FPS with dinosaurs. And while the dinosaurs are definitely the most memorable thing about Jurassic Park, they're far from the only thing. The movie also has plenty of actual character drama (Grant's fatherhood anxieties, Hammond having to cope with his dream falling to pieces...) and debates on the ethics of science. I'm extremely pleased to see Telltale included all of that in this game (and the dinosaurs, of course).
Oddly enough, I think my favorite part of the game was
Gerry and Sorkin's arguments over whether the dinosaurs have a right to live. It was pretty thought-provoking, and even though Sorkin's clearly the bad guy, they leave it up to the player to decide if she's actually right or wrong.
Really, all of the characters were believably written, and I have to applaud Telltale for that. Only thing I wasn't fan of is
Yoder suddenly going evil. It was just too sudden for me to take seriously, especially since up to that point he'd been established as a more or less good guy.
The bad part is that this is Telltale's least game-y game yet. Even BttF, as much as I disliked it, has it beat in that regard. Like I said before, the exploration sequences were painfully restrictive, and while the QTE sequences were good, they do nothing to provide the intellectual challenge I expect from an adventure game. There isn't even a concrete player character. Instead you alternate throughout the entire cast, taking control of one then quickly moving to another. It made me feel like I, the player, had no actual presence in the game. Instead I was just passively observing the plot, kind of like I was...you know, watching a movie...
There's nothing wrong with wanting a game to have a strong story. And I do applaud Telltale for trying to give this game as much of a cinematic feel as possible (although I'm not a fan of how the dialogue is unskippable). But this is a game. The first priority when developing a game, even an adventure game where gameplay as a rule is fairly limited, is that the game is fun to play. I'm a little upset that I spent 30 dollars (and I'm not in the best financial state, mind you) for what amounts to a movie ticket.
If anyone from the Telltale Team is reading this, let me just get this off my chest. It's understandable that you want to grow into a larger company, and I'm sure you all understand the inner workings of the gaming industry far better than I do. But you can't casualize adventure games. You just can't. If you try, whatever comes out barely qualifies as an adventure game. I'm now honestly scared about the fact that you're going to revive King's Quest.
It doesn't even seem like you're actually succeeding in the casual department. Whenever I see someone unfamiliar with adventure games commenting on BttF or JP, it's usually something like "WHY CAN'T I FREE ROAM HILL VALLEY LIKE GTA" or "WHY CAN'T I KILL THE DINOSAURS." They're even harsher than the adventure fans (and they're plenty harsh already). I get that BttF was Telltale's best-selling game (and so I know Telltale's casual plan is going to stick for quite a while), but I feel like the whole casual adventure game angle will only succeed in the short-term. Fans of (insert license here) buy the new (insert license here) game, decide the gameplay's not engaging enough (though to be fair this would probably happen even with a proper adventure game), don't pay any more attention to the developer.
SUMMARY: This is a great Jurassic Park story, but not a very good game. The plot does make it worth checking out, but I'd wait until it's discounted.
I think that this should have been Jurassic Park IV instead of a game. Like I said, at times I thought I was watching a movie and died because of that. I'd rather find a way to mod the game and remove all the controls and just watch it like a movie. But it was still amazing, despite the way there isn't alot to the gameplay. I'm just happy it wasn't another FPS. *cough*MW3*cough*Skyrim*cough*
Sorry, my keyboard is sick.
I think that this should have been Jurassic Park IV instead of a game. Like I said, at times I thought I was watching a movie and died because of that. I'd rather find a way to mod the game and remove all the controls and just watch it like a movie.
What? Really?? This baffles me. Can you honestly say you are happy to have paid 30 dollars to watch a fucking movie??
Overall i really really enjoyed the game in spite of a few complaints I have about it, ill start with those.
Now.. i always feel that telltales games are too short :P but i felt like these episodes were really short, even for a telltale game >< which is i believe a result of the game being more.. "streamlined" than previous games.
Exploring was really minimal, you only really get to look around in really small areas and only a few objects to click in each area and looking around felt restrictive since you just get the one camera angle and usually cant pan it very much. This also led to a problem of missing some things because you clicked on the "right" thing to progress the story before getting to look at the other things.
The puzzles were few and pretty easy, though still fun, just wasnt enough of them, and with the few things to inspect and click on it just made it easier to figure them out.
The dialog options for the first two episodes i felt were too few as well, in other telltale games im used to having large conversations with everyone, lots of questions to ask and things to say. Again there is also the problem of picking the "right" option that progresses the story and you wind up missing some options.
The dialog options for the last two episodes i felt were much better, they came up a lot and you were able to have long conversations with a lot of options and character development. For the long conversations there wasnt the "right" choice that progressed the story to the next point unless you clicked the "end conversation" option which was very obvious as thats basically what the option said :P so you could pick any option you wanted to say and the conversation would keep going. Though the conversations did eventually end on their own and there were a few options i didnt pick, i didnt feel like i missed out on that much since i did get to choose so many other things before the end.
I enjoyed the qtes, they gave the game some action, suspence and the danger that isnt present in other telltale games, what with being able to die and all :P I especially enjoyed the last mosasaur one, where its swimming at you and the qte is getting ready on it, so i was prepared to hit that button the second it lit up, and just as its ready a second one poped up but it was too late, i was quick and hit the first one, so shot the harpoon at the mosasaur and it did nothing and i got eaten, dirty trick telltale >3 but oh so fun, i wish there were more similar to that. But then again, that might have made that one not as fun and surprising :P
I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and while i was happy with the ending(s) i felt they were a bit too short themselves. When jurassic park ended it had the scene where hammond was taking one last minute to look and reflect at his island and all hes done while brachiosaurs could be heard in the background and then the helicopter ride, hammond still reflecting on what hes done and last as well as showing how grant started out hating kids and then in the end he seemed to have changed. (While im here, who else felt it was just weird that in jp3 they broke up grant and elly because he still didnt want kids >< i thought the whole point of that little bit at the end of the first movie was about him changing his mind) In the lost world we had malcom sarah and kelly watching the t-rex transport on tv as well as hammond giving his final thoughts on how we all just need to leave the dinosaurs alone to prosper and then seeing all the dinosaurs living on the island at the end.
When this game ended it had a quick conversation on the boat but showing everything was going to have a good ending after all. Felt more like the ending with jp3 where they just get on the helicopters and see the Pteranodons flying off, which i also felt wasnt as good as the first two endings.
I also really like the scenarios and medals, that you can go back and play the scenes to try to get a gold medal by not messing up. (though i feel there should be an option for skipping dialog when attempting to do this. Trying to redo the dilo attack in the first episode is a real pain because you have to listen to a lot of talking and stuff before it gets to the action)
The dinosaurs look amazing ...not much else to say about that, they just are xD
I did have some technical problems such as the game not moving as flowingly as it should (im sure my pc is well over the requirements for the game so im not sure why im having this problem) That no matter how many times i go in to turn down the music there are times where the music still drowns out the characters talking (does the sound volume changer even work >>) And oscar is really hard to hear and understand at times, even with no music (had this same problem in bttf ep. 5 with doc brown)
This is probaly coming off a lot more "complainy" than i mean it to be, i just wanted to give my constructive criticism but really i loved the game, you guys did an awsome job, i guess if i have to give a number to it id give it a 9 out of 10. well done
tldr: I give a lot of constructive criticism about things i didnt like or felt coulda gone better, but overall i love the game. 9 out of 10
Amazing game! Given how BTTF performed earlier this year, I'm really surprised to see this much detail put into a Telltale game. The story is great, the settings are huge, and the action sequences are INCREDIBLE. I can see why the delay happened since you guys went out of your way with the animation. I'm still half-and-half on whether a lot of these parts were mo-capped since both the quality and quantity of the animation outdoes all your past efforts. And there's so many death sequences!
To nitpick, this isn't really an adventure game. It's a "click everything until you win" game. It's an interactive movie, where you only play to watch. There's a few logic puzzles like the roller coaster and the underground schematics, but I figured these out in five minutes tops. The puzzles feel like filler more than anything.
So I'm guessing "Walking Dead" will be done in a similar style? I wouldn't mind seeing Telltale do more games like this, as long as it's appropriate for the respective franchise. JP actually got my heart racing, and that's something I haven't felt from any game since the final chase scene in "Phantasmagoria" almost fifteen years ago - so the quicktime-event method is very appropriate for thriller-based franchises.
But personally, I'm still waiting for another of Telltale's big trademark games like TOMI or S&M for us traditional adventurers. BTTF seemed lacking, and I'm hoping King's Quest will fill that gap in your upcoming games.
Amazing game!
So I'm guessing "Walking Dead" will be done in a similar style? I wouldn't mind seeing Telltale do more games like this, as long as it's appropriate for the respective franchise. JP actually got my heart racing, and that's something I haven't felt from any game since the final chase scene in "Phantasmagoria" almost fifteen years ago - so the quicktime-event method is very appropriate for thriller-based franchises.
Walking Dead will actually have a completely different style from JP, as shown by the screenshots. The art will have a 2D feel and be a return to more classic adventure gaming.
Nah, that's okay. I liked the game, they didn't. Besides, the reviewer didn't seem to give it much thought, he gave 5.5 in every category except one... lazy, but it's his loss, I guess he wanted to continue Skyrim really badly.:p
"Review" usually implies "completed the whole thing, now talking about it," so ending spoilers should be expected!
I think it's a bit more complicated than usual.
Four episodes were released at once, and I assume that people might already have a strong review opinion after episode 1, which they'd like to get off their chests. Mechanics, flow and general philosophy are understood after the first episode, so I wouldn't rule out that many want to place their review - and read others - after episode 1.
Spoiler tags in review threads are a bit stupid, but maybe the community could just be a tad more careful and add spoiler tags for crucial story moments.
After finished episode 2 and 3 I'm really liking the game, specially the story. The second episode felt somewhat inferior to episode 1 mostly because of the field lab part and the introduction of the mercenaries. Both didn't actually appealed me that much. However episode 3 picked up in the underground tunnels part, which is one of my favorite parts of the game until now.
I also felt Dr. Sorkin's Lysine Contingency "cure" didn't really contribute too much for anything. Note I didn't, yet, played episode 4 which can possible bring that subject into question again.
Comments
The press arrows are often too small that you need to redo it just because you couldnt see them.
There should be a color difference or something like that between the arrows where you need to press them in different order and you have some time to look at it to get different buttons. And the one where you need to press 2 or 3 times the same button and need to do it really fast. Often I had to redo it just because of that and I needed to know in advance if it was fast or slow one just to be able to get past a point.
And had several times the mouse arrow dissapear on the exploration point so it was hard to do that part without an arrow.
That's what's important to you?? :P
Yeah, there are park tour vehicles, but they've been de-branded.
Now go make a Jurassic Park: The Lost World game!
ofc, you can't look at a Jurassic park game and not think of the iconic Ford Explorer.
That and the T-rex.
I hope if there's another season of Jurassic Park it could be set even earlier during the movie. The reason I say this is that even though at first the impression is given that everyone left on the boat, later on when Hammond and Ellie are talking they repeatedly mention how "people are dying" even though the only person the movie has shown that they know has died was the lawyer. So who are these other people?
also in charge and jump to escape the T-rex
game on the PS3.
Cons:
- my only significant complaint: too small symbols in the mouse-keyboard control scheme of the PC version, they were challenging in the wrong way and pulled me out of the experience quite a few times
- I think splitting the game into 4 episodes was a bit of a mistake, they were short and they made me feel the whole game was short, while it wasn't THAT short I think, the story was erm fulfilling
- I was kinda expecting a 'dinosaur vista scene' and Brachiosaurs (TellTale could have shown some Brachia heads above the tree line like in the movie and I would have been satisfied)
- I was dissatisfied with only one story point:
Pros:
- the story was surprisingly awesome, way better than that of JP3, I think it was halfway between JP1 and JP2 in style
- the failure death scenes were really well done: some of them were funny, others disturbing, some of them were even touching (like the last one)
- the puzzles could have been more challenging, but they were not as easy as in BTTF:G, which was also a pleasant surprise
- the characters
- I expected Jess to be annoying as hell, but I really liked her... I was also pleasantly surprised that TellTale didn't rehash the Kelly-Ian Malcolm conflict from the second movie
-
I was nice that Sarah Harding and even Peter Ludlow got a mention
- I loved the hero-villain dynamics of the supporting characters
the turn of Billy was really well done, as well as the final 'crazy scientist' twist on Dr. Sorkin
- Oscar was awesome, probably my favorite character
I loved his fight with the Raptors
- I am glad the dark side of Hammond was shown
- the dinosaurs:- the best one was the Mosasaur, I didn't expect her to be that awesome!
- the T-rex was the T-rex from the first movie, I liked all the QTEs that featured her... she was everywhere on the island, weren't she?
- the Troodons were creeptaclural, they were awesome!
the 'eggs in the stomach' bit was seriously disturbing, I loved that dark twist
- Paras were cute, they really had a bad day with Raptors and the Rex all over them though
- Raptors were cool... they were intelligent, but not too much (like in JP3)
- the Journal was a really nice addition, I liked the 'genetic tampering' angle on the InGen dinosMy overall grade: 7/10
Mainly because of the small PC symbols. TellTale should fix this problem the next time around. So BRING ON THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK: THE GAME!:D
EDIT: Hey, I totally forgot that I actually wished for
I also ran into some technical issues with the game stuttering during transitions, particularly during auto-saves and after entering a QTE sequence. The game also crashed on me once in Episode 3 when Billy picks up the Barbasol can.
That said, I think this game's getting a lot of unfair press right now on its presentation. This game easily has the best production values of any Telltale game to this point, with quite a few characters and environments that are about the quality of a PS3 launch game. Characters are expressive, detailed, and mobile (so they don't have that common Telltale problem of everyone acting like store mannequins, only moving their head and arms). The QTE sequences, while frustrating, are fantastically well-shot and scripted. And I'm very impressed with the storytelling altogether, as the game slides very neatly both into the first movie and the original book. The characterization is very good, and I found the story very engaging.
It's not a perfect game, and if you didn't like Heavy Rain's gameplay you'll hate this game. But I really enjoyed it. I hope this is a sign of greater things from Telltale in the future, as I don't know if I can go back to the old Telltale style after this.
However, in this game's Visitor's Center (which you reach after the characters from the first movie get away) there is no sign of the damage the T-Rex should have inflicted upon the main lobby, and the banner is gone.
I saw the banner on the floor, even looked at it (with one of the characters, Jess I think). Plus there is the skeletons that were in the lobby are broken and scattered around. Hell there's an important item hidden in one.
The banner is still there actually, you can click on it and Jess will read it out loud.
Ok, if I missed that, fine. I remember looking for it, and I didn't find it. But what about the entire wall that should be missing from the Visitor's Center where the T-Rex charged through? It did do that, didn't it? I don't remember if the movie showed where the T-Rex entered the scene.
We've also deducted that the T-rex comes in and out of the left side wall which is unfinished covered with a ripped tarp in the game. That was something the film didn't explain very well, but it's the only logical explanation.
I must say I'm probably one of the biggest JP fan ever. I spent the last 5 years making 3d models for a JP fanfilm I'm making and I used to spend a lot of time, sometime having dinner ... with the Stan Winston Studio team, ILM team, and even with Steven Spielberg himself.
What about that game.
Well, I wanted to be back on isla nublar and explore the island. Well I did ;-)
The story, just great, I just love how Hammond is like in the novel and not on the book.
The new characters are very interesting and the atmosphere is perfect.
Graphics are not so bad even if they are far from the last high tech games.
If you made a TLW version, try to make better graphics, and if you have the possibility, please follow the novel, not the movie. TLW novel story if far far better than the movie one.
About the gameplay, well, sometime it's fun, a bit rpg like when you talk to people but sometime it's just like if you watched a movie. It's like if the dvd stopped when you died and jump back to the last chapter to try again.
Sound and music, ok for me.
Info about dinos, quite interesting, talking about lysine, dilo and raptor size ... good.
If you make a new one, any suggestions? Well Maybe to keep point and click part but not for the entire game. You could keep it for some action sequences and dialogue sequences, but I miss the possibilities to explore the park.
After the group is seperate, I would have loved to explore the road ... And be a bit more free, not just follow the storyline. It would have been great to drive the jeep instead of just be transported in it ... maybe something more interactive.
Well I enjoyed to play the game, it's canon with the movie and book, the atmosphere and story are awesome, if you make a next one, just try to make better graphics and something less linear and more interactive. I would like to be able to drive cars and why not play a dino ^,^
Julien
why did you spoil that for me!
Now the game is ruined for me
"Review" usually implies "completed the whole thing, now talking about it," so ending spoilers should be expected!
I was gonna review Episode 2, but I ran into that spoiler. Atleast tag the spoilers, other forums do this, especially in review threads.
Anyways, I liked Episode 2. Not as fun as the others, but shows the love/hate relationships with the characters. The Raptor's are pretty cool.
thnx i got really upset for a sec.:o
Today, my friend asked me, "Was the game good?"
I just said "Yep." And inside, I was plotting my night - play the game again.
And again.
And again.
(Avast! Ahead be Spoilers, yaargh!)
Here's my lengthy review on my Game of the Year. Final scores at the bottom.
Gameplay
The moment I started the game, I was deeply interested in the gameplay style. It was different than the annoying, spammed FPS games coming out all the time, and it kept me playing, panicking and restarting - just what I like, a game not too easy, but not too hard. I played with the Xbox Gamepad on the PC, and it worked perfectly. No flaws, nothing. The optional dialogue choices added alot of fun and realism. The only reason it's not perfect will be explained under graphics. 9.5 / 10
Story
One word sums it up: UNFRIGGINBELIEVABLE. This was, by far, the number one greatest story I have ever seen in a videogame before. I felt it was even better than the first Jurassic Park movie, my favorite movie of all time. I was riveted on the plot, and all was heartfelt when something bad befell the survivors. The characters developed very well, especially Jessica and Gerry. I really enjoyed the scene where Gerry and Nima are on the cliff and discussing how InGen stole the island from Nima's people. The best thing was that the plot was not obvious at all; I never expected Yoder to turn on me. Also, the two alternate endings were really well done, and they really reflected Nima's final decision. Done EXACTLY like a Steven Speilberg / Micheal Crichton film. Very well done Telltale writers. 10 (would be 14) / 10
Graphics
This is the only thing that really got me. The graphics were really nice, if not up to todays standards. The dinosaurs were amazing. The trees were beatiful. The buildings were perfect. The DoF effect was great. The people were...kind of a letdown. The humans didn't look all that good, and the lip-sync wasn't perfect. But other than that, the graphics were very nice. What caused the rating to fall was a glitch that forced me to set graphics quality to "high" instead of "highest", which my gaming rig should have handled no problem. The game lagged horribly in the worst possible places, and eventually, I couldn't push the actions commands because of a glitch. So I couldn't get the full potential, even with a computer that ran all modern games perfectly. So thats going to be a 6 / 10.
Sound
The sounds were straight out of the movie. The dinosaurs were using precisely the same sounds (except the Parasaurolophus, but they still sounded fine) as they did in Jurassic Park. The voice acting was perfect - pat on the back to the actors. Most of the sounds sounded like their real-world counterparts (except Nedry's Jeep, but I can overlook 1 bad sound). The music was great, and it was played at the exactly the right times. Occasionaly, the sound would clip, and that would get a bit annoying. Overall, very good. 8 / 10.
Overall
Jurassic Park is my Game of the Year. After so many letdowns following Trespasser (which was a great game, no matter what anyone says), someone finally came out of the blue and made the greatest piece of Jurassic Park material ever. The plot was phenomenal; Universal should use it as Jurassic Park IV - this game would be a fantastic movie. I freuently felt like I was watching a movie, then my character would die because I was so entranced. I cannot be more pleased for such a great price. Despite the few bugs and outdated graphics, I was able to overcome that for the amazing story that so many games lack nowadays, the completely non-first-person gameplay, the cinematic style, and the classic Speilburg jokes (I really laughed hard at the "No running or jumping off this dock" sign at the end).
My final words: That was the greatest game I have ever played in my entire life. Kudos to Telltale - You guys have just made my year.
Gameplay: 9.5 / 10
Story: 10 / 10 (I'd give it a 13 or 14 if I could)
Graphics: 6 / 10
Sound: 8 / 10
Overall: 9.8 / 10
AMAZING JOB TELLATALE!
So I heard. They only ever like shooter games. Prejudice, I say.
JP was the greatest game I have ever played, IGN can go back to CoD MW3...err...MW2...or...MW1. It's the same thing...
IGN gave a game a bad review cause they couldn't play it without fucking up.
I never trust IGN, only Gamespot, Rock Paper Shotgun, and Metacritic. And sometimes player reviews.
Never got to read it since my eyes went blurry and had to fetch some reading glasses.
Yeah, I just watched the review on youtube and he was wrong about a lot of things. I don't understand how he can say the story was bad. He even said the character were not devolped which is total bull.
Exactly my thoughts. The character development was great and fleshed out, for one - just take Jessica and Gerry. IGN really has to go out and get some non-FPS gamers...geez.
I think what really makes this game shine is that it shows Telltale's capacity for storytelling. Telltale's been steadily inching towards more serious stories for a while (Tales of Monkey Island, The Devil's Playhouse, Puzzle Agent, BttF), but this is the first time the drama outweighs the comedy as opposed to the other way around. This game might just be a better Jurassic Park movie than the sequels were. Telltale's always treated their licenses with respect, but this game might be their best in that department. Most people only remember JP for the dinosaurs, and when Telltale first announced this game most people (mainly those who don't know Telltale does adventure games) were expecting something along the lines of an FPS with dinosaurs. And while the dinosaurs are definitely the most memorable thing about Jurassic Park, they're far from the only thing. The movie also has plenty of actual character drama (Grant's fatherhood anxieties, Hammond having to cope with his dream falling to pieces...) and debates on the ethics of science. I'm extremely pleased to see Telltale included all of that in this game (and the dinosaurs, of course).
Oddly enough, I think my favorite part of the game was
The bad part is that this is Telltale's least game-y game yet. Even BttF, as much as I disliked it, has it beat in that regard. Like I said before, the exploration sequences were painfully restrictive, and while the QTE sequences were good, they do nothing to provide the intellectual challenge I expect from an adventure game. There isn't even a concrete player character. Instead you alternate throughout the entire cast, taking control of one then quickly moving to another. It made me feel like I, the player, had no actual presence in the game. Instead I was just passively observing the plot, kind of like I was...you know, watching a movie...
There's nothing wrong with wanting a game to have a strong story. And I do applaud Telltale for trying to give this game as much of a cinematic feel as possible (although I'm not a fan of how the dialogue is unskippable). But this is a game. The first priority when developing a game, even an adventure game where gameplay as a rule is fairly limited, is that the game is fun to play. I'm a little upset that I spent 30 dollars (and I'm not in the best financial state, mind you) for what amounts to a movie ticket.
If anyone from the Telltale Team is reading this, let me just get this off my chest. It's understandable that you want to grow into a larger company, and I'm sure you all understand the inner workings of the gaming industry far better than I do. But you can't casualize adventure games. You just can't. If you try, whatever comes out barely qualifies as an adventure game. I'm now honestly scared about the fact that you're going to revive King's Quest.
It doesn't even seem like you're actually succeeding in the casual department. Whenever I see someone unfamiliar with adventure games commenting on BttF or JP, it's usually something like "WHY CAN'T I FREE ROAM HILL VALLEY LIKE GTA" or "WHY CAN'T I KILL THE DINOSAURS." They're even harsher than the adventure fans (and they're plenty harsh already). I get that BttF was Telltale's best-selling game (and so I know Telltale's casual plan is going to stick for quite a while), but I feel like the whole casual adventure game angle will only succeed in the short-term. Fans of (insert license here) buy the new (insert license here) game, decide the gameplay's not engaging enough (though to be fair this would probably happen even with a proper adventure game), don't pay any more attention to the developer.
SUMMARY: This is a great Jurassic Park story, but not a very good game. The plot does make it worth checking out, but I'd wait until it's discounted.
Sorry, my keyboard is sick.
What? Really?? This baffles me. Can you honestly say you are happy to have paid 30 dollars to watch a fucking movie??
Overall i really really enjoyed the game in spite of a few complaints I have about it, ill start with those.
Now.. i always feel that telltales games are too short :P but i felt like these episodes were really short, even for a telltale game >< which is i believe a result of the game being more.. "streamlined" than previous games.
Exploring was really minimal, you only really get to look around in really small areas and only a few objects to click in each area and looking around felt restrictive since you just get the one camera angle and usually cant pan it very much. This also led to a problem of missing some things because you clicked on the "right" thing to progress the story before getting to look at the other things.
The puzzles were few and pretty easy, though still fun, just wasnt enough of them, and with the few things to inspect and click on it just made it easier to figure them out.
The dialog options for the first two episodes i felt were too few as well, in other telltale games im used to having large conversations with everyone, lots of questions to ask and things to say. Again there is also the problem of picking the "right" option that progresses the story and you wind up missing some options.
The dialog options for the last two episodes i felt were much better, they came up a lot and you were able to have long conversations with a lot of options and character development. For the long conversations there wasnt the "right" choice that progressed the story to the next point unless you clicked the "end conversation" option which was very obvious as thats basically what the option said :P so you could pick any option you wanted to say and the conversation would keep going. Though the conversations did eventually end on their own and there were a few options i didnt pick, i didnt feel like i missed out on that much since i did get to choose so many other things before the end.
I enjoyed the qtes, they gave the game some action, suspence and the danger that isnt present in other telltale games, what with being able to die and all :P I especially enjoyed the last mosasaur one, where its swimming at you and the qte is getting ready on it, so i was prepared to hit that button the second it lit up, and just as its ready a second one poped up but it was too late, i was quick and hit the first one, so shot the harpoon at the mosasaur and it did nothing and i got eaten, dirty trick telltale >3 but oh so fun, i wish there were more similar to that. But then again, that might have made that one not as fun and surprising :P
I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and while i was happy with the ending(s) i felt they were a bit too short themselves. When jurassic park ended it had the scene where hammond was taking one last minute to look and reflect at his island and all hes done while brachiosaurs could be heard in the background and then the helicopter ride, hammond still reflecting on what hes done and last as well as showing how grant started out hating kids and then in the end he seemed to have changed. (While im here, who else felt it was just weird that in jp3 they broke up grant and elly because he still didnt want kids >< i thought the whole point of that little bit at the end of the first movie was about him changing his mind) In the lost world we had malcom sarah and kelly watching the t-rex transport on tv as well as hammond giving his final thoughts on how we all just need to leave the dinosaurs alone to prosper and then seeing all the dinosaurs living on the island at the end.
When this game ended it had a quick conversation on the boat but showing everything was going to have a good ending after all. Felt more like the ending with jp3 where they just get on the helicopters and see the Pteranodons flying off, which i also felt wasnt as good as the first two endings.
I also really like the scenarios and medals, that you can go back and play the scenes to try to get a gold medal by not messing up. (though i feel there should be an option for skipping dialog when attempting to do this. Trying to redo the dilo attack in the first episode is a real pain because you have to listen to a lot of talking and stuff before it gets to the action)
The dinosaurs look amazing ...not much else to say about that, they just are xD
I did have some technical problems such as the game not moving as flowingly as it should (im sure my pc is well over the requirements for the game so im not sure why im having this problem) That no matter how many times i go in to turn down the music there are times where the music still drowns out the characters talking (does the sound volume changer even work >>) And oscar is really hard to hear and understand at times, even with no music (had this same problem in bttf ep. 5 with doc brown)
This is probaly coming off a lot more "complainy" than i mean it to be, i just wanted to give my constructive criticism but really i loved the game, you guys did an awsome job, i guess if i have to give a number to it id give it a 9 out of 10. well done
tldr: I give a lot of constructive criticism about things i didnt like or felt coulda gone better, but overall i love the game. 9 out of 10
:guybrush:
to be fair thats about what movies actually cost anyway xD blurays anyway, and going to the movies.
To nitpick, this isn't really an adventure game. It's a "click everything until you win" game. It's an interactive movie, where you only play to watch. There's a few logic puzzles like the roller coaster and the underground schematics, but I figured these out in five minutes tops. The puzzles feel like filler more than anything.
So I'm guessing "Walking Dead" will be done in a similar style? I wouldn't mind seeing Telltale do more games like this, as long as it's appropriate for the respective franchise. JP actually got my heart racing, and that's something I haven't felt from any game since the final chase scene in "Phantasmagoria" almost fifteen years ago - so the quicktime-event method is very appropriate for thriller-based franchises.
But personally, I'm still waiting for another of Telltale's big trademark games like TOMI or S&M for us traditional adventurers. BTTF seemed lacking, and I'm hoping King's Quest will fill that gap in your upcoming games.
I think I agree with this review the best. It calls the game out on its faults but also knows that there are a lot of parts of the game that work.
Walking Dead will actually have a completely different style from JP, as shown by the screenshots. The art will have a 2D feel and be a return to more classic adventure gaming.
Yeah, well like I said I wouldn't have minded had she had a heavier accent.
I think it's a bit more complicated than usual.
Four episodes were released at once, and I assume that people might already have a strong review opinion after episode 1, which they'd like to get off their chests. Mechanics, flow and general philosophy are understood after the first episode, so I wouldn't rule out that many want to place their review - and read others - after episode 1.
Spoiler tags in review threads are a bit stupid, but maybe the community could just be a tad more careful and add spoiler tags for crucial story moments.
I also felt Dr. Sorkin's Lysine Contingency "cure" didn't really contribute too much for anything. Note I didn't, yet, played episode 4 which can possible bring that subject into question again.