Top 10 strategy games that have dinosaur in 2003
|
That’s not even including various arcade-only games from the 90s and numerous mobile games that have come more recently. And so when we decided it’d be fun to rank all of the Jurassic Park games, we ended up biting off more than we can chew. But we’re not quitters. And with Jurassic World Dominion currently in cinemas, it seems like the perfect time. Show
And so: we’ve rounded up all the Jurassic Park games released on PC, consoles and handheld formats over the years and ranked them. We’ve used Metacritic as a guide for more recent games, but for games falling outside of Metacritic’s coverage, we’ve used review scores listed on their Wikipedia pages or, where available, a GameRankings aggregate as quoted on Wikipedia. Welcome to Jurassic Park… games ranked from worst to best. Sorry, that was bad. 23. Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor (Konami, 2001)
Let’s kick things off with the worst ranked of all the Jurassic Park games, Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor. A side-scrolling puzzle game, this Game Boy Advance exclusive tasks players with exploring an island, collecting DNA and avoiding combat with dinosaurs. While it doesn’t sound so bad in principle, it was panned for its awkward controls, “sloppy” game design, and lack of any real connection to the film. 22. Chaos Island: The Lost World (DreamWorks, 1997)
Only two review scores have been quoted for Chaos Island: The Lost World on Wikipedia, and so we feel the game’s position in our list of all Jurassic Park games ranked may be a little unfair. But that’s the way life is sometimes: unfair. Developed by DreamWorks Interactive, Chaos Island: The Lost World is a strategy game, compared to Command & Conquer. Mostly set on Isla Sorna, players are tasked with fighting against hunters who are trying to capture dinosaurs. 21. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (EA, 1997)
Oof, The Lost World: Jurassic Park doesn’t fare very well on our list of ranked games, does it? Developed by DreamWorks Interactive and Appaloosa Interactive, the PlayStation and Saturn versions of the game were identical. It’s a side-scrolling action game which sees you play as both human and dinosaur characters. Make your way through a series of levels, collecting ‘DNA bonuses’ to unlock extra content. Do well enough, and you’ll even unlock a secret ending featuring none other than Jeff Goldblum. Surely that alone is enough reason to play? Another version of the game was also made by Appaloosa, specifically for SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis. But being released so close to end of the Mega Drive’s life span, it was largely overlooked for the PlayStation and Saturn release. Four other developers also made handheld versions of a game with the same name: Aspect developed the game for Game Gear, Torus for Game Boy, and Tiger for its own ‘Game’ system and R-Zone. None of them reviewed particularly well, so let’s leave it at that. 20. Jurassic Park: The Game (Telltale Games, 2011)
It really is a shame that Telltale Games’ take on Jurassic Park didn’t far very well at review. Split over four chapters, it’s set during and after the events of the first film. In typical Telltale style, it’s rather cinematic in its presentation, combining point and click elements with quick time events and player-led decisions. So why the negative reviews? Well, it had famously bad technical performance, which undoubtedly put a lot of people off. Reviewers criticised its gameplay, stating that it didn’t offer anything outside of a basic movie experience. Ultimately, it had a great story, but it was wrapped up in a bad package. It remains one of Telltale Games’ worst reviewed releases. A shame. 19. Trespasser (EA, 1998)
It’s kind of a shame that Trespasser isn’t higher up our list of Jurassic Park games ranked. After all, its premise is incredible, and is the type of game that really deserves to be remade with modern technology. Essentially, players find themselves playing as Anne, who has just crash-landed on a remote island. A remote island that just so happens to be filled with dinosaurs. As Anne, you can use objects from the environment as weapons, and explore the island to advance the story. Sadly, alongside bad reviews, it also sold badly, shifting only around 50,000 copies. It performed poorly on most PCs, perhaps being a little too ambitious for the time. A shame – it even had voice acting from Minnie Driver and Richard Attenborough! 18. Jurassic Park III: Island Attack (Konami, 2001)
One of three Game Boy Advance Jurassic Park games from Konami, this one is ranked somewhere in the middle. Island Attack is an action adventure game where players are tasked to make their way to Isla Sorna’s coast. Its poor to middling reviews were generally down to bad controls and underwhelming sound effects. 17. Warpath: Jurassic Park (EA and DreamWorks, 1999)
Spinning off from both Jurassic Park and The Lost World, this 1999 title from Black Ops Entertainment and published by EA and DreamWorks somehow failed to hit the mark. It’s a fighting game, where players take control of dinosaurs fighting other dinosaurs. On paper, it should clearly be the best game ever made. But reviews criticised it for bland presentation, various glitches, poor AI and over-complex button combinations. A shame. 16. Jurassic Park (SEGA, 1993)
Here we have the first of many games simply called Jurassic Park from 1993. Developed and published by SEGA, it was made for the handheld Game Gear, but an identical version also released on the Master System. A platform game, it was praised for looking great, but was very short. Players make their way through five areas of Isla Nublar, rounding up (or simply shooting) escaped dinosaurs. 15. Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition (SEGA, 1994)
A sequel of sorts to the Mega Drive’s 1993 Jurassic Park, Rampage Edition didn’t fare particularly well at review, making it one of the lowest ranked Jurassic Park games on SEGA platforms. It’s very similar to the first game, featuring similar gameplay. Though a few changes have been introduced, and the story has been expanded and continued. 14. Jurassic World Aftermath (Oculus Studios, 2020)
The only VR game to appear on this list of all Jurassic Park games, ranked, is Jurassic World Aftermath. Although its premise is fantastic, its execution left something to be desired. Players find themselves on Isla Nublar, two years after the events of Jurassic World, and before the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Taking control of a security expert, it’s your job to infiltrate the island and gather information. Cue tense stealth sections as you avoid being seen by dinosaurs, who constantly hunt you down. In our review, we compared it to Alien Isolation due to the way you’re constantly being followed. Though we did note it falls far short of the mark. With no combat whatsoever, you have nothing to rely on but stealth, which can quickly become tiresome. Still, if you really want to get up close and personal to the action of Jurassic Park, no other game offers quite the same experience. 13. Jurassic Park III: Park Builder (Konami, 2001)
Nope, Jurassic World Evolution isn’t the first game that has you building your own dinosaur theme park. Jurassic Park III: Park Builder did it first. It’s the best ranked of all the Jurassic Park games made by Konami for Game Boy Advance, and it’s not hard to see why. Players would first need to search locations to find dino DNA, and once that was in hand, you could create dinosaurs and begin to build your park around them. With over 140 creatures, it’s rather extensive – though it was criticised for having poor tutorial guidance. 12. Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues (Ocean, 1994)
Criticised for its difficulty but praised for its music and sound design, Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues is, confusingly, not a game that ties into the Jurassic Park 2 movie. Rather, it’s a non-canon sequel to the first film. After all, The Lost World wasn’t even out for another three years. Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues is a side-scrolling action game which puts players in control of Dr. Alan Grant. Making your way through levels, you’ll be shooting both dinosaurs and humans with both lethal and non-lethal weapons. 11. Jurassic Park Interactive (Universal, 1994)
We’re actually obsessed with the concept of Jurassic Park Interactive. It’s the only game to use actual footage and music from the original movie, though real actors’ faces have been edited out and replaced with lookalikes. Is that not the most bizarre thing you’ve ever heard? And considering the game had a budget between $1 and $2 million – in 1994! – we can’t imagine it sold very well given its exclusivity to the short-lived Panasonic 3DO. 10. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (Universal, 2003)
Here’s the true predecessor to to Jurassic World Evolution. Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis had us building realistic dinosaur theme parks way back in 2003, and it was rather well received. With an average Metascore across three formats of 72, it was praised for being one of the best simulation games of the game, featuring detailed dinosaur models and an impressive mission system. It was rather complex, though, with some feeling it was too complicated for its own good. 9. Jurassic World Evolution (Frontier Developments, 2018)
Frontier’s first Jurassic World Evolution doesn’t come as high on our list of ranked Jurassic Park games as it perhaps ought to. This is a game that has kept expanding since launch, and now sports a huge host of expansions. Perhaps had it been reviewed now, it would have fared better. Still, 72 is a decent aggregate, and as far as park building games go, it’s one of the better ones. Frontier is no stranger to the genre (also having made Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo, along with various ‘Tycoon’ games over the year), and their expertise shows. 8. LEGO Jurassic World (Warner Bros., 2015)
Of course TT Games and LEGO have had to step into Jurassic Park/Jurassic World territory, too. LEGO Jurassic World admittedly wasn’t the best-received LEGO game, but it’s still great nonetheless, letting players explore a LEGO version of the cinematic world. It retells the stories of Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World. And, if you ask us, we’re due an update that adds in the final two Jurassic World movies. 7. Jurassic Park (SEGA, 1993)
Yep, another game called Jurassic Park and released in 1993. This one was developed by BlueSky Software and released exclusively on Mega Drive/Genesis. It’s more of what we’d typically expect of a film tie-in from the time: a side-scrolling platform action game. Players make their way through a number of levels, and you can play as either Alan Grant… or a velociraptor. Huh. 6. Jurassic Park (Ocean Software, 1993)
The early 90s was also a popular time for movie tie-in games, and so the Jurassic Park game was, if nothing else, expected. It did, however, try to break from usual conventions by not being a run-of-the-mill platforming game. Your goal in the game is simply to survive spending time in the park on Isla Nublar. Without power, the dinosaurs are roaming free, and you’ll work through a series of missions in order to escape – and rescue John Hammond’s grandchildren in the process. With an average score of 76 based on reviews listed on Metacritic, Jurassic Park fared pretty well. It was praised for its visuals at the time, along with being “a little different” from the typical movie tie-ins being churned out. 5. Jurassic Park (Ocean Software, 1993)
Gaming in the early 90s was weird. This is yet another game of several called Jurassic Park, all released in 1993. But different developers and publishers worked on the license for different platforms, resulting in vastly different games. This isn’t even the only one made by Ocean, who also made separate NES/Game Boy and Super Nintendo versions. We haven’t played the Amiga version of Jurassic Park, but its premise is identical to the game released on Super Nintendo. Taking control of Alan Grant, players explore Isla Nublar from a top-down perspective, trying to get out while also searching for John Hammond’s grandchildren. Moving inside a building, the perspective changes to first person. This Amiga version reviewed mostly positively, with the game’s indoor sections being praised. Other reviewers said that with a bit of tweaking, it could become a classic. Sadly, we don’t think it did. 4. Jurassic World Evolution 2 (Frontier Developments, 2022)
The follow-up to Frontier’s 2018 dinosaur park-building sim was generally better received. Jurassic World Evolution 2 improves on its predecessor in a number of ways, both big and small, making for a better experience overall. Although whether a sequel was even needed is questionable: both games fulfil the same goal: to let us build our own Jurassic Park theme park. Still, if that’s what you want to do, this game’s the best place to do it. 3. Jurassic Park (SEGA, 1994)
Are you fed up of Jurassic Park games on this ranked list that are simply called Jurassic Park yet? Spoilers: this isn’t the last of them. But this one is at least notably different from the rest. It’s a point and click adventure game that sees players head to Isla Nublar to retrieve dinosaur eggs. A fairly dangerous operation if you ask us. Played form a first-person perspective, you’ll need to solve puzzles to survive – and you’ve only got a real-time 12 hour limit to get all of those eggs. No pressure, then. 2. Scan Command: Jurassic Park (Knowledge Adventure, 2001)
Knowledge Adventure was on fire in 2001, with this being just one of three Jurassic Park games to come from the company. It’s a fighting strategy game where players take control of a dinosaur. The unique thing with Scan Command is that it shipped with a barcode scanner. By scanning a barcode, a genetic code would be loaded into the game, enhancing the player’s defences and attacks. A weird concept, alright, but one that was fairly well received. In 2002, Knowledge Adventure released Jurassic Park: Dinosaur Battles, which is essentially the game game without the barcode scanning gimmick. 1. Jurassic Park (Ocean Software, 1993)
Here it is: the best Jurassic Park game ever made, according to critic reviews. Is it? Or is it simply a case of reviewers in the 1990s were more generous than they are today? We’re not sure, but it’s still somewhat fitting that one of the first Jurassic Park games would be ranked number one. Jurassic Park is an action-adventure that put players in the shoes of none other than Dr. Alan Grant. Played from both a top-down perspective and first-person, it tasks players with escaping from Jurassic Park. Reviews described it as ‘excellent’, praising the sound design and the clever switch to a first person, 3D perspective. What is the 1996 dinosaur game?Dinosaur Safari is a 1996 computer game released by Creative Multimedia Corporation and Mindscape. It was released for the Macintosh and PC. Designed by scientists from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Dinosaur Safari is an educational video game intended for children. What is the dinosaur game from 2000?Jurassic Park III: Dino Defender is a 2001 side-scrolling video game developed and published by Knowledge Adventure. It is based on the 2001 film Jurassic Park III. What is the old Capcom dinosaur game?Dino Crisis is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation console in 1999. What is the game that lets you play as a dinosaur?Path of Titans will provide a framework for dinosaur enthusiasts to roleplay as their favorite prehistoric beasts. |
