Amiga Power


Jurassic Park
By Ocean
Amiga 1200

 
Published in Amiga Power #48

Jurassic Park

"Puchhhm Ka-Chak a Dagga Dagga Doo." (Scheming Celt Turncoat Steve McGill, AP33.) "After reviewing this game, I never ever wanted to see it again in my life ever." (Scheming Celt Turncoat Steve McGill, AP37.) It's amazing how a few weeks of enforced play to provide a step-by-step solution can change your mind. But the criminally disloyal Scot's efforts were not in vain, for I was able to use the passwords littering his guide to see the famous Doom On The Amiga 3D sections after losing patience with the tiresome three-quarters view maze/puzzle levels.

Jurassic Park, you see, while commendably denying the platform format of ease, falls into the firm licence trap of targetting the largest possible audience by not bothered to be at all clever. Or good: while it looks and sounds tremendous, it plays like a platter of fishpaste sandwiches. You can outrun the scrolling of the maze sections of the maze sections and so drop off unconvincingly dangerous "high cliffs" before you can see where the ledge below is placed, there's terrible slowdown when more than four dinosaurs are on the screen and the puzzles tenaciously refuse to rise above the locked gate/interrogate computer/learn security key is in the shed in sector three/but - oh no! - the power to the door's off level.

The one whit of intelligence comes in tying the levels together in one huge map so that it's possible to escape a section only to find out you've missed a special pass (or something similar) and so have to go back later on.

And so to the 3D bits. Damned impressive on first sight with shadows and lights, pictures on the walls and music that gets all excited when a dinosaur is about to leap upon your head, you soon realise they're exactly as vapid as the maze sections. You run around, you shoot a dinosaur, you go through some doors, you curse the oily controls and lack of sense of direction on themap, you become annoyed at not being allowed to shoot Dickie Attenborough despite the fact he's clearly standing directly in front of you, then you get a bit of a headache and go home to watch Duckman. (The Late-night Cartoon of Champions.) It's all a bit empty and dull really.

The Bottom Line

Ponderous and onerous overhead sections, speedy but dreary 3D bits. A different kind of film licence, except it turns out to be just as boring as usual. Buy Stardust instead. You'll save money and have much more fun.

Jonathan Nash

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