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Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor
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Graphics & Sound:
Jurassic Park -yet another movie based license that just screams 'Make me a game!' Unfortunately, in the past, companies have not been able to translate the 'coolness' factor from the big screen on to the small screen. So with the release of Jurassic Park III in the theaters, Konami tries its hand in wrangling the dinos into a game. Graphically, Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor is not all that bad to look at, but there are a few spots that require some work. All of the environments are done with good detail, although it would have been nice if some animation, such as swaying leaves, could have been utilized to make them a little more 'alive'. Also, at times the backgrounds look a little muddy, and cause you to lose sight of some dinosaurs (especially Compsognathus and Raptors), which will sometimes result in unnecessary damage. Since the game is played using a bi-level layout (meaning you can pass freely between the foreground and background), you would expect some scaling and shading to help push that effect a little. Sadly, this is not the case. Objects remain the same size no matter where they are in the playing field, making it really hard to tell which level objects (mostly DNA and dinos) are on, and the lack of shadows also adds to the confusion. The main characters are animated rather nicely, but that's small potatoes - I'm sure you're all asking about the main event of any Jurassic Park game - the dinosaurs! While I would love to say they all look great, it's really a hit and miss affair. For the most part, the dinos look good and reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park on the Genesis, but when you start getting to the big dinos, like the T-Rex, they begin to look silly and cartoonish. As for the puzzle game graphics, they look good - but then again, it's kind of hard to screw up colored dots. The sounds are very good, especially the roars and snarls of the dinos, and there's just something cool about that T-Rex roar. |
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Gameplay:
Welcome to Jurassic Park...well, sort of. The first thing you have to realize about DNA Factor is that it has nothing to do with the movie at all, which in my mind is both a good and bad thing. The basic story is that an InGen (John Hammond's company that made JP) plane was traveling over Isla Sorna (Site B) and crashed and was, as is usually the case, destroyed by the islands unique inhabitants. Because of this, the contents of the plane - the 'Dino DNA'-was scattered all over the island and you, playing as either photographer or pilot (which is basically a choice between being a girl or a guy) are charged with locating the lost DNA. After collecting the DNA, you return to the lab and reconstruct it in a puzzle game in order to make a new dino (who will then show his gratitude by trying to eat you in the next level -nice huh?). As I mentioned before, the game is played in a bi-level, side-scroller fashion. For a good idea of how this works, just think of the backgrounds in SNK's Fatal Fury games. Overall, this works but as I mentioned earlier, it does have a few kinks to work out that keep this from being as enjoyable as it could have been. In order to help you along on your adventure, you can collect various weapons such as stun guns, bait, and guns. While these do help you out, you are only given a limited supply, which makes then almost useless. Collecting all of the DNA in a level is not needed; you just need to get enough so the Base DNA Capsule will appear, but it's a good idea to try and get every bit you can to make the puzzle game a little easier. After going through the side scrolling level, you enter a puzzle game mode. This mode can best be described as Space Invaders meets Bust-a-Move. You are presented with an incomplete DNA strand, and as pieces come up in the 'gun', incomplete spots (which are designated as X) that match with that stand become an O. Just plugging in spots isn't as easy as it sounds because the strand is constantly revolving (it gets faster depending on how far you are in the game) and moves down over time. Also adding to the fun, mitochondria are floating around and if they touch the gun it's game over. |
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Difficulty:
DNA Factor isn't a hard game at its core, but there are alot of sloppy gameplay decisions that make it harder than it needs to be. The main one, which I have mentioned before, is the lack of scaling and shadows to help determine where things are on the playing field. This also helps to add to some very inconsistent 'hanging' areas. There are a lot of 'leaps of faith' you have to make, and all of them end with you grabbing onto ledges, but it gets frustrating when you come to some areas and you can't grab onto things simply because it helps to make the game hard. The limited ammo also becomes a big problem, especially in the later boards such as the T-Rex level, because being able to beat them is too dependant on you having full ammo and making every shot count. On top of that, you are only given one life, and dying means you have to return to the beginning of the level - which is not a fun thing to do. Just in case that's not hard enough, you are not given any type of save points in the side-scrolling levels, and are only allowed to save after completing the puzzle part. The puzzle part, like the rest of the game, is not very hard but certain mechanics make it harder than it needs to be. My main gripe is that if you lose the puzzle game, you are forced to go back to the beginning of the level and re-collect the DNA. This may not seem like that big of a deal at first, but as someone who took ten tries to beat the Raptor Paddock only to lose the puzzle game and be forced back to the paddocks level - it gets frustrating.
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Game Mechanics:
There's really not a lot to say about the control. Except for a few spots, it's generally responsive and tight. The controls are very straightforward in their layout and were the least of my problems when playing. Despite it's problems and a few tight spots, I enjoyed Jurassic Park III: The DNA Factor, but it still falls into the category of not being a great use of the Jurassic Park license. After playing this game, I still came away with the same feeling I have always have after a Jurassic Park game, which is one that they just stuck dinos into a game and slapped a label on it. Part of the fun of JP is the suspense of having dinosaurs hunt you down like prey, which is a feeling that no game up to this point has given me (while the Genesis one did come close). This is not a bad game by any means, and I totally recommend it to any JP fans or anyone looking for a challenge, but there are flaws that will keep all but the most dedicated players from totally enjoying the experience. |
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-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker |
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