Jurassic Park - The Game

I love Jurassic park 1 and 3. So when I heard that a Jurassic Park game was coming from Telltale I was filled with Joy. After playing the Back to the Future game I was convinced Telltale was perfect for handling my nostalgia. And while they definitely hit the metaphorical target, It wasn't a bullseye.

The Story
I thought the story was a clever idea. Instead of making a new excuse for more people to get on the island the game takes place during the first movie. This allows the game to tell it's own narrative while still showing the classic sets without it feeling forced. This story also expands on plot threads from the movie and the background of the island giving there new characters better motivations for their actions other than "just because". Unfortunately the nature of the game really messes with the pacing of the story. This is an action puzzle solver. While the action sections can be fun and even intense, the puzzles slow the story down noticeably even if they are brief. It's like if you're running down the sidewalk and come across a cross walk. You stop to make sure you're not struck by a car and then keep moving.

The Characters
Generic. That's the only word to describe these characters. The father and daughter who have grown distant. The hippy scientist who puts the main threat ahead of the survival of everyone. The Mercenaries: One who is working to save a child, One who has done bad things but is ultimately good, and one who we think is good but ends up being a bad guy in the end. We have seen these characters every where, some in this very franchise.

The Gameplay
The immediate comparison that comes to mind is heavy rain. During action sequences button prompts appear on screen that tell you how not to die. During puzzles possible important objects will be marked providing information or solutions. The system works but does cause the above mentioned story issues. I played on the PC using the mouse and keyboard. Don't do this. It is awful. This game was designed with a controller in mind. Without that controller a simple button press becomes 3 button press on the arrow keys. Researching the other platforms I saw that the PS3 version had a slight problem with button visibility. The game is dark and they didn't highlight the colors of the Sony controller. Now even playing with a controller I guarantee your going to die. Which you should, because death by dinos is amazing to watch. I'm not sure I enjoyed failing so much.

In the end if you enjoyed the Back to the Future game or the Ghostbusters game regardless of their faults then you will enjoy this game. Beyond that I would say wait for it to go on sale. It actually pains me to say that.