Dino Crisis 2

The Good
The original Dino Crisis was something special. It was Shinji Mikami's first survival horror game rendered in 3D and his first survival horror game in general outside of the Resident Evil series. Dino Crisis featured a lot of game play mechanics that would be introduced in later Shinji Mikami works and although these things had been used before (quick turn, firing while walking - see: Deep Fear) Dino Crisis popularized their use.

In Dino Crisis Mikami created a new niche which he personally dubbed "panic horror". It was interesting, and although it doesn't contain zombies Dino Crisis was, in a lot of ways, scarier than Resident Evil.

Dino Crisis 2 was about as big a departure from the original formula as Resident Evil 4 was from the series leading up to Nemesis and Code Veronica. Much has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. You still fight dinosaurs, you still play as Regina and you still have a constant sense of dread and panic about you as you romp around the jungle. The way panic is elicited in the player is different here though than in the original game.

In the original Dino Crisis panic and apprehension was generated by dinosaurs following you into rooms, suddenly jumping through windows or being basically invincible (see: T-Rex) but Dino Crisis 2 is different. In Dino Crisis 2 you are overwhelmed by dinosaurs. They spawn almost endlessly from the jungle around you and while it's a little unrealistic, it certainly gets your heart rate up.

Unlike the original, which is a wholeheartedly survival horror affair with the requisite save rooms, items boxes and inventory management Dino Crisis 2 is more of an action orientated affair. It isn't necessarily about horror anymore, but the panic is still there. Your guns hold insane amounts of ammunition and you will use it, especially on the harder difficulties. You can hold a sub weapon in tandem with your main weapon which is activated by pressing the circle button. This is used as a defensive measure or to solve puzzles. I liked this mechanic, it kept things interesting by making me think about what I had equipped. It's not perfect, which I will discuss later, but it keeps the game interesting.

That is one of the hallmarks of Dino Crisis 2; it remains interesting and fresh throughout the entire experience. The game play is constantly being mixed up. One minute you're blasting dinosaurs in the middle of a steamy jungle and the next you're shooting triceratops from the back of a jeep. Each of these little departures from the main formula is well balanced and a lot of fun. My personal favorite was using a flare gun equipped as my sub weapon to rain hell down onto allosaurus trying to block my path to Edward City.

The core game play is solid enough. Regina and Dylan control very much like Regina did in the original Dino Crisis. The controls are essentially identical, however she moves a lot quicker and of course, has access to sub weapons. Your character will auto aim at the nearest enemy and while it doesn't always work, it is handy when a dinosaur is off screen.

This brings me to the biggest deviation from the original formula; the use of pre-rendered backgrounds. I personally think it's a good thing, I have no qualm with it. The backgrounds are beautifully drawn and although they are just drawings, they are anything but static. Mysterious particles float in the air, shadows dance and water shifts. It's nothing like what Square achieved with Parasite Eve 2, but Capcom did an admirable job of providing players with a beautiful, believable environment to ramble around in. The static camera angles combined with the emphasis on action does take some getting used to, make no mistake. You do acclimatise to it though, and when you do you won't notice the difference or you just plain won't care.

Other than the beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds Dino Crisis 2, from what I can tell, uses a very similar rendering engine for everything polygon based as Dino Crisis. Regina looks fundamentally identical, if not a little smoother and Dylan looks quite good as well. The scale of some of the dinosaurs is very impressive and there were virtually no drops in the frame rate while the massive end boss was being rendered. It's all very smooth, quick and pleasing to look at.

The soundtrack, on a whole, is fairly solid. There are some real standout tunes and some excellent ambient work (3rd Energy Facility comes to mind...) and if you're a Dino Crisis veteran every guttural scream, squawk and screech emitted by the dinosaurs in the game will be familiar.

Dino Crisis 2 doesn't lack replay value. There is an interesting little Dino Coliseum you can unlock complete with the original roster of characters from Dino Crisis. You can also unlock several of the dinosaurs to fight with and go head to head with another player.

The Bad
Coming from Dino Crisis I would be remiss not to mention how different everything is. It plays similarly, albeit with a different rendering method for the backgrounds, and this takes some getting used to. This is especially true when one considers the way the game throws dinosaurs at you like rotten fruit at a beheading. I loved the challenge, but someone expecting a repeat of Regina's first adventure in the jungle will be sorely disappointed. If you don't enjoy action games, you will NOT like Dino Crisis 2.

One of the biggest issues I could see is dinosaurs flying off the edge of the screen onto your character. They are pre-defined spawn points, but unless you know they are there you will get torn to pieces. I'm not criticizing the new challenge or game play style, but this kind of cheap shot mechanic does not fly with me.

I would have liked weapons to be balanced a bit better. At a certain point in the game when you can buy the anti-tank rifle and heavy machine gun respectively you have essentially turned yourself into a walking weapon of mass destruction. I would have liked weapons to have specific advantages and disadvantages that played into the characteristics of the dinosaurs. Instead it's a one size fits all kind of situation. I think that would have worked well here, but unfortunately that isn't the case.

The Bottom Line
Dino Crisis 2 is a departure from Dino Crisis, but not in a negative way. Shinji Mikami keeps what made Dino Crisis so fantastic; the panic, and presents it in a different way. You're constantly surrounded by dinosaurs and the only way you can survive is by shooting your way out. You will get overwhelmed, torn to pieces and will keep coming back for more.

Don't expect this game to be anything like Dino Crisis. Apart from some engine and control similarities, these two games are really nothing alike.

The Good
Seems like Capcom is constantly slapping me letting me know how unfruitful my imagination is, first with their Resident Evil series and now with Dino Crisis one. What could possibly be so interesting in the world full of dinosaurs, could there be a plot worth a wooden nikle? Can there even be some serious suspense worth a game, drama, emotions, or is this just another silly thing in a Jurrasic Park style? Well, it's none of that crap mentioned above. Excluding my current lack of knowledge on the originator, Dino Crisis 2 is unique game on the page of horror-survivals.

Three years after it came on PSX, it arrives on PC and in not that so-well-splendid quality for the PC standard nowadays. Might be that Capcom wanted to gain interest among PC gamers for their incoming Dino Crisis 3, but by releasing it on PC so many years after, and with so many graphically enhanced games as they are, it took a decision to take, and if it ain't just brilliant, if I do say so myself.

The plot gives you into the core of the game and before you know it, you're an addict (no wonder it took me a short set of 6-7 hours in a row to catch the ending cinematic). During the game, you will many times exchange between the main two characters, Regina, a very beautiful red-haired girl who other players know from original Diano Crisis, and another character that first time appears here, Dylan is the name, I think (can't say I remembered names so well since I was playing it for a day to finish).

Cinematics are simply marvelous, and I stand to thought Capcom has a certain touch to make great cinematics, but especially when it comes to horror-survival genre which they simply conquered bigtime. I cannot say that this game was as nearly as frightening as e.g. Konami's Silent Hill 2, but more close to Parasite Eve, Square's attempt towards this genre. Just as Square did something more RPGish with Parasite Eve, Dino Crisis 2 made a horror-survival game feel like a quick playing arcade jumper. The game just doesn't allow you to rest for a second. Sometimes not even near the saving points. But that by no means makes it harder than other such games where you are usually limited on ammo. Here you can freely buy it as long as you're having funds to backup your action.

At first the game seems like it bases its atmosphere merely on variety of sounds, but the more you play, the music becomes better and better, and more versatile. No singing theme for this game, though :( Dialogues and voice-acting are just plain great, although wouldn't hurt to have subtitles to compensate the states when music outlouds the speech.

Another thing which surprised me immensely is that I got a feeling like playing Cyberia 2 with this game. It has several almost cinematic-action scenes, or at least they seem as such, and no need to say it, I love when the game takes you by the hand. A very unique and powerful horror-survival game which holds the line with some of the best out there (imho to name thee respectively, Parasite Eve, CODE: Veronica, Galerians, Resident Evil 2, Silent Hill 2).

The Bad
Capcom always rewards the player with some extra stuff or mini-games after you finish the game or gives you stimulation for replaying it to open more stuff. Well, that is just plain waste, and that talent should rather be spent in making this game even more better (though I hardly see the way of improving perfection).

The Bottom Line
It plays on Pentium computers and pretty much any Windowses, and hence has the power to allow players with slower machines to experience what the game has to offer, and if someone isn't set out to hunt only those top-notch just-released with cutting-edge technology and graphic games, this one shouldn't be a miss. The reason more for a budget price the game started with. It's a proof of how your favorite genre can be altered without regretting a thing.

The Good
Although the graphics may be considered a bit poor in our more modern society, the interaction and complexity of the game more than make up for it. When first starting out the game, it took mere seconds for me to understand the movement and weapons systems needed for the first bit of the game.

Now usually game's start out with (and trust me, I know) a nice, calm, tutorial like level. I personally can't stand this. Let's get to the damn action! However in this game, they hit you right off the bat with THREE enemies to destroy. It's a wholey enjoyable way to start off the game, thrilling you, while not providing too much of a challenge.

After exploring a bit, the storyline begins to unfold. Perhaps this isn't the greatest plot, but I've seen worse in modern movies than in this older game.

The dialogue, if maybe a bit wooden (which you can expect from a made-for-japan game), really helps to carry the story along. Aiding in this is easy play-ability and a sense of constant thrill. I found myself spending all my spare time at the game.

I recommend if the first time you play the game, you don't do so great, try and try again. It wont become boring, and you can only improve.

A great game in my opinion, and one of my favourites.

The Bad
Character detail is a bit sloppy, but the backgrounds and interactivity make up for it. Cliché plot and dialogue are rescued by the thrill of the game.

Only main bad point - not enough variety in the dinosaurs.

The Bottom Line
If you're looking for an intriguing, action-filled, and fun to play game, then this is it. 3.5 stars.