Jurassic Park

Film tie-ins generally get their terrible reputations because they’re rushed to meet the date of the film’s release.

Take Iron Man 2, for instance – a decent-looking game that, given a month or two of extra development time, may have actually been rather good. (It wasn’t).

There’s really no excuse then for Gameloft’s Jurassic Park to be a poor, rushed copy, considering the film’s been out for over 17 (yes, 17) years, and that lack of external pressure shows in its execution.

Jurassic Park the game takes place a few days after the events of the first film (or book, as John Hammond is never mentioned).

Play is split between Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum’s character) and Alan Grant (Sam Neil’s) as they try to re-escape the island after crashing in a storm. Other than appearance and starting weapons, though, they’re effectively the same to play.

Standing in the way of the twosome are a legion of poachers and a horde of dinosaurs, ranging from the little, vicious compys to raptors and a motherly T-Rex

Played from a semi-overhead perspective, Jurassic Park is extremely linear, with arrows always pointing to the next impressive set-piece and very few points from which to improvise or take an alternative route through the level.

This isn’t such a big deal, though, as the general gameplay is entertaining enough to keep interest high - great animations and tight controls allow for some fun, cover-based shoot outs and life-or-death chases against the lumbering T-Rex.

Aiming is performed automatically, and it's generally reliable at picking targets out, although it can sometimes be a little picky about the angle taken to shoot at a guard in a tower

Alongside these action-sequences there are also two levels in which you take direct control of the T-Rex – head butting jeeps, roaring at smaller dinosaurs, and munching on unsuspecting poachers.

These sections are the weakest parts of the game, due in no small part to the sheer size of the lumbering beast, but there’s still an odd satisfaction in watching humans fleeing your jaws.

Lamentably, this action draws to a swift conclusion shortly after the second of the aforementioned sections, putting the total playing time at just under an hour.

Due to the linearity and lack of unlockables (other than merely a harder difficulty level) there’s not much incentive for replaying the game, but Jurassic Park is an enjoyable and attractive ride while it lasts.