Jurassic Park Preview

Quick! Point and click that T-Rex!

Jurassic Park, the video game! No, not that one. Or that one. Not that one either. No… a new one, kinda. A game that takes you through the story and setting of the original Crichton classic. Who can take you through this roller coaster ride of adrenaline and extinct reptiles (or birds or whatever)? Why, only the masters of action-packed gaming, uh… Telltale Games?

Hmm… that did not sound right. As far as I know, Telltale Games releases the episodic point-and-click puzzle-solving games so reminiscent of the computer games available before porn… I mean, the Internet (yeah, there was a "before the internet"). So how are they going to mesh their style of gameplay with the high intensity we are used to from the Jurassic Park franchise? This journalist had to put his beer down and find out. (No, literally, it's hard to hold a beer cup and play video games.)

As the demo starts, you are greeted with some familiar visuals. It is a dark and stormy night. Palm trees sway to and fro as the topical winds rush through the layers of jungle that inhabit the tiny island. On a muddy, rain-washed dirt road, the good old SUV with the Jurassic Park logo emblazoned on the side speeds through.

The passengers of this vehicle? No Dr. Grant, no Ellie Sattler. Not even Jeff Goldblum. None of these characters will be in the video game. They will be mentioned here and there; however, the game will revolve around new characters that are desperately trying to navigate their way off of Isla Nublar. (No worries, though, as they will be wearing khaki cargo pants.) These new characters are identified as a man, his pigtailed daughter, and a lady passed out in the back. No, I do not remember their names (see beer comment above).

The travels of these protagonists are halted by a triceratops in the road while it lazily munches on a bit of fallen palm. Now the game begins. What to do, what to do? The point-and-click options are displayed before you. Do you try to move the gate? Can’t. Do you move the palm? Nope. Hmm… through trial and error and frustrated button=pressing, I must honk the horn, then shine the lights at the slothful beast in order to get it to move. Is that it? Do we move on now? Of course not. The angered triceratops begins to charge the SUV, and another round of frantic button pressing begins.

Now, I do not mean to make it sound as if there is no action in the game. There is. It happens around the characters as you look for the right option to point and click, and granted, I only played one segment of what promises to be a whole adventure of pointing and clicking. Many puzzles will have to be solved and, since it is Jurassic Park, I am sure there will be plenty of T-Rexes and Raptors ripping things to shreds and generally making things difficult for you. Telltale Games make quality stuff, and there is no reason to think that Jurassic Park: The Game should be any different. Plus, it will be released on the PS3, so the pointing and clicking will feel more like a video game.

The first episode of Jurassic Park: The Game will be released in April, with many more episodes to follow, on PC, Mac, and PS3.