First look: A Sound of Thunder

Bam Entertainment has released a handful of new screenshots from A Sound of Thunder for the Game Boy Advance. The game, which is being developed by Mobius Entertainment, is based on the forthcoming Warner Bros. movie of the same name.

The storyline of the game, which follows that of the movie quite closely, takes place in the near future, when time travel has not just become a reality, but is readily available through travel companies to wealthy people looking for a vacation they'll never forget. One such travel company is Time-Safari Inc., which offers hunting trips back to the Jurassic period. There are three rules that participants must obey: Don't change anything in the past, don't leave anything behind, and don't bring anything back. It goes without saying that somewhere along the line the rules are broken.

The subsequent time ripples give birth to an entirely new evolutionary time line, one that sees Chicago--and no doubt the rest of the world--becoming home to all manner of mutated dinosaurs and slightly more familiar creatures such as wolf-crocs, spider-cats, stag-dragons, and snake-apes. Players will assume the role of Travis Ryer, the man charged with finding out what went wrong and then setting it right again before human existence comes to an abrupt end.

As Ryer, players will have access to a number of weapons, including an assault rifle, a grenade launcher, a stun prod, a freeze disruptor, and an electroblast. All-terrain vehicles will also be available to players at certain points in the game, and, should they be taking advantage of the game's two-player cooperative mode, one player will be able to drive while the other rides shotgun--a feature currently being enjoyed by fans of Halo on the Xbox.

A Sound of Thunder will challenge players with puzzles that require the finding and use of items and interaction with other characters, as well as with hordes of mutants in need of killing. Players in need of a quick fix, however, will be able to take on their friends in a four-player deathmatch mode that requires only a single cartridge. The game is due for release later this year. We'll post more information as it becomes available.