Dinosaurs plus a gun should be a slam dunk, but all is not goo in the land of the lost.
Like the other Gun Survivor games before and after it, Dino Stalker’s main draw or gimmick is that the main protagonist can be controlled entirely by the GunCon and that isn’t just for shooting. The player can move like any average first-person shooter though a little slower and more awkward than one would expect while being chased by giant dinosaurs. The game can be controlled by the DualShock as well and having played through the game multiple times, I prefer the DualShock approach. There is a hybrid of the two with the GunCon being used for shooting and aiming while the DualShock used for moving. I found that to be very uncomfortable, but to each his own. Once armed with the “weapon of choice” so to speak it is on to the game.
The game is about on pace with the second Dino Crisis in terms of speed of the game and the dinosaurs (except for the aforementioned player movement). There are plenty of things to kill and the first-person perspective is quite convincing in terms of scope and depth-of-field. The story is tied into the Dino Crisis timeline and takes place before the third one and definitely after the second one. It’s ok , but the average player will be asking WTF way to many times to make it worthwhile. Series fans will get it and probably enjoy it, but even still may not get it completely the first time through. With all the good, here comes the bad. My main complaint is the graphics and overall presentation. The graphics are pretty lackluster. Dinosaurs look like they are a little higher-res than the PSOne dinos, but they don’t have enough polygons and look, well they don’t look right. The foliage and environments are terrible with a draw distance that could use a few extra feet and pop-up that is quite visible. The texture work is flat and even though I am not a huge graphic person, in this game they are detrimental considering the setting and atmosphere are what define this title. Some games are defined by gameplay, (Tony Hawk, God Hand, Tokyo Xtreme Racer) while others rely on graphics and atmosphere to get you and keep you hooked til the end (Resident Evil, The Bouncer, or anything done by Square-Enix really). Dino Stalker just doesn’t immerse me enough. The story is convoluted and the sound is treading in been there done that territory. Overall, if you are a fan of the series then definitely play through it, but casual shooter fans or survival horror fans will be better picking up something else.