Out of all the cash-in titles to the first movie, this one is actually a very good game
But the Sega Genesis got the gem of the cash-in scramble. This title lets you play two entirely different games -- as Grant, arming yourself with everything from little tranq. dart guns to a rocket launcher, and as the Velociraptor, armed with razored claws, jaws, powerful lunges, and a leaping power unmatched even by Mario himself. And come on, after seeing the movie you KNOW you were dying to play the Raptor!
This game not only gets the concept right -- "Fight for survival through Jurassic Park as Alan Grant OR the Velociraptor!" -- but it also delivers, gameplay-wise. Oh, it's not exactly Mega Man [not even then!], but it's still a very good game with two games that play VERY differently. Grant's game is arguably much more difficult than the Raptor's, as there are more levels and Grant isn't exactly the most resilient fellow. He is after all just a paleontologist; what, you expect him to be Rambo? Though honestly, Rambo wouldn't have stood a chance in this game! Trekking through jungle, a power station, a dino-infested sewer system, the river rapids from hell, not to mention descending into what may as well be hell itself [a freaking VOLCANO]. Oh, and then there's the Visitor's Center, which has two nasty raptors at the end that are literally invincible if you rile them up. It took me ages to figure out how to beat them. In the end, Grant's game is a slightly frustrating, but unique and well-crafted platformer. And hey, you get to see the T-rex in his game, which is a definite plus.
The Raptor's game is what you play when you want to KILL Rambo. The raptor's goal is very simple: eat, kill everything in sight, eat, chase Grant around the island, eat, escape the island aboard a boat bound for the mainland, and...eat. Did you get all of that? Your main adversary as the Raptor is NOT those annoying Dilophosaurs, nor those tasty little chicken-sized morsels--I mean, Compies [yes, you can EAT the Compies!]. Nope, your main enemy is MAN -- man armed with rocket launchers, stun guns, and grenades of all sorts. This game is much faster paced, and in my opinion far easier due mostly to the smaller number of levels within it. Still, it's NOT easy...humans are pesky little critters who don't seem to ever give up after all. And the final battle is against ALAN GRANT, who seems to have been replaced by a Terminator with an infinite supply of energy for a lightning gun the military would die for and a way to somehow manufacture fiery concussion grenades out of thin air. How much cooler can you get?
Seriously. For such an old game, I still occassionally come back to it for a good old-fashioned experience. Out of all those crappy and mediocre JP titles, we have ourselves here a little gem of a game. It needs more appreciation.