It is rare that a movie title becomes a good video game: This game is a pleasant exception to the rule.
The basic game, which places you in the role of Dr. Alan Grant is rather rudimentary, basic platformer - perhaps a little on the difficult side - but nothing new or groundbreaking. You have three lives and Dr. Grant has some weapons at his disposal for dealing with pesky dinosaurs. He has to work his way through "the park" and make it to the final showdown at the Visitor's Center. In order to facilitate your progress through the game, there is a password system. This has two-fold uses. It allows for unlimited continues insofar as that as long as you don't power off the console the last password you acquired will be preset in the password screen when you return to the main menu after losing your last life. It also allows for you to continue where you left off if you have to take a break from the game. This makes it somewhat more robust then other password systems though the game will not display the password forever so you may want to keep a pad and pencil handy to note your password. The nice thing about this is that Jurassic Park is not an easy game but the password system makes it a little more forgiving.
So why the high score then? If it's just a decent platformer why an 8? For one very simple reason. This game does something no other Jurassic Park game has ever done. It lets you play as a dinosaur. That's right. One of the menu options allows you to select which character to play as. Your alternative to Dr. Grant is to play as a velociraptor. The velociraptor's game may be more difficult then Dr. Grant's scenario (after all the raptor only has its natural weapons compared to Grant's firearms and you'll be facing many a human opponent with arsenals of their own) but what it loses in difficulty it makes up for in sheer awesomeness. You'll play through many of the same levels as with Dr. Grant - but you'll be chasing Grant throughout the park. And at the end...the final showdown with our dear hero. Now obviously this scenario takes considerable liberty with the source material (You'll have to battle your way through a legion of humans) but those liberties can be excused when you consider how fun the game simply is.
This game stood out when it was released and it still stands out today as a movie title that tried something different. And because it tried something different it became an impressive game worth being in any Genesis collection. Again though, it is not the easiest of games but who wants a walk in the park? This one will keep you busy for awhile.