This ambitious and much anticiapted Jurassic Park horror survival game falls shorts of expectations.
I was 14 when this title was released. As a fan of the Jurassic Park movies and books, this game really lit my fire. I could not wait to get my hands on it when it was released. Here was a game that offered a realistic surival experience on Site B! However, as I remember from the time long ago, the game required a super computer just to get a decent frame rate. Based on reviews of the time, even the top-of-the-line gaming systems were not enough for this game.
On top of that, the game seemed to have been rushed into release. (Probably to capitilize on the recent success of Jurassic Park 2). The game had way too many bugs and crashes. No patch was ever released. The gameplay was linear and got boring real fast.
The game is billed as a digital sequel to The Lost World. Interestingly enough, the third Jurassic Park film of 2001 centered on characters having to survive on their wits on Site B as well. In Trespasser, the lone female character finds herself washed up on Site B. Apparently her left arm was lost, since we never see it and seems to be missing.
Trespasser boasts of a new physics engine which enables everything in the gaming environment to interact with other objects. It clearly is more interactive and advanced than other standard first-person shooters, but there is not much more to it than being able to push and pick up a few extra things here and there.
There are some nice things about the game. The music is fine, there are some voicovers by actros from the Jurassic Park films, and there are some moments of genuine tension while you are struggling to kill off dinosaurs attacking you. But this game is a dissapointment. For 1998 standards, it is an interesting game but way too flawed.
I guess now that most computers would not have a problem with this game, I think it deserves a second chance. With Steven Spielberg stating that he wants to direct Jurassic Park IV next year, I think it is time for the ultimate Jurassic Park game to be relased. Mutliplayer is a must. Imagine being a dinosaur or human!