Jurassic Park: The Game Preview First Look

Telltale Games is not only hard at work on the next episode of Back to the Future: The Game, but it's also juggling its next movie-licensed series, Jurassic Park: The Game. Set in the universe that Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton carefully crafted back in 1993, the story takes place during the events of the first film but follows another set of characters. Our demo gave us a good idea of how the game will play out and let us get up close and personal with some familiar prehistoric faces.

If you're wondering how a Jurassic Park game is going to work as a point-and-click adventure, you should know that Telltale plans to uphold its traditional character-driven storytelling, but Jurassic Park: The Game will play more like Heavy Rain, where you'll be pushing buttons that appear onscreen to get your character to interact with his or her environment. There is no inventory to manage, and you can move between characters to solve puzzles to advance the story. The demo introduced us to Gerry Harding, a chief veterinarian at the park (who had a small role in the film) and his young daughter as they try to make their way across the island while avoiding hungry dinosaurs on the loose.

Our first challenge had us trying to get a triceratops to move out of the way so that our jeep could pass. Icons will appear onscreen to indicate what you can do, whether it is pushing a creature out of the way or looking for an alternate option. We were told that there is a good mix of action, as well as quiet puzzle-solving moments, which led us to the second part of our demo where we got to watch a Tyrannosaurus rex battle it out with the triceratops. You'll also be a part of the action because you need to push the buttons that appear onscreen to avoid getting trampled on or eaten. You can die and will have to start from the beginning of the sequence, and Telltale did not shy away from letting a young girl get gobbled up by a T. rex.

You'll also notice that the characters aren't as caricatured and take on a more realistic look. The quality in animation has increased to make it feel like you're playing through a movie. While the game may play like Heavy Rain, where you have options to make decisions that will affect your character, the story will be linear. Similar to Back to the Future, Telltale has designed the game to cater to fans of the film, as well as gamers looking for a good romp through the park. The game is accessible for new gamers while maintaining the action and intensity of the films for anyone to enjoy. Be on the lookout when Jurassic Park: The Game Episode One is released on the PC and Mac in April.