Warpath: Jurassic Park

Warpath: Jurassic Park is a fighting video game released on the PlayStation console in 1999. It is a spin-off of the films Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, in turn adapted from novels written by Michael Crichton. It was developed by Black Ops Entertainment and co-published by Electronic Arts and DreamWorks Interactive.

Warpath: Jurassic Park
European cover art
Developer(s)Black Ops Entertainment
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
DreamWorks Interactive
Composer(s)Michael Giacchino
SeriesJurassic Park
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • NA: October 31, 1999
  • EU: 1999
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Warpath is a fighting game. The player can choose a dinosaur to fight with against other dinosaurs. The player starts with eight dinosaurs, including T-Rex, Ankylosaurus, Stygimoloch, and Styracosaurus. Six additional dinosaurs can be unlocked in Arcade mode. Each dinosaur has its own array of fighting techniques and style.

Various arenas based on scenes from the first two films are shown in the game, such as the T. rex enclosure from Jurassic Park and the S.S. Venture deck from The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Some arenas feature destructible objects such as boxes, which will hurt the dinosaurs when they break them. Optionally, various edible creatures (goats, humans, dogs, and Compsognathus) will scurry across the arena, partially replenishing lost health when eaten or killed by one of the fighters.

Modes

The game features a variety of modes similar to other fighting games.

The main mode is Arcade. In this mode the player must face each dinosaur in the game through 8 fights. This mode has a time limit and round limit, though it can be changed in the options menu.

Versus mode has the player going up against a second player. The players can choose the dinosaur and the arena. If the second player chooses the same dinosaur the skin changes to an alternative.

Practice mode allows the player to try out moves and train against any dinosaur. The player can change the stance of the opponent to jumping, crouched or on ground. The opponent can also attack, but the player cannot die as it is just a simulation.

Survival mode has the player going up against an endless array of dinosaurs in the same manner as a survival mode. A small amount of health is rewarded to the player for each dinosaur defeated. The object of this mode is to defeat as many dinosaurs as possible until the player's health meter is depleted.

Choice mode is the same Versus mode, except the player fights a CPU-controlled dinosaur.

In Team battle mode, the player selects a team of up to four dinosaurs and battles against an opposing team of dinosaurs until all dinosaurs on either team are eliminated.

Museum is a semi-educational mode that allows the player to browse through the dinosaurs and read or hear information on each one.[1] The player can view the dinosaur's family, time of existence, and do other things like change its skin or hear pronunciation.

At the start of the game, the player has only a limited amount of choices (8 in total) for playable dinosaurs. However, as the game progresses, the player is presented the opportunity to unlock new playable characters making the total of available dinosaurs up to 14. Each dinosaur is associated with its own area, which -as the player starts the combat- features a small entering animation of the dinosaur that the player is about to fight.

Available from the start
  • Acrocanthosaurus (Acro) - Featuring a 76 gas station from the second movie.
  • Ankylosaurus (Anky) - Featuring the Visitors Centre of the first movie.
  • Giganotosaurus (Giga) - Featuring the T-Rex Paddock Area of the first movie.
  • Megaraptor (Raptor) - Featuring the Raptor Paddock Area of the first movie.
  • Stygimoloch (Stygi) - Featuring the Lab Area of Site B from the second movie.
  • Styracosaurus (Styrac) - Featuring the Heliport Landing Zone from the first movie.
  • Suchomimus (Sucho) - Featuring the Park Entrance Area from the first movie.
  • Tyrannosaurus rex (T-Rex) - Featuring the Cargo Ship from the second movie.

Unlockable

Reception

Warpath was met with mixed reception upon release, as GameRankings gave it a score of 57.36%.[2] The game was compared unfavorably to Primal Rage by GameSpot and IGN.[8][9] Adam Pavlacka reviewed the game for Next Generation and wrote, "History has shown that the Jurassic Park license spells doom for any game it touches, and Warpath is no exception."[10]

AllGame praised the game's dinosaur animations, and most of its interactive level designs for their resemblance to locations that were featured in the films, but criticized other levels for their "bland building textures and rushed backgrounds." AllGame found the gameplay to be "downright sluggish" and considered the music to be "too low and emotionless," and opined that cutscenes for each dinosaur "would've been a nice extra for the game's overall feel and replay value."[3] GameSpot also praised the dinosaurs, but criticized the levels for glitching: "Surfaces buckle and distortion abounds as the PlayStation struggles to keep all this geometry under control."[8]

Game Informer wrote, "Graphically, it's not a bad game. Unfortunately, the concept leaves much to be desired," noting that the gameplay "gets old rather quickly when you realize that the AI of the game is about the size of a peanut, and you can finish it with two moves."[5] GamePro praised the graphics and sound, but criticized the game's "complex button patterns," writing, "By the time you master the combos, you'll be in the mood to play something else."[7]

IGN criticized the game's dinosaurs for their lack of size disparity: "The T-Rex is a dwarf, while raptors have become mega-raptors of roughly the same size as the beast who bit regular raptors in half in the film." IGN also criticized the game's AI, bad collision detection, and noted that each dinosaur played similarly to one another. However, IGN praised the game's graphics and levels.[9]

References
  1. Pierce, Matt (February 2000). Official UK Playstation Magazine - Issue 055 (Future Publishing)(GB). p. 120.
  2. "Warpath: Jurassic Park for PlayStation". GameRankings. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  3. Wigmore, Glenn. "Warpath: Jurassic Park - Review". Allgame. Archived from the original on 2014-11-15. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
  4. "Warpath: Jurassic Park". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2000.
  5. Reppen, Erik (2000-01-11). "Warpath: Jurassic Park". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2000-05-21. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  6. "REVIEW for Warpath: Jurassic Park". GameFan. December 3, 1999.
  7. Scary Larry (1999-11-30). "Jurassic Park: Warpath [sic] Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2005-02-20. Retrieved 2014-04-13.
  8. Mielke, James (1999-11-29). "Warpath: Jurassic Park Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  9. Nix, Marc (1999-11-18). "Warpath: Jurassic Park". IGN. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  10. Pavlacka, Adam (February 2000). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 3 no. 2. Imagine Media. p. 96.
  11. "Warpath: Jurassic Park". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 2000.
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