Summary
Developer: Black Ops Entertainment
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date: October 31st, 1999
Genre: Fighting
Tested on: Sony PlayStation
What you need to know about Warpath: Jurassic Park
1. Warpath: Jurassic Park is a game released on October 31st 1999, 2 years after the movie The Lost World: Jurassic Park was released.
2. The game is a 1-on-1 fighter where the players control dinosaurs hellbent on ripping each other to shreds.
3. Players have the option to choose between 16 different dinosaurs, each with their own moves.
4. It also has a museum section where players can learn more about the dinosaurs featured in the game; when they lived, how big they were, which family of dinosaurs they belonged to, etc. (But who plays video games to learn, am I right?)
The Good
1. It looks pretty good for a PS1 game. Dinosaur models look great and the level design harks back to the first two Jurassic Park films, with arenas such as the freighter from TLW and the paddock from the first Jurassic Park.
2. Each dinosaur hits with slow yet vicious strikes, and learning the combos is easy for casual players.
3. If you’re a dinosaur fan, like I am, it’s something you can enjoy for a while.
The Bad
1. You’ll enjoy the game… for the first 10 minutes. After that, it just becomes mind-numbing and criminally boring.
2. Learning the combos is easy, but that’s because there aren’t any. None of the moves flow well with each other and combos basically equate to using the punch and kick buttons in different combinations trying to find what works. Even if you do find a combo that works, you’re mostly just going to use throws.
3. All the unlockable dinosaurs are just palette swaps from the dinosaurs which are already unlocked. They have the exact same moveset, which defeats the purpose of unlocking them in the first place.
4. The computer AI is as dumb as peanuts. Unless you’re playing the survival mode, in which case they’re as vicious as peanuts that have grown arms and started using steroids.
5. If you have a keen eye for accuracy, prepare to be disappointed. A lot of the dinosaurs are incorrectly scaled and are not historically accurate to their real depictions. For example, see the picture down below:
These two play exactly the same, even though in real life, the Triceratops is nearly twice as large as the Styracosaurus.
Verdict: Pass
I like dinosaurs. I like them a lot. I see a fighting game about dinosaurs, you bet I’ll give it a try. At the same time, I also like good video games, and this game isn’t one. If you’re really, really into dinosaurs, give this one a go. Then put it down again after a few rounds.
