When the original Dino Crisis came out, the comparisons to Resident Evil flew, and were fairly accurate. Swap the zombies with dinosaurs, and you pretty much explained the game. By going light on puzzles and clue collection, and ramping up the fighting (you'll fight as much in ten minutes as you did the entire first game), Capcom has done well in separating Dino Crisis 2 from RE, making the franchise stand on its own. Starting out as your heroes pass through a time gate to investigate the latest accident at the hand of Third Energy, the shift to a combat-oriented game becomes immediately apparent as you are immediately surrounded by 3 velociraptors. Playing initially as Dylan, who joins Regina, the protagonist from the original game, you need to explore a jungle, the Third Energy base, and even a town taken out of its own time to solve the mystery that surrounds you. At times one character may become trapped or otherwise unable to proceed, at which time the action will shift characters, with the short-term goal of reuniting with your partner. In the end, the story mostly satisfies, though a few of the "twists" aren't so difficult to figure out. Instead of finding new items/weapons to use laying around the environment, the game implements a unique style of using points earned from battle in special kiosks to upgrade and replenish your supplies. By killing multiple enemies consecutively and countering their attacks, you can earn great numbers of points faster. Luckily healing is relatively cheap, since you can expect to take a lot of damage in the early stages of the game when you have but meager firepower at your disposal. Several new dinosaur varieties also enhance your experience, with pretty much every variety found in the Jurassic Park movies now making an appearance. A surprisingly fun and well-executed underwater level provides a nice break and allows you to combat different foes than on dry land. The only knock to the gameplay is the inclusion of the classic RE-style clunky movement that plagues those games, and with the rapid pace of combat, it can be extra frustrating in this title. Still, some generosity with aiming alleviates this to a degree. Graphically the actual game details are impressive, and some of the cut scenes rank as tops for the PS1 in their beauty, with no flickering or slowdown. The sound is equally well done, from the pitter-patter of advancing smaller dinosaurs, to the yell of a mighty T-Rex, though fans of Capcom games will recognize some recycling of sounds from their other games. The game is on the short side. You can expect to finish it in less than 10 hours, though as always in Capcom games, you can start an "enhanced" version for a second run-through and new minigames can be unlocked for certain accomplishments. This is a must-play for those who enjoyed the original title and anyone looking for a faster-paced survival horror game for their collection.
Dino Crisis had first come out just before Resident Evil:Nemesis so it was kinda buried. It shouldnt be tho! This is an Excelent game! Capcom did a really good job on creating a great new enviorment and a whole new twist... Read Full Review
Well at kick off its is best when you give a rating of 10 to a game, to say by what does the game deserves that, because it certainly is not an usual rating for a game. Well when it comes to Dino Crisis 2 there is no muc... Read Full Review
