Jurassic Park (Genesis)

About Jurassic Park (Genesis)

Jurassic Park (1993) is BlueSky Software's Genesis film tie-in that lets players escape Isla Nublar as Dr. Alan Grant or hunt him down as a Velociraptor.

Jurassic Park (Genesis) in Depth

A side-scrolling action game with platform elements, it was unusual for offering two independent playable characters, chosen from the main menu. As paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant, the player crosses seven areas of Isla Nublar to reach the Visitors Center and escape by helicopter, facing dinosaurs freed from their enclosures. Grant uses a tranquilliser gun, stun gun, flash and gas grenades and a rocket launcher, all needing ammunition scattered around the island, sometimes in hard-to-reach places, and first-aid kits restore his health.

The Velociraptor jumps higher and runs much faster than Grant but can only attack up close with teeth and claws. Over five levels it must evade or kill the park's security guards, who carry grenades and missiles, and corner Grant at the Visitors Center, knocking out stray dinosaurs on the way and restoring health with meat or by eating a compy. Each character has three lives, losing one restarts the level, and passwords between levels allow continuing later; three difficulty levels change how fast and hard enemies attack. The Associated Press compared it favourably to Flashback, calling it "a winner" with great graphics, excellent control and "perfect" sound, while Rocky Mountain News found it boring and frustrating.

Making Jurassic Park (Genesis)

BlueSky Software developed it as a tie-in to the 1993 film, drawing on elements from Michael Crichton's novel. The animators consulted experts who had worked on the film, and the team took field trips to natural history museums and zoos, studying ostriches and alligators, to reflect the latest dinosaur theories; Robert Bakker also appeared in a commercial for the game. Sega France reported 100,000 cartridges sold by May 1994. After the film's success, Sega released a sequel, Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition, in 1994, and both were re-released in Jurassic Park: Classic Games Collection in 2023.