A roaring success?
Aside from these QTE sections, Jurassic Park also tasks players with searching locations for clues using Telltale's trademark point-and-prod mechanic, which has been doing the rounds way before these 'affable' dinosaurs ever hit the silver screen. As it happens though, searching for clues isn't particularly taxing. The scene is often presented like a static photo and players can move the camera ever-so-slightly, up, down, left and right around the screen. Being restricted to a fairly small area means players don't really have to search that hard at all, but simply pin-point hot-spots that are represented on-screen by bold compass symbols. Tap on them to interact and the job is done.There isn't an inventory system where you pick up items and combine them together - this is as basic as point-and-clicking gets - and clues are usually right in your face, so there's no need to pixel-hunt. However, players' brains may be taxed lightly by some simple puzzle-solving, which might involve moving between multiple scenes, triggering an action in one area and then moving back to the previous scene in order to progress. Pointing the lights of a Jeep, for example, toward a specific section of the ground below so you can see footprints allows you progress during one typically boring passage of play. Despite some interesting locations, and engaging non-playing character interaction, exploration is generally too slow-paced to enjoy, while puzzle-solving - and the need to constantly prod the screen - is finger-achingly dull. Having to tap on the screen repeatedly, for instance, to fill up a meter so you can examine the ground is totally pointless.
Consequently, the major draw of Jurassic Park really comes from its attempt to create a movie-like feel, as well as the enjoyable storyline and the fact that dinosaurs crop up from time to time to inject it with some much-needed pizzazz. The storyline is totally original and set after the plot of the original Jurassic Park film, but the new characters slot into the existing world very well, and fans of the franchise get to discover the fate of Dennis Nedry's can of embryo-carrying shaving cream, while examining some locations from the movie. The soundtrack, which serves to keep players on edge during some anxious scenes, is superb, and though this first episode only takes two hours (max) to complete, there's enough meat on the storyline to make fans of the film intrigued as to the outcome.
The visuals on the iPad 2 version, which are a far cry from Telltale's usual cartoon graphics, are impressive, too, with strong cut-scenes, well-rendered locations and detailed dinosaur models proving to be the highlights. In that respect, judging Jurassic Park: The Game HD 1 as an interactive story and nothing more, it does its job relatively well and provides a smattering of highlights during the short campaign, largely through dinosaur interactions. As a gameplay experience, however, it feels dated and dull, and the unimpressive, occasionally unresponsive, QTE sequences and slow-paced exploration will frustrate. Nonetheless, there's no denying its appeal as a interactive story, and even though we're less than impressed with the gameplay, we're actually keen to get our hands on episode 2.
The Good
Jurassic Park-flavoured action with familiar settings and soundtrackDinosaur encounters are exciting
Decent storyline
The Bad
Poor execution and overuse of QTEs
Bland exploration and puzzle-solving
Stuttering frame-rates on iPad 2
HEXUS Rating
Jurassic Park: The Game HD 1
HEXUS Where2Buy
Jurassic Park: The Game HD 1 is available to buy from iTunes
HEXUS Right2Reply
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