Power Streak (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} powerstreak) wrote,@ 2007-08-20 02:27:00 |
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Jurassic Park: Trespasser
I just finished Jurassic Park: Trespasser, released for the PC in 1998.
That game is both broken and amazing. It's hilarious with it's bugs, yet thanks to a fan patch it's entirely playable now (with some patience). It's fascinating to see the seriously advanced ideas they had and how they tried to implement them.
When it lines up right you can see the brilliant potential it has; the Physics system, the use of IK handles for animation, the AI enemies, the double narration from both the main character and Hammond (wonderfully acted by Richard Attenborough, he's a stunning actor), the setting.
The most astounding part is the occasional real world logic that game uses. It has a system where the main character's arm is actually a part of the world and manipulated by the player. You use it to hold your guns, pick up objects, throw things and generally interact with the world. When it comes to situations like, say, knocking a crate off of a high ledge instead of any complex puzzle you can just pick up a rock or piece of wood off the floor and throw it up there. Run out of ammo? Throw the gun at the Raptor, or pistol whip it, or pick up a plank to smack it with. It uses the same kind of systems that only came into play recently with Half Life 2, granted they aren't nearly as refined or polished, but they do work for the most part.
The story is less about the main character as she searches for a way off the island, but more about what happened on Site B, from the beginning of Hammond's dream till the bitter end. It's a great technique used and still works today.
It's a mess of a game fraught with overambitious ideas they tried before the technology was there to support them, mostly because it was made to tie in with the second film. I loved playing it, I really did, as both a game and an interesting look at the ideas possible.
I think that were it made today, as everything it tried is possible now, it could be one of the best PC games ever made.
For more information on what it tried check out these:
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_P
Original, long trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW-7uate
The active community: http://trescom.3dactionplanet.gamespy.c
DEMO: http://www.download.com/Trespasser-d
I just finished Jurassic Park: Trespasser, released for the PC in 1998.
That game is both broken and amazing. It's hilarious with it's bugs, yet thanks to a fan patch it's entirely playable now (with some patience). It's fascinating to see the seriously advanced ideas they had and how they tried to implement them.
When it lines up right you can see the brilliant potential it has; the Physics system, the use of IK handles for animation, the AI enemies, the double narration from both the main character and Hammond (wonderfully acted by Richard Attenborough, he's a stunning actor), the setting.
The most astounding part is the occasional real world logic that game uses. It has a system where the main character's arm is actually a part of the world and manipulated by the player. You use it to hold your guns, pick up objects, throw things and generally interact with the world. When it comes to situations like, say, knocking a crate off of a high ledge instead of any complex puzzle you can just pick up a rock or piece of wood off the floor and throw it up there. Run out of ammo? Throw the gun at the Raptor, or pistol whip it, or pick up a plank to smack it with. It uses the same kind of systems that only came into play recently with Half Life 2, granted they aren't nearly as refined or polished, but they do work for the most part.
The story is less about the main character as she searches for a way off the island, but more about what happened on Site B, from the beginning of Hammond's dream till the bitter end. It's a great technique used and still works today.
It's a mess of a game fraught with overambitious ideas they tried before the technology was there to support them, mostly because it was made to tie in with the second film. I loved playing it, I really did, as both a game and an interesting look at the ideas possible.
I think that were it made today, as everything it tried is possible now, it could be one of the best PC games ever made.
For more information on what it tried check out these:
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_P
Original, long trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW-7uate
The active community: http://trescom.3dactionplanet.gamespy.c
DEMO: http://www.download.com/Trespasser-d
