Jurassic Park2: The Lost World is the 2nd of the licensed side-scroller platform games for the game.com system, the 1st being the rather well-done Batman & Robin cart. For more detail on how this reviewer feels about such licensed properties, check out the B&R review. Being that they are of similar topic, this review will focus more upon the game specifics and less upon genre exposition :)

JP2: THE LOST WORLD

The Lost World is, as previously mentioned, a licensed property based upon the so-so movie of the same name. JP2 follows the fairly standard platform formula, with several stages to be navigated thru while facing tons of generic "thugs" anf the end-of-stage "bosses". Specifically, you must search thru 6 stages in JP2, looking for dino eggs while surviving the attacks of juvenile dinosaurs and the occasional upset mommy dino. You have the option to play as either Sarah Harding or Roland Tembo, which affects which weapons and vehicles you will use later in the game. Nothing new here, but each stage is begun with a drive thru Game Trails while herds of various dinos race past (or trample) your vehicle of choice ( 6 vehicles total, 4 choices per "avatar"). Amazingly enuf, this mini-game within JP2 turns out to be more exciting and interesting than the entire Indy 500 cartridge - I'll leave it to the reader to decide if such a statement is a compliment to JP2 or an attack upon Indy :)

Gameplay in JP2 is a mixed bag of responses. Control of your on-screen avatar is rather stiff, so it'll take a few minutes to get used to the limitations. While each stage at least presents you with a pursuable goal, unlike B&R's "infinite thug" approach, hunting for the dino eggs can become tedious and outright annoying when you find, say, a Stegosaurus egg 100 foot up in the trees for some odd reason. The game can be unforgiving in some areas, with even moderate falls killing your avatar, made all the more difficult since you can't see much beyond your avatar to see if a step off a branch will land you upon solid ground or plummet you into a deep pit. If you can make it past these annoyances, the game has its truly enjoyable moments. The game trail races are surprisingly fun, just long enuf to be entertaining without being too long as to get in the way of the "real" game. The ability to chose which vehicle you'll use is welcome, altho I've personally found the motorcycle to be the best option. While it possesses little in the way of protection for the rider, its the quickest and most maneuverable of the choices - better to end the race quickly and avoid attacks, IMO. Within the game stages, egg-hunting can be a true challenge, and figuring out the best method to outwit an annoyed dino mom can keep the player on his toes. The later stages diverge from the standard platform formula, becoming a series of unusual trials that are highly reminiscent of the classic Jungle Hunt game (stage 2 is primarily a vine-swinging exercise, for example).

In the graphics arena, JP2 impresses. Visually well done, with some interesting applications that go beyond (or around) the Com's limitations. There appears to be not one but two distinct scrolling backgrounds, with lighter shades used to make the background images appear more distant to the player. Another noteworthy feature is the sheer size of the mama dinos, taking up most of the screen when appearing. Over in the audible field, however, JP2 is a thoroughly average attempt. While some of the dino roars are nicely done, none of them stand out as truly spectacular, and most are simply plain. This title convinces me that the developer's kit for the Com must come with a small library of pre-built sounds, as the sound that Tembo makes when taking damage is the exact same as Batman's grunt of pain. No points off here, but something worth noting.

JP2 comes across being very much like B&R, with the latter scoring just slightly higher in overall design. This isn't a bad cart to add to your Com collection, and is much better than was intially expected of a licensed title, but ultimately fails to set itself apart from a feeling of averageness.

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