Jurassic Park III Dino Attack - GBA

Since Konami’s signing of the Jurassic Park 3 video game license, the old Dinos have been emerging left, right and centre across almost every platform. And with the release of Dino Attack for Game Boy Advance, there seems to be no stopping them... not that we want to, of course.

Officially labelled an ‘adventure’ game, it comes as no surprise that you play the helpless human in an attempt to escape from the ravenous dinosaurs. Now’t new there, then. But as old as the ‘being chased by Dinosaurs’ theme is, it still works very, very well. There’s no denying that Dino Crisis was a terrifying game, and Dino Attack is very similar, except it’s played on a handheld in 2D format.

While Dino Attack’s environments may be pre-rendered and scrolling, they are amazingly lush and detailed, and the character visuals and animation are such that they blend in nicely with the backdrops. It all adds up to a genuinely atmospheric experience: for a handheld game, that’s some achievement.

It’s all well and good for us to wax lyrical about aesthetics. The action’s what really matters. Within about five minutes of beginning the game, after narrowly escaping a pack of Raptors, you will find yourself on death row, chased by Jurassic Park 3’s T-rex-beater. Finding asylum in a nearby workhouse, you begin your survival operation. By this point, you’ll have become accustomed to the relatively simple game controls and be ready to face the rest of the Dino-infested game.

So, it’s a survival horror game, really. But we love ‘em, and we love Dino Attack so much, it’s scary.
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