The Lost World: Jurassic Park (arcade game)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Arcade flyer
Developer(s) Sega AM3
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Ogasawara Shinichi[1]
Producer(s) Kumagai Mie[1]
Series Jurassic Park
Platform(s) Arcade
Release Summer 1997
Genre(s) Rail shooter
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Cabinet Stand-up, Dedicated Sit-Down
Arcade system Sega Model 3 (Step 1.5)
Display Raster

The Lost World: Jurassic Park is a light gun arcade game from Sega. It was released in 1997, and is based on the film of the same name. The film's director, Steven Spielberg, received one of the arcade cabinets as a gift from Sega of America.[2] It is also a follow-up to Sega's 1994 Jurassic Park arcade game. A third arcade game based on Jurassic Park III was made by Konami in 2001.

Gameplay

Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding go missing after landing on Isla Sorna to conduct an investigation. A rescue team is sent to the island. The player controls one of two rangers, whose goal is to find Malcolm and Harding.[3]

The game features five levels based on environments from the film, including a laboratory and a workers' village. Four of the levels feature a boss battle that must be won to advance the game. Boss enemies include Tyrannosaurus, Deinosuchus and Carnotaurus. Velociraptors are also featured as enemies throughout the game. Pachycephalosaurus, Compsognathus and venom-spitting Dilophosaurus are also encountered throughout the game. At times, the game presents the player with an opportunity to rescue a human who is being attacked by one or multiple dinosaurs. Killing the dinosaur(s) results in the human rewarding the player with either a temporary weapon upgrade or additional health.[4][5][6]

Development

Sega's AM3 development division began developing the game in early 1997, after receiving permission from Universal Studios. Sega AM3 utilized Sega's Model 3 arcade system board, as Model 2 was not advanced enough for certain game features.[2] Model 3 allowed the game to operate at 60 frames and 100,000 polygons per second.[7] Early in development, the developers only had access to the film's original script. Action scenes from the script were added into the game. The developers also worked with the film's promotional crew. Level designs were inspired by the film's sets, which some of the developers later visited.[2]

The developers originally considered adding a creature similar to the Loch Ness Monster, but later dropped the idea as it was decided it would have been awkward for the player to shoot. A Deinosuchus was used instead. The game's dinosaurs were designed from scratch by Sega AM3, as ILM's production sketches were unavailable. The Carnotaurus, which appeared in the original script for the film, was implemented into the game, as the developers expected ILM to create the creature for use in the film. The developers initially planned to make the two-player mode different from the one-player mode, in regard to routes the players would take or the types of dinosaurs they would encounter. This idea was scrapped due to time constraints.[2] The game was publicly announced in May 1997,[8] and was unveiled the following month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).[9] Ogasawara Shinichi was the game's director.[10]

Release

The Lost World: Jurassic Park was released in the United States in summer 1997.[11]

Special edition

By January 1998, an updated version of the game had been released in Japan, under the title of The Lost World Special. The new hydraulic game cabinet features seats that rotate and rock from side to side. A burst of air blows out at the player(s) whenever the Tyrannosaurus roars. The game was rewritten to more closely follow the film's plot. Some ideas that were scrapped from the original game were implemented into the Special game. Some of the game's levels were moved around from the original. The Carnotaurus was cut from the game and replaced with a final level of a Tyrannosaurus rampaging through San Diego.[2]

Cancelled port

In January 1998, Sega AM3 said it would be impossible to port the game to the Sega Saturn, but expressed interest in a PC version.[2] In January 1999, it was announced that the game would be converted and released for Sega's Dreamcast console. The Dreamcast version was to include larger levels than the arcade version.[12] In August 1999, Sega AM3 was in the process of converting the game for release in Japan in January 2000, with a possible U.S. release in the spring of 2000.[13] These plans were cancelled by January 2001.[14]

Other versions

A number of other games were released under the title The Lost World: Jurassic Park, including a pinball game and a number of home console games. These games were developed separately by different companies and featured completely different gameplay styles.

Reception

GamePro wrote that the game, when it was unveiled at E3, "was so cool, it earned ShowStopper status even as a display,"[15] while Next Generation wrote that it was, "Easily one of the most impressive titles at E3".[16] Next Generation also reported, "Some rival companies privately admitted: 'This game is so exciting, it could have become a hit even without the licensed property behind it.'"[9] After the game's release, Johnny Ballgame of GamePro wrote that the graphics "are a giant leap forward for gun games in terms of sight and speed."[7] Computer and Video Games wrote that the graphics "look amazingly authentic".[17] Sega Saturn Magazine wrote that the game's graphics "are to die for", noting that the game featured "the best dinosaurs ever seen outside of the cinema".[18] Arcade magazine called the game "hours of mindless fun,"[12] and "a fantastic coin-op shooter which bore little resemblance to its cinematic cousin".[19]

Anthony Baize of AllGame rated The Lost World: Jurassic Park four and a half stars out of five, and wrote, "The programmers did an excellent job to make gamers feel as if they are in the middle of an island with crazed dinosaurs as far as the eye can see." Baize praised the graphics, writing that the game "is a masterpiece. The graphics look as if they have been lifted from its namesake movie. [...] The dinosaurs look and sound real. That is fairly amazing." However, Baize criticized the game's loud sounds, saying that "the deafening sound coming from the speakers may be The Lost World: Jurassic Park's only real flaw. There is a line where anything can be considered to be too loud, and The Lost World: Jurassic Park crosses that line. While the loud sound is supposed to engage the gamer thoroughly, it can be distracting. [...] The sound is a bit too loud, but that should not keep anyone from playing it."[20]

In 2012, CraveOnline included the game on its list of "8 Arcade Games We Want Revived."[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Sega (1997). The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Arcade. Sega. Scene: End credits.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harrod, Warren (January 1998). "Exclusive! AM3 interview". Sega Saturn Magazine. p. 62–65.
  3. ↑ "Something has survived". Sega of America. Archived from the original on February 23, 1998.
  4. ↑ Harrod, Warren (January 1998). "Coin-Operated". Sega Saturn Magazine. p. 92–95.
  5. ↑ Harrod, Warren (February 1998). "Coin-Operated". Sega Saturn Magazine. p. 92–95.
  6. ↑ "Sega Arcade Show". Computer and Video Games. UK: EMAP. September 1997. pp. 86–87. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Ballgame, Johnny (December 1997). "Dino Arcade Annihilation". GamePro. p. 124. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sneak Previews: It's Out of the Park!". GamePro. IDG. May 1997. p. 43. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  9. 1 2 Webb, Marcus (September 1997). "Sega Finds The Lost World". Next Generation. Imagine Media. p. 32. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ Harrod, Warren (April 1998). "Coin-Operated Extra". Sega Saturn Magazine. UK: EMAP. p. 96. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Universal Pictures and Sega bring The Lost World: Jurassic Park to Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Game Gear and the arcade". Sega of America (press release). June 19, 1997. Archived from the original on February 23, 1998.
  12. 1 2 "Dreamcast – Jurassic Park: The Lost World". Arcade. UK: Future Publishing. January 1999. p. 94. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Lost World Coming To Dreamcast Finally?". SegaWeb.com. August 16, 1999. Archived from the original on 2000-08-20.
  14. ↑ "AM3 developer information". IGN.com. Archived from the original on 2001-01-26.
  15. ↑ "The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Arcade)". GamePro. IDG. September 1997. p. 41. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Buzz". Sega. 1997. Archived from the original on June 30, 1997.
  17. ↑ "The Lost World: Jurassic Park". Computer and Video Games. UK: EMAP. August 1997. p. 96. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Jurassic Park Discovered in Arcade". Sega Saturn Magazine. UK: EMAP. August 1997. p. 13. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Trespasser Preview". Arcade. UK: Future Publishing. December 1998. p. 36. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  20. ↑ Baize, Anthony. "The Lost World: Jurassic Park review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014.
  21. ↑ Davidson, Joey; White, Mike (January 6, 2012). "8 Arcade Games We Want Revived". CraveOnline. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
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