"Savage 3-D dinosaur combat...sound like fun? Well it is but sooner or later you'll be reaching for you copy of Primal Rage."
Yes we all remember Primal Rage don't we? A Mortal Kombat style fighter were the ninjas and monks were replaced by 20ft tall dinosaurs. Well PR quickly became a arcade hit, after that it was all downhill for this game. While PR did sport some fresh ideas to the fighting genre {edible humans, and a strange and sometimes difficult form of control} it still didn't have quite enough to became a legend such as MK. You might be saying to yourself ‘why is this guy talking about Primal Rage?'' well that’s because that’s basically what JP: Warpath is....a 3-D Primal Rage without the over hyped special moves, and the gore toned down a little. This game tries hard to not be tied into is true form of a basic arcade game.....but after a short time of playing you'll begin to see that there’s not much to it.
Graphics: 8 The textures on the dinos are very realistic sporting some nice light effects upon their scaly skin at certain points, though the animation is beautiful, actual combat and combos can get glitchy at times. Though there are no fatalities that I know of, it doesn't seem farfetched that there would be at least some kinda finish for each dino seeing as there is a great deal of blood and gore in combat. Not the huge goobers of blood from MK or PR, but dinos do bleed and the blood spills on the ground a moment before it disappears. Also a feature not found in many fighting games, the dinos bodies take damage during a long battle, their heads can be busted open, and skin ripped of their neck and back, which can make battles even without fatalities seem very gruesome and stomach turning a little as you see the blood stains and bone sticking from out of your dinos body. Only problem is that it takes to long to get such damage...and the fights never last long enough to where you could put such a hurting on someone. Also after a few attacks your dinos teeth and claws will become stained with blood from your opponent, if you landed a good amount of hits. Levels are pretty detailed adding in edible humans and destructible environments, best of all every level is taking right out of the two movies Jurassic Park, and JP: The lost World, there’s even a stage with the fallen jeep from the first movie hanging in a tree! The only real problem with the graphics is that dinos are not there actual size. Example, in fact there is ONE dino in the game bigger than the T-Rex, but there are at least 4 that are if not bigger, are about the same size of him! Most complained about the Raptor being so BIG, it’s not a regular Raptor...it’s a Mega-Raptor......which is an actual species ladies and gentlemen!
Sound: 10 PERFECT the sound in this game couldn't be better if they tried to make it that way. The only game I can think of with better sound is Medal of Honor.
Control: 8 Decent controls are were this game seems to take a downward spiral. Specials are hard to pull off at times, and the non-3-D movement seems to get on my nerves. 3-D based controls would've really helped this game.
Story: 1 There is nothing I hate more than a fighting game without an ending....much less a fighting game with NO story what so ever! For me the story toke off about 2 points in my rating....so much as a CGI video for each dino after completing arcade mode would've been a small thing that would of helped allot in the story...but it seems a little too much for Dreamworks to pull off.
Gameplay: 5 It tries hard to not be an arcade game, giving you a museum where you can check out all the dinos stats and so forth, in some way trying to convince you that all this dino-fighting has a purpose, but it truth it doesn't. The edible power-ups, and destructible environments add a good bit to the game, but just like everything else in the game.....it’s all been done before...just not with Dinosaurs.
Replay vaule: 4 Unlock hidden dinos, new game play modes, new color schemes for the dinos you already have...that about it. Even though I still don't won't to rule out the possibility of some kind of hidden finisher move for each dino....from where I stand I don't see it. Maybe if we're lucky there might be hidden ending movies, or at least a gallery for each dino like in JP: The lost World PSX. But no one seems to want and test this game for secrets...maybe that’s why I'm in the process of writing a FAQ/MOVELIST for this game....because no one else seems to wanna do it.
If you’re a fan of Primal Rage, or just happen to love dinosaurs go ahead and buy it, but besides that gamers you've been there and done that....stay away!
Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/00, Updated 02/09/00
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