Jurassic Park (arcade game)


Jurassic Park is a rail shooter arcade game developed and released by Sega in 1994. It is based on the 1993 film of the same name. The game cabinet resembles the rear of the Ford Explorer tour vehicles used in the film. The player, equipped with a joystick, must shoot dinosaurs that appear on-screen throughout the game.
The game is notable for having a moving seat, also used in Sega's previous 1991 light gun shooter Rail Chase. The seat is powered by hydraulic pistons to move the seat according to action on the screen. The game's graphics blend two-dimensional sprites and three-dimensional polygons to give the sense of movement. Jurassic Park was the first game of this genre to include 3D environments.
The game was followed by two arcade sequels, in 1997, and Jurassic Park III in 2001. Another arcade game, titled Jurassic Park Arcade, was released in 2015 and is based on the first three films in the Jurassic Park series.

Gameplay

The game takes place on Isla Nublar a few months after the events of the film. Similar to Operation Wolf, the player fends off a vehicle from dinosaur attacks with automatic weaponry. A joystick is used to play, rather than a light gun. Dinosaurs include Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus, Gallimimus, Brachiosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, Ichthyosaurus, and Pteranodon.
Fences and large rocks that block the player's path must be shot at to avoid running into them. The game ends with the dinosaurs being caged once again.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Jurassic Park on their April 1, 1994 issue as being the third most-successful upright arcade game of the year. Edge called the game a "shameful Line of Fire/Rail Chase-style shoot 'em up," concluding that it was, "Very disappointing."