"Dino Crisis" Game Review
A survival horror classic that isn't quite as cohesive as its elder sibling Resident Evil, but has merit, charm, and style of its own.
Unlockable costumes in the nineties were truly something else...
The first few hours of Dino Crisis oppressively tense as you navigate a maze-like facility with enemies that can and will chase you through doors, knock you down, disarm you, bleed you, and eat all your bullets if you stand and fight. Puzzles and navigation, while opaque, are not interminable and are very satisfying to figure out.
The Third Energy Facility lacks the diversity of Spencer Mansion. But its cold clinical atmosphere invites you to dig deeper and unravel its mysteries. The classic Capcom style and music is here in spades, with an evocative save room theme among their best. The story is nothing to write home about, but the branching paths and choices you're given at key story points are just interesting enough to keep things a bit fresh on replays.
Of course, not everything here is stellar. Enemy and weapon diversity is sorely lacking. Regina makes an endearing protagonist but the rest of the cast are one-note automatons. Further, Dino Crisis has a tendency to throw its most obtuse puzzles at you right at the moments of highest narrative urgency and tension. These would be intense if they were timed. But they aren't, so instead they become inadvertently amusing as the musical score is in full-on panic mode as Regina pushes crates around.
Rather than the simple item boxes of Resident Evil, inventory management here is done through a series of color-coded boxes that connect to others of the same color and are unlocked with key items. On paper it seems like this would introduce some interesting logistical challenges, but in reality it's just tedious and you're rarely lacking in keys (called "plugs" in-game) unless you walk around with your eyes closed.
It's wildly unfortunate that this franchise has been abandoned for as long as it has, and I would line up if they did something new with it (I'm not talking about a remake, but I'd take what I could get at this point). Its flaws keep this from quite reaching RE's highs, but If you're a fan of this style of gameplay or you just like dinosaurs, you should give it a try. If you're like me and you like both, what are you even waiting for?
4/5
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