Box Art
Game: Dino Crisis 2
First Released: September 13, 2000, Playstation
Developers: Capcom
Platforms: Playstation, Windows, Playstation Network
Rated: M, for Animated Blood, Gore, and Violence
First Released: September 13, 2000, Playstation
Developers: Capcom
Platforms: Playstation, Windows, Playstation Network
Rated: M, for Animated Blood, Gore, and Violence
How I Came To Play This Game
Pause Screen
I bought the game along with the first Dino Crisis. However, I didn't play it until I finished the first one. After playing the first one, I was waiting to see any improvement. I wanted the dinosaurs to be weaker, and I wanted more dinosaurs. Not just those strong ones that only appear once, weak ones that keep coming. This game satisfied both those needs, for the most part.
Story
Fight With Velociraptors
One year has passed since Regina's fight against the dinosaurs, and the capture of the rogue Dr. Kirk. Third Energy research continued recklessly against a research base, military institution, and a small town itself. Suddenly, Edward City, an entire town devoted to Third Energy research completely vanished, mysteriously replaced by prehistoric jungle. Now, a search and rescue to recover survivors and locate the missing Third Energy
research data begins. A team identified as T.R.A.T. (Tactical Reconnoitering
and Acquisition Team) has been sent into another time frame, which Edward City had disappeared into. Regina, from S.O.R.T. (Secret Operations Raid Team) has been sent along due to her previous encounters with dinosaurs. On the island, the team sets up camp, but is quickly attacked by an enormous pack of Velociraptors, and everyone at camp is killed except for Dylan, Regina and David. The first two are separated from David (who is fortuitously encountering heavy firepower) and eventually the two split up in order to cover more ground. As the two struggle to stay alive, they encounter leather-clad helmeted inhabitants who are hostile towards them, but their female leader -Paula- is easily captured (saved, really). Though the girl is hostile towards Regina, she acts differently towards Dylan, almost as though she knows something about him. After constantly fleeing from the two heroes, she eventually leads Dylan into a large base complex where she shows him a recording that reveals the truth. Apparently, after the first incident in Borginia (another spelling is given in Dino Crisis 2) involving Dr. Kirk, the humans decided that the dinosaurs were to be studied. Widespread 'Time Skewing' was carried out, with disastrous results that threatened the end of the human race when it became clear that dinosaurs and humans could not coexist. In view of these events, the military decided to transport all the dinosaurs 3 million years into the future, where they could thrive, before they were to be sent back to their own time (bef.65 million years ago) when the third energy timegate was perfect. This was the 'Noah's Ark Plan'. However, the team that transported the dinosaurs to the future suffered another overload, and the timegate was destroyed. Thus, the team was trapped with the dinosaurs. All the survivors were killed by the dinosaurs, but their children were saved and brought to the safety of the habitat support facility where they were kept in life support chambers, which protected them and allowed for growth and learning. The children learned how to survive around dinosaurs, and because of the nature of the 'Noah's Ark Plan', they were thought to protect the dinosaurs. Somehow through the teaching, they lost the ability to speak. These children are the mysterious helmet-wearing teenagers Regina and Dylan encountered throughout the game. Apparently, one of the members of the team that came to the future was Dylan himself, older. His daughter, Paula, is the blonde haired mystery girl. It appears that in the overloading incident, Edward City itself had been transported to the future.
Pros And Cons
Story
Timegate
The story is much better than the first one. The first one was very boring and kept you waiting for something to happen. This time, your kept busy killing dinosaurs and your reward is to see the next part of the story. The difference being you actually enjoy fighting to see it.
Characters
Dylan and Regina
The characters you play as are Dylan and Regina. Once again, the character development was nice. There really isn't much to say about it.
Gameplay
Giganotosaurus Is Way Too Big
The gameplay experience was improved a little. For one thing, the dinosaurs have been made weaker... somewhat. The Velociraptors are at least. You can now kill them with one Shotgun shot if your close enough. That is how
they should have been in the first game. The Tyrannosaurus, on the other
hand, has gotten worse. In the first cut-scene, almost everybody except the main, characters are killed by raptors. Everybody had a submachine gun in their hands. They could have easily killed the raptors with those. Then the Tyrannosaurus comes in and scares them away. That's fine. Then David flies over in a helicopter and fires a rocket launcher at the creature's head. Guess what happens. Was it killed? Nope! It only destroyed the thing's right eye. Are you kidding me? I don't know any living thing that could survive a rocket launcher to the head. Can you? That rocket would have blown that things head off. What is with the indestructible Tyrannosaurus. It was like that in the first game too where it survived many grenades to the head. These are not giant monsters from Japan who are invulnerable to missiles and tanks. Godzilla has every reason to survive a rocket launcher because he's a made up character who was written to be invincible. The dinosaurs were real living beings, and had the same limitations that we do and all other living things have. Another thing I would like to complain about is the physical strength of the dinosaurs. For some reason, raptors (even though their larger than usual) can hit you so hard you fly through the air. Even a raptor of that size wouldn't be able to throw people. The Oviraptors can spit poison. Where did that come from? Jurassic Park? Did the makers of the game mistake Oviraptor for the Dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park? In the movie, Dilophosaurus was made smaller than it really was so the audience wouldn't confuse it with the Velociraptors. It could also spit poison. However, neither of these creatures could spit poison in real life. Also, the Oviraptors could push people over. They are the only dinosaurs that are the correct size in the game, about 3 feet tall and 6 feet long, the way Velociraptors should be. It would not have enough strength to knock you over. The Giganotosaurus is so big in the game, it dwarfs the Tyrannosaurus. In real life it isn't that much larger than the Tyrannosaurus. Not only that, but it picks up the Tyrannosaurus and throws it. It doesn't matter how big it is, nothing in this world could pick up a Tyrannosaurus alone. A 200 lb. block of steel may be smaller than you but do you think you could pick it up with your bare hands? I didn't think so. Another thing that I want to mention is the fact that game uses cheap tricks to stop you. You can run back and forth between camera angles and dinosaurs will appear out of nowhere. You were just looking that way, where did it come from? It seems to just blink into existence. Also the dinosaurs play dead so that you think your done and by the time you realize they aren't dead, your combo runs out.
Graphics
Dylan Next To Capsule
The graphics were downgraded from the true 3D world of the first one. Now it uses predetermined backgrounds like in the Resident Evil series. This of course is not bad, if done right. Like Resident Evil, they were done right so it's all good. However, there is one drawback. Whenever the camera angle changes, it stalls the controls. In the heat of a battle, and the camera angle changes, your gun might fail, and a raptor will be given a window of attack. The reason why is because it has to load the next screen which locks out any button input. Other than that problem, it's fine.
Music
Once again, the music is nothing special and not worth mentioning.
Releases
Box Art
Dino Crisis 2 was released for the Playstation in 2000, then was ported to Microsoft Windows in 2002.
My Rating
I give this game a 9/10. It was a huge improvement over the first one, but the way the game used cheap tricks was disappointing.