Move over Jurassic Park, there’s a whole new dinosaur experience in town and it’s putting gamers square in the sights of some of the nastiest dinos around. Metro3D and Microsoft Games Studios Japan are working together to publish Dinosaur Hunting, an Xbox-only title with a not-so-interesting name, but plenty of interesting gameplay.
So maybe you’ve played Cabela’s Big Game Hunter and all the related titles to death, and you’re wondering just how Dinosaur Hunting could possibly be more interesting? For starters, the game takes place in a "Lost World," a land where the wild game’s a little bigger than your typical ten-point buck. This Amazonian dino-sanctuary is undergoing some serious volcanic activity, which will mean certain death to the dinosaurs if they aren’t saved somehow. That’s where you, in the role of a dinosaur hunter, come in. It’s your job to track and capture the big beasts. However, unlike the other "big game hunting" titles, you won’t be killing your prey, you’ll be tranquilizing it, since you’re being paid for every dinosaur you keep alive.
Dinosaur Hunting is more than just a "shoot and run" experience, as you’re required to track down the creatures and learn their weaknesses. This "learning" is definitely something new to the hunting genre, as you have to find dinosaur droppings (ok, "poop", there, I said it!) and examine it. As you examine the droppings, you’ll extract hints as to the best mix of chemicals for your tranquilizer darts. Once you mix up a good batch of sleepy-time juice, you load it into one of the three available weapons: the pistol, shotgun or rifle, and let it fly. However, one batch of NyQuil is not going to work the same on all dinos, so you’ll have to mix up batches for each.
While this was a beta/preview build of the game, the AI seems pretty well developed at this point. The dinosaurs behave differently based on their specific species. Herbivores are, as to be expected, slow and stupid, making them easier to bring down than the screaming nightmare carnivores like T-Rex. There are a few tweaks that could be made to their proximity detection (some dinos you can walk alongside and not have them notice you,) but as a whole, the AI is looking good.
Graphically, Dinosaur Hunting is looking sharp. The jungle textures are nicely done, as are the skin textures for the giant reptiles. Motion is smooth on all counts, with no noticeable framerate issues, even when you’re running like mad from an angry T-Rex.
Dinosaur Hunting is shaping up to be a more interesting take on the typical big game hunting titles we’ve seen so far. The whole "check the poop for clues" concept is definitely something we’ve never seen before, and should both shock and amuse first-time players. Expect to see this game on store shelves around mid-late November.
