Dino Crisis 2 Review

Because Capcom had done such a good job with Resident Evil, Dino Crisis seemed like an obvious next step when it came out in 1999. It took a long time to move, there weren't many supplies, and the dinosaurs were faster and more dangerous than the zombies. There was a lot of stress and problems in the first game, which showed that it wasn't just "Resident Evil with dinosaurs."

People knew what to expect from Dino Crisis 2 when it came out in 2000: more survival horror, tougher puzzles, and better dinosaurs. They made a big change instead. It's not a small step up from the first game; Dino Crisis 2 is a big change. Fear is still present in the game, but it's mostly an action shooter with arcade features that make you feel excited instead.

What really makes Dino Crisis 2 different from the first game is how you play it.

She comes back for another job at the beginning of the story, this time with a new main character named Dylan Morton. A military unit was sent to look into a project to study time displacement energy. They found a whole island with a city and a swamp full of dinosaurs when they got there. It seems like your job is pretty simple: find people who are still alive, protect exit routes, and figure out what went wrong.

But there is a secret in that premise that has to do with heavily armored forces from another time and what happens when you change the past. The story doesn't go on for too long. You won't get lost in logs or justifications that are hard to understand. It skips quickly from one goal to the next and keeps things interesting with short, focused sequences and stories about the world around you.

That being said, it's not too hard and still keeps you interested. In a bold move, the game ends with an intense punch that will surprise you. It leaves you wanting more. As soon as you take over, it's clear that the game has changed from a scary survival horror to a violent fight. There are still settings for the tank and fixed camera views, but the idea behind them has changed.

You don't have to save every bullet anymore. 

Instead of slowly going through the halls, you are told to run forward with your gun drawn. The action never stops, and enemies often appear in groups. You're getting rewards for getting rid of threats fast. The thing that makes fighting possible is a lock-on tech. Every time you press the "Aim" button, your figure will aim at nearby dinosaurs.

This makes it easier to aim without having to do it by hand, but it adds value in other ways, like by letting you position, dodge, pick a weapon, and manage combos. Every kill gives you more combo points. When you keep that attack going and avoid taking damage, your score goes up.

These points can be used as money at shop booths in safe rooms. They can be used to buy new guns, health kits, mods for old guns, and bullets. This method makes a big difference in how the game feels. If you want to save resources, you shouldn't avoid fighting. Instead, you should fight aggressively to get the most rewards.

This leads to a loop, like in the game. Quickly kill the dinosaurs. Do your best not to get hit. Score more points. Get things that are stronger. You should come back to battle stronger than before. It feels good to be growing in this way. There isn't a normal way to use experience points, but the Extinction Point economy works in a similar way.

The better you do, the stronger your weapons get.

This makes a smooth way to move up based on skill. Even though the game is pretty easy, it's fun to get better because of the score system. You want to get better, not because you keep dying, but because when you do, you can use more tools, which makes your next run faster and stronger. It's more fun to play with different tools.

Aside from the main guns, which do most of the damage, sub-weapons are also used sometimes. Some dinosaurs need to be able to do certain things. When you turn an enemy over, you can hurt them. Some people are in the air and need to be precise right away. When you are in a dangerous place, flamethrowers are great.

Heavy machine guns are used to kill bigger animals. You can move around when you have two guns at once. You can beat most enemies with any weapon, but you'll run out of bullets, and combos will be less possible. The idea of "the right tool for the right job" adds meaning to shooting that might have been dull otherwise.

Dodging is also important, but it doesn't feel as finished. You can try to avoid hits, but it can be hard to do clean dodges because of how tanks are controlled and how fast enemies move. It is easier to just move around most of the time than to try to accurately avoid being caught. The concept is still there, though, and it's fun to play when you're quick, especially when counterattacks give you extra chances.

Things aren't as bad as they were in the first Dino Crisis.

You can get around some problems with Dylan's machete and Regina's stun baton, as well as some settings and tools that are unique to each character. However, there aren't many hard logic problems. If you want tricky puzzle chains or a lot of going backwards, you might be let down. In this game, it's important to move forward.

Even so, this well-thought-out organization keeps the pace steady. Dino Crisis 2 doesn't last long. A fast run can be done in less than two hours, while a focused run can take a few hours. But because it's short, it's easy to play again. You can play it over and over to improve your score, find extra games, and find new ways to use your tools.

Set pieces are what you see between normal fights. Parts of the turret that shoot at rails make things scarier. A part where you drive a tank is a surprise showstopper. When you go underwater with Regina, the physics slow down, and there is less platforming, which changes how the fight flows. You won't get tired because of these changes. The main loop is still about shooting.

It's clear that the people who made it knew how important it was to change the pace.

The settings in Dino Crisis 2 are more varied than those in the first game in terms of graphics. You don't need to stay at a study hall. You can go into the jungle, visit military bases, work in underwater labs, or look around in destroyed cities. You can still see more dinosaurs moving in the distance, and the scenes that were already made are still very detailed and dramatic.

The scene feels alive, even though the camera views are fixed. It looks like the characters are clearer and more expressive than in the first game, and the fighting moves are pretty smooth for the time being. Booms and rifle flashes make gunfights more intense and keep the action-packed mood. Sound design goes well with the change in character.

Though there is tension, the music during the fight is mostly upbeat, percussion-driven themes that stress speed over tension. The game sounds more real because the dinosaurs roar meanly, the guns are strong, and there are sound effects from the environment. Voice acting is more sure of itself than a lot of its peers, and it does a good job of showing how people feel, especially when the story needs it the most.

It's not as scary and quiet as survival horror, but it does a good job of building up your energy.

Post-game content makes it last longer. When you get new game modes, you can fight waves of dinosaurs, play games where you have infinite bullets, and meet strange creatures. Aside from a few visual add-ons, the score-chasing system is enough to make it worth playing over and over.

You could play through parts over and over to get better at combos or faster access to better gear. Dino Crisis 2 is not at all like the first game. For motion and ease of use, it gives up scary and hard puzzles. If you were looking for more survival horror drama at the start, you might feel let down. But it does very well when looked at by itself.

It turns a game with a bad engine into a fun action shooter. It gives people points, which are useful and help them get better at things. It makes the story interesting without making it too long. It's mostly because it's fun. It's always fun to shoot a dinosaur in the air. Some fans may have hoped for a follow-up to Dino Crisis, but Dino Crisis 2 is still a great game in its own right.

The risky change Capcom made shows it is ready to try new things, even if it means some fans will no longer like it. The story is still interesting to read even after more than twenty years because it shows how much a series can change between books and still be popular.