Jurassic Park (Australian Version)

The game is tradition puzzle & adventure style, with pre-rendered backdrops (think Myst) separated by brief FMV sequences between locations.  Pushing the cursor all the way left or right smoothly scrolls the view around through 360 degrees (though for some reason occasional locations are viewed from four pre-determined points rather than freely moving), whilst passing over item of interest changes the crosshair to a magnifying glass to let you know you've found something useful, including tools used in minor puzzles and electronic keycards that open up new areas of the complex.  Non-lethal weapons such as stun guns and gas grenades are also to be found but are in short supply and only provide a brief respite from the annoyed dino that's chasing you through the jungle.  Also scattered are video booths (this place used to be for tourists, remember?) that provide useful information about the beasts in the area ahead - generally yes, it will kill / eat you and no, you can't outrun it.

The rendered backdrops are well drawn and moving sprites placed on top of them don't look out of place.  Sadly the video area is amazingly small, being full-width but only taking up the middle half of the screen.  Whilst the movement points between screens are easy to find and click on it can make moving back and forth between locations laborious - there's no shortcuts available to travel between points you've already discovered.  Jungle noises are constant but not enough to become annoying, and hearing the deep thud and roar of a passing T-Rex whilst the screen view jumps up and down is a worrying experience as you slowly rotate the view to find out exactly where it is.  The quest has to be completed in 12 game hours, though the exact time available will vary as the clock jumps to allow for travel between locations.  Thankfully a save option is available so you don't have to do the whole thing in one sitting.  All in all, a surprisingly good game, especially for a film licence that produced such an atrocious cartridge title.  You won't be blasting dinosaurs left, right and centre (or even at all) but you will be made to think on the move and occasionally hang on the edge of your seat - and have great fun whilst doing so.