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Review: JP3: Danger Zone

© Dan Finkelstein

"Jurassic Park 3: Danger Zone" is the second game to be released from "Edutainment" software house Knowledge Adventure's doors. Like the similar-sounding "Dino Defender" (reviewed last month), "Danger Zone" is a game based on the popular Jurassic Park franchise released to coincide along with Jurassic Park 3, now in theaters.

I'll say it right up front: Honestly, I've never see a company mis-use a movie license more than Knowledge Adventure.

"Danger Zone" is billed as a "head-to-head challenge", and plays like an computerized board game. Players take turns moving around the island, competing against each other in one of 15 mini games.

And that's all. For $30 (estimated retail price), you get little more than a dinosaur graphic slide show mixed with a few elements of the classic board game "Sorry!". It's a bad board game at that - you can't even enter your name, instead you must pick one of several lame names they've provided for you. "Farah Fossil" is among them. Yes, "Farah Fossil".

The mini games are almost laughable in their sheer dumbness. During one, for instance, you need to push a key when a certain dinosaur picture is flashed on the screen (no I'm not kidding). During another, you need to hold down the space bar to jump over a cliff. Yet a third bizarre game requires you to - get this! - match up shapes.

Truth be told, this is a kids game, billed for ages 7+. And sure, it may hold the kids attention for a few minutes with the pretty dino pictures and the booming narriator's voice. But honestly, if it holds their attention for more than a few minutes, I'd be very surprised.

Honestly, while this game is at least a tad better than the other JP3 title from Knowledge Adventure (the wretched "Dino Defender"), what is this company thinking? I mean, the bar for quality computer games is set pretty low these days, but these two recent titles are ridiculously poor.

The Jurassic Park franchise is chock full of gaming opportunities. Universal's decision to give Knowledge Adventure a license, frankly, leaves me scratching my head. How long will I have to wait for a quality Jurassic Park computer game?

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